Breezhnev: My God, you really don’t know how to properly argue a point, do you?

Read my paragraph that you have highlighted. Note where I say that we were “on the verge” in 1998 with LTCM and that, given the much, much larger exposure today in terms of size, that we would cause systemic collapse. Can you grasp the nettle and see the distinction?

1998 = close to collapse and with much smaller exposure and far smaller derivatives market.

2009 = collapse due to much larger exposure and far larger market. With me so far?

Using that very same example, Russia’s banking system is nowhere near the size of ours, nor does it have anywhere near the same level of complexity as ours does.

Both examples are apples and oranges and not apples and apples. Sheesh. It’s like not knowing the difference between an investment bank and a commercial bank =).