Market mob rule: Fear now, think later

The deleveraging mob is more restive than ever. For more than a year, the world’s governments have been trying to calm investors down. The emergency rescue of Citigroup – and the market’s muted response – show how tough a task that is. The transformation of Citi’s fortunes has been amazingly rapid. At the end of September the US bank was still considered strong enough to bid for its failing peer Wachovia, albeit only with aid from the US government. There were mutterings about an excessively bi...