Alice's bubble wrap

I have to tell you; I am having a hard time keeping up. There is so much going on right now, and none of it is good. I have this terrible sense of foreboding; this crisis is about to turn our whole way of life upside down.

With that dire warning out of the way, lets review the day's events.

Buy-to-let mortgage deals nosedive

With the B&B gone, the BTL market has finally capitulated.

"One in 10 mortgages has been pulled during the past 24 hours following the nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley, figures showed. The number of buy-to-let loans has nosedived, with just 481 different deals now available, a 27% fall on Monday's figure of 662, financial information group Moneyfacts said."

Lloyds-HBOS deal in doubt

Can the UK financial system survive the collapse of this deal? I think not.

Ireland guarantees six banks’ deposits

Very generous, I must say. With a government guaranteee behind you, it is easy to make money.

"Allied Irish Banks climbed 20 per cent to €5.95 in early Dublin trading, Anglo Irish Bank jumped 41.3 per cent to €3.25 and Bank of Ireland gained 19.3 per cent to €3.90."

Analysts say U.K. may follow Irish on bank guarantee

And why not....

Dollar borrrowing costs soar

It is as if Bernanke had never cut rates to 2 percent.

"The British Bankers' Association said the London interbank offered rate (Libor) for dollar funds, the rate at which banks charge each others for loans, saw its biggest ever one-day jump of 431 basis points, taking it to 6.88%, the highest level in more than seven years."

Why The Bailout Bill Will Not Solve the Credit Crunch (And What Could)

From nakedcapitalism.com; pushing the Swedish model of bank bailouts.

The Credit Crunch: Where Is It Happening?

"Why, you may be asking yourself, does everyone think there's such a big a problem when you're still being offered credit cards in the mail and 0% financing at the car dealership?"

A loan shark, a ninja and the sub-prime market

A great title; a pity the article doesn't quite do it.

US company bond sales fall near recession levels

"U.S. corporate bond sales fell in the third quarter to the lowest levels since before the last U.S. recession in 2001, and some companies are delaying bond sales until 2009, a senior Thomson Reuters analyst said on Tuesday."

Among Bailout Supporters, Wall St. Donations Ran High

Really?? I would never have thought that.