Here's an interesting quandary. The markets have been going from bad to worse for the last several months because not enough was being done by government and central banks to save investment bankers from themselves.

Last week a $700bn deal was announced that would allow the bankers to dump their toxic waste on US taxpayers. Markets "roared their approval", as the FT put it. That's a huge chunk of money - it's equal to the amount of US defence spending, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Then markets wobbed again. Was $700bn not enough? Was more needed? Actually, it's becoming apparent that, on one level, $700bn isn't too little. It's too much. And Democrats are in no mood to vote to approve such a deal. As one congressman put it, "Why should we spend billions keeping CEOs in office when families are being kicked out of their homes?"

It's Main Street vs Wall Street. The smartest guys in the room didn't reckon on that...