Gee, that “record high” didn’t last long, did it? It’s been a few days, and already with the latest drop there’s whining:

Dealmakers, investors and home owners in the United States are facing a grim summer as conditions for borrowers get worse.

Until recently, there has been a seemingly unlimited supply of cheap money to fuel leveraged buyouts and other takeovers. There was also an easy flow of mortgage money available before the housing market turned south and the crisis erupted in subprime mortgages made to borrowers with poor credit.

But now investors are showing a greater disdain for risky debt - and fears about a looming credit crunch have shaken investor confidence worldwide. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged 311 points Thursday - its second-worst day of the year - and sent global stock markets reeling. The Dow opened lower Friday as well but later stabilized and was little changed in mid-morning. […]

Tighter credit is troubling to investors for two reasons. It’s likely to slow the buyout boom that’s helped prop up stock prices. And it could raise the cost of borrowing for companies, hurting corporate earnings. To date, there have been roughly 20 buyout-related debt deals that have been postponed as credit markets have tightened.

Listen carefully here: If debt & easy credit are so important to growth that the slightest insignificant move away from it is painted as a crisis, then that growth was false in the first place. In the long run it’s for the best for this bubble to go away.

Frankly, I’m skeptical of the idea of credit itself to be honest with you. Ever since those first “you’ve been pre-approved!” notices for credit cards started popping up in my mailbox.