There's a lot of rescue effort underway right now. The new mortgage rescue plan will freeze some variable subprime mortgages at their "low introductory rates." That's good news for a lot of people who overextended themselves, and the cries of moral hazard are already being heard. Concomitantly, the so-called SuperFund, which Citigroup, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase are putting together, has apparently chosen BlackRock to serve as manager. A roadshow is said to be in the works. While interest in the fund may not be running high among investors, it will likely provide some support to the SIV market and help prevent catastrophic sell-offs. These efforts strike me as public-private rescues. Neither can be called a bailout. Both are industry led, not government fed, though the hands of Henry Paulson are all over them. Yet the same moral hazard issues apply. We'll see how they play out. Their main import may be psychological more than economic.  

For more:
- here's a New York Times article on the mortgage plan
- who benefits from the mortgage rescue effort? Article
- here's an AP article on the SuperFund

Related articles:
- What to make of SuperFund
- Credit Crisis to worsen