I find it a bit eerie how this lines up:
In the very midst of the collapse five of the country's most influential bankers hurried to the office of J.P. Morgan & Co., and, after a brief conference, gave out word that they believed the foundations of the market to be sound, and the market smash has been caused by technical, rather than fundamental considerations, and that many sound stocks are selling too low.
Sound familiar? It's from the New York Times, circa October 24, 1929. There is a widespread theory circulating that the government jumps in to support the stock market by purchasing a basket of Dow Industrials stocks. I'm not arguing for or against that, but this article has quotes from the past that are eerily like what we're hearing today.
"Neither assets nor earnings, large as the earnings have been in many instances, warrant the market valuations of hundreds of stock issues. There has been an inflation not free from the charge of criminality, and which has been brought about by misrepresentation, and in many instances dishonest salesmanship...
Again, from October of 1929. If you don't know about the Working Group on Financial Markets, you might want to find out about it. While the PPT may be conspiratorial fiction, the WGFM is definitely real, as is the strong dollar policy.
If it gets to the point where they are cutting margin requirements back from 50%, be very afraid.