Confidence falls in U.S. authorities' ability to ease financial panic

Pedro Nicolaci da Costa, Reuters

Published: Thursday, July 17, 2008

NEW YORK -- The nightmare scenario for U.S. economic authorities is here: Confidence in their ability to rescue the country from a housing-led financial panic is now at its lowest level since the crisis began.

This means losses for investors, already totalling nearly half a trillion dollars, could mount even further over the next few months, with implications for business investment and the overall health of the economy.

"You see a massive potential for financial meltdown on a global scale," said T.J. Marta, fixed-income strategist at RBC Capital Markets.

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