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those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it -- and how many have heard of the panic of 1907? last night i watched the news unfold on bloomberg, ft and other sites as lehman was left to fail. the surprise move by lewis at bofa to acquire merrill lynch immediately reminded me of j.p. morgan's famous maneuvers in the panic of 1907.

when faced with cascading bank failures and asked to prop up the house in greatest danger, he resisted the pressure to fund what he considered a doomed enterprise. instead, he sought out the next bank in the line of fire that could actually be saved. in creating such a firewall the panic of 1907 burned itself out in a matter of weeks.

2008 -- in a crisis that has already lasted more than a year, and seems to continually plumb new depths, its hard to see this move as the point where things begin to turn back. but that is the way of markets, it is always easier in hindsight to spot the turning points.

as tens of thousands of lehman and merrill employees rapidly flood the market with resumes -- it puts the security of our small home and our decision to simplify life into sharp perspective. i think i'll turn off the computer now and play outside with the kids.