Dig Deeper on Morgan's Red Star Bailout

There used to be a quaint little saying about how it will rain sulfuric acid in the canyons of Wall Street before a House of Morgan was run by communists. Well, you can read here all about how CEO John Mack is now Great Leader of the People's Republic of Morgan.

And when you go outside today, don't forget your umbrella.

But what The Business Press Maven is more concerned with this morning is Chairman Mack's claim that but for one particular trade, Morgan would be just fine and would, presumably, not have fallen into the hands of Red China, making it the latest investment-banking domino to do so.

Because some of the same business media that are busy portraying him as valiant and altruistic in not granting himself untold millions in bonuses after a year featuring untold billions in losses, are simply passing along his claim that but for one trade, everything would be fine inside Mainland Morgan.

The Financial Times is a prime example of this subprime thinking.

First off, after announcing larger-than-expected writedowns of nearly $10 billion (which is a lot of money, more than The Business Press Maven makes in two entire years), the FT was content to frame the reach-out to China as something done from a position of strength: "John Mack, chairman and chief executive, said the $5bn capital injection from China Investment Corporation would bolster its already strong balance sheet and strengthen its deep ties in China."