The Federal Reserve will not be releasing the results of its stress tests of the nation's biggest 19 banks until Thursday, and undoubtedly there is some element of folly in daring to beat the Fed to the punch. After all, according to The New York Times, the tests have been in the works for two months and have involved more than 150 regulators who, in addition to poring through voluminous bank data, have had the benefit of the banks' analyses of how various hypothetical situations will affect their loss rates.

Still, one can't help but wonder if there are other tools at hand that can get the job done properly without taking so long. In fact, I introduced such a tool in my last post – a bank’s asset quality ((AQ)) index. It enlists an engine of analysis that dwarfs even the Fed's 150 regulators -- namely the equity and debt markets. Quite simply, it compares a bank’s share of market capitalization to its share of revenues -- the interest it earns on producing assets plus fees for banking services. This provides a quick insight into how the share of value investors assign to these institutions compares with the share of revenues they earn on assets, which constitutes a direct measure of their investment quality.

Yes, Virginia, the credit crunch will slow down demand for capital goods. Yes, Virginia, the now lower oil price will impact demand for jack-up rigs and wellhead services, for natural gas and alternative fuels. So the hit to our portfolios will not be confined to a single stock.

However, there is a air of excess panic about markets. Analysts are now slashing forecasts to levels which don't make sense. The world is not going to stop consuming energy. The stock market has now incorporated expectations of a very severe depression into its pricing in the energy sector, and frankly, it's overdone.

Fortis (FORSY) was thrown an 11bn EURO (£8.8bn) lifeline last night as the Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg governments combined to inject capital into the embattled banking and insurance group in a last-ditch effort to shore up confidence among savers (Source: FT). The group, a giant of the Belgian and Dutch financial landscape, had become the latest focus of investor fears about the stability of the industry after ructions on Wall Street.

From the graph below, documenting Fortis' Market Cap out on loan (%MCOL) to short investors, you can see that short interest has risen in the bank, but is still extremely low at 2.5%. However, Utilisation is at 49.5%, which means it is fairly difficult to borrow the stock.

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Ask most anyone what comes to mind when mentioning Colombia, and they will likely respond cocaine trafficking, Pablo Escobar, Guerilla rebels, and rampant violence and kidnappings. But times have changed.

Where are delinquencies worst? The New York Fed's Dynamic Maps of Nonprime Mortgage Conditions in the United States.

These are banks trading at or below tangible book value:

Here are some more facts about the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico: