I can't believe investment firms are biting at all, actually. And where-oh-where is all of this money going?

No wonder people believe in such off-the-wall (!) ideas as the PPT and a vast global conspiracy to prop up a flawed economic system running its last lap around the track. The jig is up, I don't know what all this posturing and fluffing is about. Give it up already.

By the way, anyone remember when the Fed used to be lender of last resort? Those were the good old days. Now it is the only lender. It's not really all that odd that Paul Volcker would express concern over the Fed's increasingly dangerous position. More government money. More bad assets. More putting its neck on the line.

Personally, I highly recommend that the Federal Reserve continue full steam ahead down this path. Independence? Meh. Who needs it?! Independence is for losers. Keep going, boys, you're so close...

AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Commercial banks borrowed more over the past week from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program, while investment firms borrowed less.

The Fed reported Thursday that commercial banks averaged $44.8 billion in daily borrowing over the past week that ended Wednesday. That was up from $43.1 billion in the week that ended April 22.

Investment firms drew $5.5 billion over the past week from the Fed program, down from an average of $9.2 billion the previous week.

The identities of financial institutions are not released. They pay just 0.50 percent in interest for the emergency loans.

The report also showed that the Fed's net holdings of "commercial paper" averaged $222.9 billion over the week ending Wednesday, a decrease of nearly $18 billion from the previous week.

Commercial paper is the crucial short-term debt that companies use to pay everyday expenses, which the Fed began buying under the first-of-its-kind program on Oct. 27, a time of intensified credit problems. The central bank has said about $1.3 trillion worth of commercial paper would qualify.

The Fed also said its purchases of mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae averaged $367.7 billion over the past week, up $5.1 billion from the previous week. The goal of the program, which started on Jan. 5, is to help the crippled mortgage-finance and housing markets. Mortgage rates have dropped since the Fed announced the creation of the program late last year.