Geithner at the Improv
Amid more public uncertainty, private capital flees
FEBRUARY 11, 2009, 7:02 A.M. ET
Judging by the hissing in financial markets, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's opening act as Rescuer in Chief yesterday was a bomb. What everyone saw was Geithner at the Improv, a routine with a few good lines but a lot of material that needs more, well, practice.
Rather than focusing on banks alone or proposing a single bailout architecture, Mr. Geithner offered something for everyone with a financial problem, albeit with most of the details left to be filled in later. Investors naturally took this to mean that, much like former Secretary Hank Paulson, Mr. Geithner will be making things up as he goes along. If the goal was to reduce uncertainty, it didn't work. (By the way, the Senate also passed the "stimulus" yesterday; stocks fell nearly 5%.)
That said, Mr. Geithner's proposal is correct in its tacit acknowledgment that there is no grand, miracle cure. The problem of the capital hole in the financial system is too big to fill in any single way, or with ...
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