If you didn't have a chance to keep up with how things played out from day to day, let me do a quick and dirty recap:
Sunday: The Federal Reserve pumped a bunch of money into the system, increased the amount it will provide in its lending facilities and further liberalized the collateral it will except in exchange for loans.
Monday: Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. Bank of America took control of Merrill Lynch. And AIG's fate hung in the balance.
Tuesday: The Federal Reserve denied the markets a much anticipated interest rate cut. Instead, it followed with a two-year, $85 billion loan to bail out AIG.
Wednesday: The Treasury announced a finance program where it would auction off Treasuries, separate from what it already offers. The proceeds will go to the Federal Reserve to use for "initiatives."
Thursday: Central banks around the globe decided to join the party. They declared efforts to pump nearly $250 billion into the global system to avert a financial train wreck.
Friday: We learned of a new initiative, spearheaded by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, to put together $800 billion in a new-fangled institution and $400 billion more at the FDIC. The money will be used to take crappy assets off troubled balance sheets and grease up money markets.
Prior to this week, steps taken to stabilize the market were considered ineffective. By the looks of it, though, this week's actions tell me these guys don't want to fail in their efforts to restore order ... again. But the condition of credit markets is far from cured.
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