It appears as though 'trickle down' stimulus is not having its desired effect according to today's Fed Beige Book.
Fed's Beige Book Fails To Stimulate More Lending - Forbes
Jobs Report on Friday.
“One day, we will have to stand before the God of history. And we will talk in terms of things we've done. And its seems to me that I can hear the God of history saying, 'That was not enough. For I was hungry, and you fed me not. I was naked, and you clothed me not. I was devoid of a decent sanitary house to live in, and you provided no shelter for me. And consequently, you cannot enter the kingdom of greatness.'" Martin Luther King
No doubt Ben and Timmy have it all planned out, how they will use the trickle down machine to reinflate the financial system, and thereby float out loans again, at interest, to the hoi polloi.
From the Irish gnome in Zurich:
The cheapest call option on the planet is being provided by the world's largest HF//Prime broker: the US govt. Its also the best camouflage for a continuing rescue of Citi, GS et al that the Congress and the public cannot penetrate.
TALF Bait and Switch - Zero Hedge
And if it all goes wrong, Geithner is now looking for power to bail out the hedge funds, not to mention Pimco et al.
This sounds like a pretty cheap option to me.
But what has also gone unrecognised is the fact they will all make up this money on their CDS and S&P calls anyway.
If they pay banks their fictional book value, they will be able to pretend that the financial problems were overstated, just a 'liquidity' issue after all.
The banks can claim they HAVE been doing things right and we'll have a huge rally again. Anyone who participates will no doubt reckon on a reduced Prime Brokerage fee and extra leverage from the grateful seller - -which means asset inflation has another leg up.
Remember, ALL banking 'capital' is notional, so it is easy to conjure up the illusion of wealth creation once more.