Evidently, while Hurricane Ike had us distracted down my way, the downward-spiraling financial crisis began making sucking noises as it approached the drain.
Ummm…. this is pretty freakin’ scary — and it’s made worse for me because I’m probably only a peg above normal-level ignorance on economics, generally. Furthermore, my usual font of information (Dear Husband) sounds like PollyAnna at the moment, and my other source for all things $ is also caught up in the post-Ike mess.
So far, my overall impression is that we’re not just hovering over the edge of a precipice, but that we’re now in full dangle, and merely clinging by an unacceptably debt-ridden governmental fingernail.
(Deep breath)
I’m still trying to come up to speed with all the recent news. Hopefully it’ll keep me distracted long enough for my bank(s) to close for the weekend so I don’t rush in and ask for all my nickels and pennies. In the meantime, though, I’ve come across a tidbit that doesn’t seem to have caught much attention.
This little paragraph from the Financial Times earlier this week is bugging the hell out of me:
The Fed also suspended rules that prohibit banks from using deposits to fund their investment banking subsidiaries.
Can somebody give that some happy spin for me?
Surely…. surely, that doesn’t mean banks can use money from my personal accounts (or yours) to shore up their investment troubles… Right?
Anybody?