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bloomberg.com - 10/7/2008

SARS Offers Lessons for Credit Panic: Kevin Hassett (Correct)

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Commentary by Kevin Hassett (Corrects fifth paragraph to indicate year of panic was 1837, not 1937.) Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- This is what a panic looks like. Banks have practically stopped lending to one another. Risky assets are so toxic that the 10-year bonds of U.S. financial institutions are ...

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Newmark's Door:  "SARS Response Offers Lessons for Credit Panic"

SCSUScholars:  The SARS comparison

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bloomberg.com - 10/15/2008

Don't Let Sunspots or Headlines Make You Panic: Kevin Hassett

— bloomberg.com — Don't Let Sunspots or Headlines Make You Panic: Kevin Hassett Commentary by Kevin Hassett Oct. 13 (Bloomberg) -- With the world's attention turned to the financial crisis, a strange celestial occurrence went virtually unnoticed. For more than 200 days ... (more) Don't Let Sunspots or Headlines Make You Panic: ...

Comments vote downundo vote up Newmark's Door found this 10/15/2008found this

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"SARS Response Offers Lessons for Credit Panic"
Newmark's Door — Granted, I think a physical illness is a little different than the financial mess we're currently in. But I think the main point of Kevin Hassett's piece holds up. The Singapore response sets a goal for policy makers. They need to tell us who has the disease, how they will quarantine those who have it, what the treatment will be if it's discovered, why that treatment will work, and the steps we can all take to avoid infection. They need to do this with facts and transparency, not with spin and assertion.

The SARS comparison
SCSUScholars — Kevin Hassett today: Panics stop when citizens understand that those with the disease have been identified and quarantined, know what the treatment options are and can take sensible precautions to avoid infection. If we never developed a test for SARS, we would probably still be panicked. Without such information, herd behavior can drive beliefs to crazy places, as appears to be happening in financial markets. The Singapore response sets a goal for policy makers. They need to tell us who has the disease, how they will quarantine those who have it, what the treatment will be if it's discovered, why that treatment will work, and the steps we ...