Timing matters

Some headlines from the past few days:

• Federal Reserve loans $85 billion to bailout insurance company AIG (Sept 16)
• Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch for $50 Billion (Sept 15)
• Treasury Department announces takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - puts $5 trillion in mortgages on taxpayer bill (September 6)

Go back a few months to this:

• Fed guarantees $236 million in financing for JP Morgan to buy Bear Stearns (March 17)

Now pop up again to the present, what is known in America's southeast as "Hurr'cane season"

• Red Cross asks for $150 million loan (Sept 15)

Talk about bad timing.

Tags: philanthropy, redcross, bailout