On Monday of last week, the only place cash was sure of its value was in treasuries. The smell coming off money markets was bad.

Coming out of Monday, my feeling was that the Federales had to draw a ring around money markets and bank deposits. Nothing would be allowed to take them out. With FME and FRE already inside the ring, this amounted to the walled city of nomadic survivors in the venerable film, Road Warrior.

Inside was the gasoline that would be the way out, to the new beginning. Outside were the barbarians and marauders – The Humungus (public panic), Wez (banker panic) & the army of misfits (short sellers).

When the financial sun did not rise on Thursday, after money market fund managers drained the commercial paper lake the day before by selling it off or not renewing it, followed by bankers seizing up and closing the lending window to each other and business, the two guys in DC that found themselves with the wheel in February grabbed it and steered for the pits.

With lots of fog and smoke in the air, I don’t believe it’s reasonable to say what this looks like fiscally, out ahead yet. What is AIG worth to a buyer in a forward, stable market as an operating entity, in pieces or whole? I do think there is huge value inside, once it’s fully understood what counterparty risk the CDS’s have AIG impaled to – and whether the US’s action just took that off the table.

We also have a vast portfolio of real estate we’re obligated to buy now, including property from solvent banks. The terms for a qualifying foreclosure or MBS purchase by the RTC_2 will be pivotal. And there will be miles of beggars expecting to be relieved of other bad assets (say no). What does the US have when the dust settles? There’s clearly the chance to earn taxpayer return to pay for the obvious cost.

I came out of Friday with the feeling that the operation pulled off by Treasury & the Federal Reserve was that “…full faith & credit…” pledge behind a debt of the US, executing itself for the benefit of everyone relying on dollars, everywhere.