How abnormal was the stock market in October 2008?

By: Paul De Grauwe, Leonardo Iania, Pablo Rovira Kaltwasser

Last month saw a stock market move with a probability of occurring only once in 73,357,946,799,753,

900,000,000 years. What does this tell us about modern finance?

The depression of 2009

Wrong government policies on both sides of the Atlantic are turning a crisis into a catastrophe.

The Credit Crunch – In 2008 The Worst May Keep Getting Worse

By: Satyajit Das

2007 may come to associated with the start of the "big" credit crunch. 2008 has begun with a number of "unresolved" items. Hope of an early resolution seems to be fading. In the words of Lily Tomlin, the American comedian: "Things are going to get a lot worse before they are going to get worse."

Euro Coin Indicator signals a sharp downturn ahead

In January 2008 €-coin points to a marked slowdown in euro area underlying growth rate (0.38%, it was 0.54% in December). The sharp drop in €-coin is due to the dismal turnout in stock markets this month and weakness of industrial productions recorded in November.

Getting desperate

There is clear blue water between us and the Americans

Why this US recession is going to be long and ugly

By: By Wolfgang Munchau

No two recessions are alike. The worst type of recessions are those that are accompanied by a financial crisis, such as this one. This is why the US recession will not respond well to interest rate cuts.