Where best to stash your cash?

As Lehman Brothers bites the dust, the question on everyone's lips is who will be the next Big Cheese of the banking world to succumb to the shame of bankruptcy? Lehman was the fourth largest US investment bank with a long and cherished heritage as a canny player in the money markets. But its demise makes it seem as capable of managing money as a shopaholic at Bluewater, trembling while handing over one loaded credit card after another. As the US Federal Reserve broadens its emergency lending scheme and the UK and European central banks inject almost $40 billion into the financial system, it's time to ask whether enough has been done to regulate the financial industry and protect it against several risks too many. Back on the streets, news that Goliath has fallen makes every David feel proud that they're surviving. Small businesses that are weathering the storm should be congratulating themselves for employing the simple tactics that the money men have failed to observe -- making necessary cut-backs and saving for a rainy day/monsoon season.  For my part, I wonder whether we'd be better stashing our cash under the mattress than trusting greedy banks.