Why the big panicked rush to pass the bailout? Two clues:
1.) the U.S. fiscal year ENDS on Sept. 30th and a NEW one starts on Oct. 1st. and
2.) The Basel-II deadline for U.S. banks to be "Basel-II compliant," originally Sept. 1st, must surely come due on Oct. 1st, 2008.
Basel-II compliant banks in Europe and elsewhere will be forbidden to do business with non-compliant banks in the U.S., effectively bringing the non-compliant banks down.
