Academic

Things are certainly busy, and now, perhaps we know why the Fed backstopped, rather than fronted, the Citi deal.  It was working on backstopping Fannie and Freddie again and providing liquidity, via its New York arm, to the sorts of asset backed securities that are purportedly a bit more Main Street directed.  The Fed is doing this partly with TARP money. 

It looks quite reassuringly active, and stocks are up again.  But there are more problem banks, according to the FDIC, and charities are hurting. 

Nor does the carping stop there.  As the shorts presumably turn to JPMorgan, some think Citi's bailout isn't enough, and it isn't completely clear that that bank fell because of mistakes unique to it.  Meanwhile, the "Geithner isn't up to it" crowd has reached Andrew Sorkin.

But for those with their minds on other things, consider the Chinatown Thanksgiving.