Dear John Thain

Debating the Lehman Collapse

I think many of the comments miss the point. The point here is that if the low share price is the reason to force an otherwise solvent company to do a deal, or for the rating agencies to downgrade, or for any other number of things, and the share price is because of "rumors" or other things that aren't true, then that's bad. If Lehman is solvent then something should be done to tell the market that. The Fed should have an interest in ensuring stability if it isn't at the cost of lying or causing a moral hazard.

Short sellers don't enter into my thinking, although they are a natural source of rumors. Sometimes it's just something more interesting than nothing getting caught in the echo chamber--talking heads need something to say, CNBC needs to fill it's airwaves. Paulson and Geithner (sp?) should just go on T.V., say they have examined Lehman's books, and say that they stand ready to fund any requests LEH might make of the Fed via their collateralized lending programs. This would stabilize the market, Lehman, and stop a completely unnecessary fire sale. After Lehman there is nothing to stop the other firms from falling prey--especially if Lehman didn't need to sell itself.

-DJT

Calling a Bottom: It's Time To Party

All,

Everyone should calm down and realize that I haven't called a bottom. Go to my original post, the title was: "Bold Statement: Time to Start Partying" ... Meant to be a bit sarcastic. SeekingAlpha re-wrote the headline, as they usually do. I'm just saying that we've turned a corner, most of the uncertainty and irrationality in the markets has been taken out. So, if it gets *much* worse, then I'm wrong. If another firm blows up, sending the market into a tizzy, I'm wrong. Otherwise, if volatility comes down, investor confidence returns, etc. then I'm not totally wrong. Low bar, eh? Wish I would have seen this sooner to set the record straight.

-DJT