Markets: Lilacs out of dead land?

April is supposed to be the cruellest month. But for the financial markets, this March will take some beating. Bank failures, hedge fund blow-ups, massive writedowns and the worst hedge fund performance figures since the Long Term Capital Management crisis in 1998, the last month had it all. Investors may be hoping the combination of aggressive central bank interventions plus the latest round of bank capital raisings will provide some respite. But few would bet against more cruel months to come....