Cry of the Wolf

It is amusing to see more and more of the Capitalists in Wall Street crying wolf over companies which are dying. These are the same set of people who espouse the cause of Capitalism and actively encourage companies to die, so that it breeds competitiveness, the bedrock of capitalism. Looks like the bears in Wall Street doing the latest rounds now happen to be of the Siberian variety!!



A big game of chicken
Commentary: One firm was allowed to die because no one blinked
By MarketWatch
Last update: 4:40 p.m. EDT Sept. 14, 2008

It's one big game of chicken.
That's at the heart of the Treasury's decision not to assist in a Lehman buyout -- and the rest of Wall Street's decision not to step in, either.
The question is, how many firms can go under before the Treasury makes another bailout?
One, Lehman, is on the ropes. But what about two firms going under? Or three? At what point is it systemic failure that will force the government's hand?
Similarly, at what point does the healthier (a relative term) of the Street firms -- or aspirants, such as Barclays or HSBC Holdings -- step in and bail out rival(s), simply because it's in their own best interest due to the resulting market mayhem?
The answer, it appears, is not one. How much Street blood will be shed depends on who, if any, blink first.
-- Steve Goldstein