CNBC has been informative tonight. Right now Larry Kudlow is yelling about reinstating the uptick rule, something I had never heard of before. Apparently, part of the problem on the market today was short-sellers driving down the price of shares of good companies like Goldman, hoping the treasury will come in and “rescue” them, further deflating the vlaue of the stock and rewarding the short-sellers more.

It even has a name- “bear raiding.” What a mess.

*** Update ***

The Bush legacy:

Pressure is building on the pristine “AAA” rating of the United States after a federal bailout of American International Group Inc, the chairman of Standard & Poor’s sovereign ratings committee said on Wednesday. The $85 billion bailout of AIG on Tuesday by the U.S. Federal Reserve “has weakened the fiscal profile of the United States,” S&P’s John Chambers told Reuters in an interview. “Lack of a pro-active stance could have resulted in further financial stress and put pressure on the U.S. triple-A rating,” Chambers said. “There’s no God-given gift of a ‘AAA’ rating, and the U.S. has to earn it like everyone else.”

Whee.