Celebrating The TED Spread

The Planet Money folks are celebrating the TED Spread's brief dip below 1.00 today.

So, what's the TED Spread? It's not a fancy dip or a warm blanket, but...

...the difference between the three-month LIBOR (the London interbank offered rate, set each morning for banks borrowing from each other) and the return on a three-month Treasury bill.

Basically, it's a measurement of anxiety among banks. The lower, the better. (The Spread dipped below 4 in mid-October 2008.)