Real Rout Greets Faux Ease

Other late-day credit market disruptions show the crisis continues. Three- and sixth-month Treasury bond yields plunged, bringing the yield on three-month securities below 4% in a rapid flight-to-quality trade. Also, spreads in the derivatives index tracking the leveraged loan market widened.

At the end of another rough day on Wall Street, cries for a an actual Fed rate cut are rising as many agree with Cowen's Malone, who says: "Liquidity isn't enough."

Call them commitment-phobes, but if recent history is any clue, the Ben Bernanke-led Fed is probably going to reject that notion for as long as it can.

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