However, other factors, including a broader retrenchment in the willingness of investors to bear risk, difficulties in valuing complex or illiquid financial products, uncertainties about the exposures of major financial institutions to credit losses, and concerns about the weaker outlook for the economy, have also roiled the financial markets in recent months.

NPR: Economic Swoon to Continue, Bernanke Says

Opponents including the NRA say such a ban violates the constitutional right to bear arms, while Feinstein and other supporters that include law enforcement groups note the previous ban survived several legal challenges.

CNN: Senate panel agrees to new legislation on guns

What may be needed is a rejigging of banks' balance-sheets to try to contain this panic, with a clearer line between those who bear losses, including shareholders and junior creditors, and those, such as depositors, senior creditors and counterparties, who can be assured of business as usual.

ECONOMIST: The task of sorting out banking is far from finished