Out of control: credit

By: Casper de Vries, Erasmus University Rotterdam

The Fed deliberately ignored traditional indicators that provided early warning about the credit crisis to come.

Ben's depression

By: Wolfgang Münchau

A return to a monetary policy to stabilise prices ended the Great Depression in the 1930s. This time it will work the other way round. Once the Fed is forced back onto a path of price stability, our depression will begin.

A crisis is in store for Spain's election victor

Whoever wins Sunday's Spanish elections will have to sort out a huge mess. Spanish house price are set to fall by 50% in real terms, as the country's bubble-growth model is imploding.

The UK can no longer rely on being cool

Economic reality is catching up with the UK. The UK's economic miracle was little more than an overlong joyride on the back of an overlong asset price bubble.

The death of German corporatism

It was always clear that German corporatism would not survive the first half of the 21st century. What was less clear was how long this process would last and which form its destruction would take. Two important events last week greatly accelerated that process.

Forget about deflation

A global deflationary depression is highly unlikely even if the credit crisis has systemic effects. The real risk stemming from the Federal Reserve's interest rate policies is a meltdown in global bond markets.