Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers will not exist as we know them after the events of today... with the fire sale of Bear Stearns this spring, this is a three-fer that will reverberate around the world.
The Presidential candidates have to get out ahead of this. Sen. McCain needs to name a "czar" of economic-financial survival as a spokesman NOW, and needs to become intimately conversant with this crisis.
The nature of this crisis is growing, and problematic. Sec. Paulson and Chairman Bernanke have drawn some interesting lines (saving Bear through JP Morgan Chase, pulling Freddie and Fannie under the federal umbrella, but letting Lehman twist) that will be tested by political wrangling. There are going to be headlines about "Wall Street Meltdown" and fear could course the markets this week. This issue could become huge, and we need to be ready...
UPDATE: More analysis from the Times Business editor Floyd Norris...
UPDATE #2: The WSJ calls this crisis a "Category 5 test of our financial levees".
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