1 Franklin National Bank obligingly blows up to end the Fed tightening cycle. 2 Penn Square buckles and so does the Fed. Imagine that, US credit crunch in full swing. 3 In a trifecta, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela default on their sovereign debt. Dontcha just hate it when that happens? 4 So long Continental Illinois and so long Fed monetary tightening. 5 How do you start a Fed monetary easing cycle? A stock market crash like that in '87 usually does the trick every time. 6 S&L's, real estate, junk bonds and mainline US bank equity start to melt down. No worries, monetary policy disaster relief on the way. 7 Orange County slips on a peel and so does Kidder Peabody (at least what was the former Kidder). 8 Asian currency crisis, LTCM and Russian currency crisis all within a few years. Fed cries uncle, news at 11. 9 How does one prick one of the greatest equity bubbles of a generation? With less than 200 basis points of monetary tightening, that's how. Who knew?