Banks: WTF?

My parents have been stockpiling goods recently — pounds of meat in the freezer; dozens of cans of soup, vegetables, and fruit; bags of other frozen foods like vegetables and prepared meat like hamburgers; and gallons of olive oil.

“What the hell?” I said to my parents recently, counting the six tins of tomato soup and four of corned beef. “It’s a recession, not a depression.”

I may be wrong.

Banks in the United States have been quietly borrowing “massive amounts” from the U.S. Federal Reserve in recent weeks, using a new measure the Fed introduced two months ago to help ease the credit crunch, according to a report on the web site of The Financial Times.

The Financial Times said the move has sparked unease among some analysts about the stress developing in opaque corners of the U.S. banking system and the banks’ growing reliance on indirect forms of government support.

Reuters: Banks “quietly” borrow $50 billion from Fed: report