The Beginning of the Road to Recovery？

<正>In this most convulsive and confus- ing time in modern American finance, one point stands out: Credit market fail- ure has pushed the economy to the edge, and policymakers are scrambling to pull it back. When investors began to flee the heretofore safe harbor of money-market funds in favor of Treasury bills that guar- anteed a mere 0.04% return, it was plain that confidence in the financial system was breaking down. The government's ad hoc approach, intended to prevent failing institutions from collapsing the system, was not working. Now, amid Depression-era analogies, Washington is assembling a＄700 billion plan to shore up the markets and rescue the economy.

In this most convulsive and confusing time in modem American finance, one point stands out： Credit market failure has pushed the economy to the edge, and policymakers are scrambling to pull it back. When investors began to flee the heretofore safe harbor of money-market funds in favor of Treasury bills that guaranteed a mere 0.04% return, it was plain that confidence in the financial system was breaking down. The government＇s ad hoc approach, intended to prevent failing institutions from collapsing the system, was not working. Now, amid Depression-era analogies, Washington is assembling a $700 billion plan to shore up the markets and rescue the economy.