ANZ Bank chief executive Mike Smith says Australian banks are looking very strong, despite the current financial market turmoil. 

Mr Smith, who was speaking at an Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (AICC) lunch in Sydney, said the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) had been ahead of game in dealing with the ramifications of the crisis, which began in the US. 

The timing and urgency of the Bush Administration's call for action from Congress on Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's plan to save the financial industry from collapse leaves only two possibilities.

Either the White House is criminally incompetent when it comes to the economy, or our current financial status is part of a structured crisis planned as an early October surprise. 

from Crikey ….. 

George Bush: proof there is life on Mars 

'as under-heard' on Fran Kelly's Radio National show by Gus' vivid imagination...

from Crikey ….. 

Vanstone may have to walk over mafia visa 

Barry Everingham writes: 

The bailout doesn't smell right to the people of Manassas Park, where the foreclosure signs are as common as azaleas. They know all about bad debt here. 

This is a terrain of oversize dreams, misjudgement, financial calamity - and empty houses. "Foreclosure. Foreclosure. Foreclosure," said Ed Merkle, 58, as he pointed to the "for sale" signs lining his street. 

Why should American taxpayers give US Treasury Secretary "Hank" Paulson a blank check to bail out the shareholders of busted banks?  

Why should the Treasury turn itself into a toxic waste dump for their bad loans?  

Adapted/reversed by Gus from Julie Bishop blogs exclusively for BusinessDay/ TheAge

As Shadow Prime Minister Turnbull complains about Rudd's latest overseas adventure, why does he remind me of Don Quixote? The fictional Man of La Mancha famous for his delusional missions to save the world.

The financial crisis that began in the United States spread to many corners of the globe. Now, the American bailout looks as if it is going global, too, a move that could raise its cost and intensify scrutiny by Congress and critics. 

Even as policy makers worked on details of a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry, Wall Street began looking for ways to profit from it.  

Financial firms were lobbying to have all manner of troubled investments covered, not just those related to mortgages. 

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull has unveiled the new Coalition frontbench which sees deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop become the first woman to take on the prestigious treasury portfolio. 

Helen Coonan has also been elevated to foreign affairs while Christopher Pyne has been promoted to education. 

Malcolm Turnbull will crawl all over Kevin Rudd's patch this week by announcing his new-look combat team as the globetrotting Prime Minister flies to New York. 

The freshly anointed Opposition Leader deliberately delayed announcing his shadow front bench until tomorrow to capitalise on Mr Rudd's controversial trip in the midst of deep uncertainty about the economy. 

The scandal is not that government is acting.  

The scandal is that government is not acting forcefully enough - using its ultimate emergency powers to take full control of the financial system and impose order on banks, firms and markets.  

Few Americans had ever heard of a SOFA until earlier this year, when the Internet lit up with a revelation many observers of US foreign policy had long predicted.  

Despite repeated claims to the contrary, US officials were pressing the Iraqi government to accept an indefinite US military presence, including—and here was the shocker—up to 58 American bases on Iraqi turf. 

The Treasury is proposing a fund worth up to $800bn to buy back a large proportion of the US mortgage market, media reports say. 

Legislation for the plan will be pushed through as soon as possible, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said.