Dead cat bounce, global edition.

Things are looking up today. People were working for the first time in a while. We are conducting the digital equivalent of moving to a new apartment. Notably, we are leaving most derivatives behind. Our new landlord is Barclays Capital, and they don't want to have sort through that mess.

I noticed that we are no longer getting paper cups in the pantry. The cafeteria is slowly shutting down. It is unwinding its positions in cheese and deli meats.

I am trying to unwind my position in my cafeteria debit card before the market becomes completely illiquid. I may attack the vending machines if I get really desperate.

The stock market bounced big. But the Pakistani market bounced, too, after banning short selling.

Popular sentiment and John McCain seem to agree that the bailouts are a bad thing. Maybe they are right, but the argument should focus on the execution rather than the morality. For those asking, "Why should the Fed get involved in propping up insolvent banks?", here is one answer.

And I do find it funny that Lehman was the only bank that died under the Fed's no-bailouts policy, which lasted all of three days. Now we have a policy that collects the nasty stuff from all the ailing players out there and creates a universal Bad Bank out of the Fed. Who will be holding this stuff when we discover their true price? I hope this works, but if it doesn't ... well, you know.