USA Today's "Economy doesn't leave money market funds unscathed" says, "Money funds are a fixture of today's financial marketplace. Individual investors use them to park cash when moving between investments. Big institutions use them to collect interest on money they may hold only overnight. Consumers put savings in to earn a little interest, in accounts that offer checking privileges, too. But all is not well with the historically reliable money fund industry." Columnist John Waggoner gives an overview of recent issues and quotes Cathy Roy, CIO of fixed income Calvert, "The money market is the financing vehicle for every financial institution out there.... What is key now is to make sure that funds aren't reaching for yield -- which is what got them into this mess in the first place." He also quotes the SEC's Doug Scheidt, "The fact that there have been deep pockets has substantially helped keep problems from trickling down to shareholders." Scheidt speculates, "It could be that there's a market for insured and uninsured money funds." Finally, USA Today quotes our Peter Crane, "I thought (Bernanke's speech) was fabulous news for money funds and money fund investors. It means radical change is off the agenda." Finally, note Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a 60 Minutes interview last night, when asked about bright spots in the government's interventions to date, said, "We're seeing progress in the money market mutual funds."
