Here’s an encouraging chat with Sec. Treasury Henry Paulson via LATimes.com:

Siegel:

You said yesterday, overall, we’re in a better position than we were. That’s a modest statement of progress, but it’s a statement of progress. How can you tell Americans who are listening something that’s happened, something that should have affected their lives by now, that is a tribute to the nearly $300 billion that has already been committed by the U.S. government [to a banking bailout]?

Paulson:

Yeah, I would say the first thing I would say to Americans, what we were dealing with was, we were dealing with a financial system, a banking system that was on the tipping point. Credit was frozen. Banks weren’t lending to each other. People were asking themselves about the viability of banks.I believe the banking system has been stabilized. No one is asking themselves anymore, is there some major institution that might fail and that we would not be able to do anything about it. So I think that is a positive. I think in terms of the challenges, in terms of working through this economic downturn. Let me tell you, it took a long time to build up these excesses. It’s going to take a good while to work through this period. And the first focus, as I said yesterday, should be on recovery and repair. And it’s going to take a while longer to work through it.

Siegel:

But just to clarify, you’re saying no one is saying now there could be a failure of a major institution that we wouldn’t be able to deal with. There could be a failure of another major institution, though.

Paulson:

I got to tell you, I think our major institutions have been stabilized. I believe that very strongly.

All due respect (and there’s nothing like having someone in charge who knows where the bodies are buried), this is Fatuitous & Daft thinking (if this is truly his belief).

I understand that he must be under a good deal of pressure to reassure the public & business communities, but is he really saying there’s no more big shoes on this damned centipede waiting to drop? Not now! When there’s so many states yet to be honored by their own bank failure:

View the interactive version at http://www.feedba.cc

From the BBC:

The entire graduating class at an exclusive Australian boys school has been suspended over “unacceptable” end-of-term antics.

It was disgusting, these young lads were urinating in my fish pond,and kicking over my gnomes. I have never seen anything like it, I have lived here for 28 years, and my gnomes have never been attacked like this before.

Sheila Outrigger, Melbourne

They were blind drunk and some of them could barely stand. My kids have been through muck-up day, but I’ve never seen anything like that.

Local resident