Barry Ritholtz once again questions what exactly the US Fed's mandate is as they continually bail out speculators with cheap credit rather than exposing them fully to the risks they took:
The Fed is supposed to be an independent entity, whose mission is a) price stability (inflation) and b) maximizing employment (growth). However, today's action reveals an apparent third obligatory goal - protecting investors and market prices. I had no idea that back-stopping speculators and hedge funds was part of their mandate...This is not the market. It is state intervention to make losses from speculation born by the public purse. (more)
