1929 October
1987 October
2008 October

Maybe we can start by declaring the entire month of October a bank holiday?

and then?

how would one go about such a re-engineering?

just curious doc – i don’t disagree, but i’m no finance wizard.

US politicians are awful, but they have a comparatively developed domestic social and economic (albeit heavily indebted) cushion to fall back on. They cannot take any credit for these cushions, but, nevertheless, they are there.

Putin is equally if not more awful, but he doesn’t have the luxury of social or economic stability — as reinvestment, apparently has been in the form of judo lessons for top politicians, while things like the complications-during-birth rate is at an appalling 70% for the rest of their people.

>> FYI: The size of the world stock market is estimated at about $60.9 trillion USD at the end of 2007. The world derivatives market has been estimated at about $480 trillion face or nominal value, 12 times the size of the entire world economy.

Libor, set by 16 banks in a daily survey by the British Bankers' Association at about noon in London, determines rates on $360 trillion of financial products worldwide, from home loans to derivatives.

The equity sell-off has eviscerated some $4.6 trillion of global stock market wealth in the past three weeks alone, according to the market capitalization loss on MSCI's main world equity index.

Over the last 12 months, that figure is more than $12.4 trillion, of which some $7 trillion comes from the United States.

Fannie and Freddie already own or guarantee more than 40 percent of the $12 trillion in U.S. home loans.

Total Global GDP is about $50 Trillion

The market for Derivatives like Credit Default Swaps is over $60 Trillion

US Treasury Debt/deficit maybe $12 Trillion

Iraq War, maybe $3 Trillion

Global Government Bailout Packages closing in on $1 Trillion.

>> This is new world order stuff folks and American backed derivatives are going to be viewed as financial terrorist weapons of mass destruction. IMHO, we will see American securities banned and suspended in many countries that will reorganize and kick out global entities that are connected to accounting fraud. If we don't re-engineer wall street immediately, this systemic collapse will change the course of the world within one year.

But .. what *I* do not understand is why “the west” even bothers with a crackpot like Mikheil Saakashvili in the first place.

One smells a Cheney!

It’s a no brainer. In the meantime they are expanding their influence everywhere. The stock market is a minor sacrifice when you look at the big picture.