When Wachovia, for instance, announced its profit decline earlier this month, it said the deal flow has slowed and investors are skittish in the face of liquidity challenges - which means, until it becomes clearer how deep these losses have been, there's going to be sort of a cloud hanging over Wall Street, and also over the economy as a whole because this affects the housing market.
NPR: Bank of America Reels from Unrest in Credit Market