Bush Nationalizes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - Sort of

Sometimes it helps to get an outsider's view of what's going on in the U.S. This article by the BBC's business editor is pretty matter-of-fact.

The scale of the support being provided by the US Government to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is quite breathtaking - up to £110bn and the right to own 80 per cent of each of them.

This may not be conventional nationalisation, but its effect is the same.

Frankly, we don't know what to make of all this. Is the sky falling? Perhaps there's a knowledgeable reader out there who still has ink in his pen? If so, let me know, and I'll be glad to share your insights here.