So, after the Bear Stearns / JPMorgan / Fed hijinx yesterday, are you a believer in 'secret society', 'PPT', 'illuminati, and 'skull & bones' stuff?

Don't worry, I'm not turning into a "truther" nutjob, but damn, you gotta admit what's happening in the financial markets, combined with who's running the show these days, is a bit, well, obvious?

* The president is the son of a president, while the leading candidate to become the next president is the wife of a president. Both went to Yale.

* The US Treasury secretary is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs, who created the mortgage CDO, and is now in charge of cleaning up the mess, while also ensuring that Goldman Sachs survives and thrives

* JPMorgan, with $30 billion from the US Federal Reserve, supposedly buys Bear Stearns after doing a few HOURS of due diligence, for 99% off, avoiding bankruptcy and the unwinding of trillions in derivatives contracts, while wiping out the common shareholders. There are no other bidders or bids.

* Bank of America supposedly buys Countrywide, saving it from sure bankruptcy. There are no other bids or bidders.

* The stock market rallies yesterday minutes after Bush meets with the "Working Group on Financial Markets", i.e. the "Plunge Protection Team"

I could go on, but I figure you guys have the goods.

Follow the money.

How do you like your hedge fund blowups - scrambled or over-easy?

Ah, ya gotta love "our fund isn't blowing up" announcements even though the fund is blowing up. They've gotta do it though - only way to get rid of the assets before they hit firesale pricing.

Deny, Deny, Deny. Then run like the dickens.

LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs said on Thursday that it was "business as usual" at its Global Alpha hedge fund but declined further comment on the fund's operations.

The fund has been the subject of persistent speculation for the past couple of days, with Goldman on Tuesday denying market talk that it was liquidating the fund.

On Thursday, French bank BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) froze 1.6 billion euros ($2.21 billion) worth of funds, citing problems over U.S. subprime mortgages.