'Manageable'

". . the crisis began with losses in the $1.3 trillion market for 'subprime' mortgages, many of which were 'securitized' -- bundled into bonds and sold to investors. With all U.S. stocks and bonds worth about $50 trillion in 2007, the losses should have been manageable. They weren't, because no one knew how large losses might become or which institutions held the suspect subprime securities. Moreover, many financial institutions were thinly capitalized. They depended on borrowed funds; losses could wipe out their modest capital."

From "The Confidence Game" by Robert J. Samuelson, appearing in The Washington Post September 22, 2008.