This phenomenon, in concert with the ongoing and possibly deepening global credit crisis, could also result in unprecedented volatility in the stock market, not to mention currency crises and related economic dislocation.

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Certainly, the huge declines we saw in the stock market following the credit crisis suggested there were no buyers left.

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Quite apart from the risk that some crisis in a currency or stock or credit swap market could cause a meltdown on Wall Street, there is the risk that the public could turn against securities firms, especially those that so visibly wear multiple hats.

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The other metric that we follow very closely is credit spreads, and this is the difference between the yield between the sub-investment-grade bonds and the ten-year Treasuries, where the recent monthly returns in the stock market is favorable, when credit spreads are normal, compared to when spreads are very wide.

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Last year, particularly as credit markets began to tighten, McMoRan had a rocky ride in the stock market.

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"Eventful" may be a horribly euphemistic adjective to describe the last 12 months in the stock market, rife with bailouts, bankruptcies, credit problems and collapses of major financial institutions.

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Separately, the Treasury announced it would increase the mortgage firms' credit lines and might buy their shares, which have been under enormous pressure in the stock market.

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For example, many people credit the tax cuts that President George W. Bush championed in 2003 for boosting economic activity and improving stock market performance.

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