Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.  

Draft: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008  - by CalculatedRisk - … On suspending Mark-to-Market … And on allowing banks to earn interest and maintain a “zero reserve ratio” - lots more at Calculated Risk
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3 by David Merkel:

1.  What A Fine Mess You Have Gotten Us Into - But my concern at present is whether the bailout will work at all. - The Aleph Blog

2.  Good explanation has 4 points - Bailouts, Inflation, Deflation, and What It All Means for Traders - Entering the Endgame for Monetary Policy - David Merkel - … Look at the H.4.1 report.  We may have finally hit the panic phase of monetary policy, where the Fed increases the monetary base dramatically.  They are pumping the “high-powered” money into loans: … - The Aleph Blog 

3.  MUST READ - about valuing illiquid securities - Let the Current Bailout Die - I’m starting out tonight’s post with two stories, to try to help illustrate my position on the bailout. Recently I did some consulting for a financial institution that held the single-A tranches of several trust preferred CDOs that had CMBS, REIT debt, and a lot of junior debt from bank, mortgage, and housing related names. They wanted to know where I would market the bonds at year end 2007 —- The Aleph Blog

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The Secret Villian Behind Our Economic Collapse - Dylan Jovine - The Tycoon Report

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Today the US Congress has announced that they agreed to the bailout — something we’ve been seeing a good deal of lately. This should beg the question: what causes a need for bailouts?  To put it simply, money supply. Here’s a step by step breakdown of how an economy can go from healthy to being in need of bailouts... Simit Patel - Informed Trades 

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Worrying About Large-Deposit Bank Runs - Felix Salmon - Portfolio.com 

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John Mauldin’s letter to Congress: Who’s Afraid of a Big, Bad Bailout? - John Mauldin  - Frontlinethoughts 

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Freddie Mac Sharply Cut Loan Holdings in Aug. - To Raise Cash, Firm Sold Off $37 Billion In Mortgages - By Zachary A. Goldfarb - Washington Post

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Memo Found in the Street - Barry Ritholtz - This morning, I have an editorial in
Barron’s  “Uncle Sam the enabler” … Its a memo from Wall Street to Washington D.C., discussing how all of the excesses of Wall Street were made possible by the actions in nation’s capital. … - contains 8 historical points from 1998 until now - The Big Picture 

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Six things you need to know to understand the financial crisis - Kimberly Blanton - Boston Globe 

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The Institutional Risk Analyst: Bailout: It’s About Capital, Not Liquidity; Seeking Beta: Interview with Robert Arvanitis - In this issue of The Institutional Risk Analyst, we discuss the latest version of the financial assistance legislation, then we speak to Robert Arvanitis about the nature of risk and how Wall Street may be able to develop some new business models to generate the profits and capital needed for a sound financial system. 
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100 Year Crash: How did our system get to this point? - Peter Cohan - There are five key principles of our current financial architecture that brought us here - has the 5 points - Blogging Stocks

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Here’s How It’s Done, Hank: A Parable From a Crisis of a Century Ago. - Jean Strouse - very interesting look back at J.P. Morgan’s hand in history in 1907. - Washington Post

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Common Sense: My Solution to the Mortgage Crisis - 6% maximum rate, standard ungerwriting - read on - Jim Van Marteen  -  Seeking Alpha

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Common Sense: My Solution to the Mortgage Crisis - Bruce Krastring - A Quick Fix to Stimulate Housing Demand - … the US offers to provide Permanent Residence Status to individuals and their direct family who acquire a home in the US and live in it for a period of not less than five years.
… - Seeking Alpha

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Sub-prime Mortgage Crisis: Caused by Lack of Regulations? - Bill Conerly - Did lack of regulation create the subprime mortgage crisis?  I’m asked this all the time.  The short answer:  Of course not.  Nowhere close.  Not a chance.  Here’s the long answer. … - Businomics blog