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  2. Don't Panic!

Don't Panic!

By catdynamics on September 29, 2008.

Please.
The Federal Reserve, this morning, sent out a press release.

Watching the financial crisis unfold must be like what it would have been like if the LHC had been turned on, and promptly made a small stable black hole that fell out and started eating the Earth.

Predicted in some theories, considered vanishingly unlikely, and fascinating in so many ways, were it not for the medium term consequences.

So, question is whether Hank and Bernie are fast enough and dextrous enough to get a charge on that sucker and then move it into confinement before it gets too massive to control.


"In response to continued strains in short-term funding markets, central banks today are announcing further coordinated actions to expand significantly the capacity to provide U.S. dollar liquidity. Central banks will continue to work together closely and are prepared to take appropriate steps as needed to address funding pressures."

You may panic now.

Reading the release, it sounds like the NA and EU banks are releasing about $1.8 trillion in short terms cash - or rather increasing credit facilities from previous limits to a new limit of that order through various instruments. Credit expansion is at least a factor of two, sometimes hard to figure what is new, what is expanded and is simply a roll-over of pre-existing "temporary" "emergency" credit...

TED spread responds by rising to 3.49% - that is bad

h/t Calculated Risk

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