The abuse of risk strikes many as a leading cause of the credit meltdown. But now, as the New York Times notes, the discomfort with risk and the need for "absolute safety" may be prolonging the crisis, making a recovery that much harder. You gotta love the irony. The Times points to widening spreads between Fannie and Freddie bonds, and Treasury bonds, as an indication. Agency bonds traditionally have been considered just a notch below Treasury bonds on the safety scale. So this is profound. There were even rumors that the federal government was planning to guarantee agency securities.  

For more:
- here's the New York Times article

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