The US Treasury/Fed & Obama certainly caught in a catch 22 not only with stress tests but also with banks aka JPM and Goldman's seeking to repay funds ie what signal will this give the market?
FMac and FMae were subject to stress tests (in 2002?) and passed - and look what happened to them.
Definitely a case of how can we "spin" or market this in the best way.
Worth a watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMuCE1dtFa0&NR=1
Yahoo Tech Ticker - Geithner's Stress Test "A Complete Sham," Former Federal Bank Regulator Says
The bank stress tests currently underway are a complete sham, says William Black, a former senior bank regulator and S&L prosecutor, and currently an Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri - Kansas City. Its a Potemkin model. Built to fool people. Like many others, Black believes the worst case scenario used in the stress test dont go far enough.
