PeterPumkin, im not sure if youve been following Anatole's...

PeterPumkin, im not sure if youve been following Anatole's commentary of the current global financial predicament, but he's called the bottom about 15 times so far, the whole time claiming it's a storm in an a tea cup. Some economist he is!! Apart from trotting out any favourable piece of economic data that he can find at that point in time, he provides no fundamental reasons why the US should get out of their current predicament apart from "they always have in the past". I look at the current article and his reference to the median house price measure calculated by the national realtors association, which apparently says that property prices have risen the last few months. Now im not sure about you but if i was looking for an accurate and independent measure of house prices i certainly wouldn't go to the association of real estate agents!! Have a look at the independent S&P case shiller index which indicates that housing prices are indeed falling, and showing no signs of an end, which agree with current foreclosure numbers which get scarier by the month.

I would like to see these economists actually give some fundamental and structural reasons why we should believe the US is going to get themselves out of this mess anytime soon. This is a country that:

1) Has government debts totalling near $10 trillion, with an annual buget deficit of +$500 Bill and increasing
2) Future unfunded liabilities relating to healthcare and social security of approx $40 trillion over the next 50 years.
3) An annual current account defecit of approximately $800 bill
4) Consumer debts at greater than 200% of average incomes. This is more than double any previous credit cycle peak.
5)A mortgage market in the process of nationalisation

How are they attempting to address these massive fundamental issues? All i have seen so far is attempts to keep the debt/consumption/asset bubble merry go round chugging, and bailing out anything and everything that might get in trouble along the way. Does this really sound like a sensible solution considering the predicament i have outlined above? They need to get back to genuine old fashioned production/productivity/savings to restore some of the massive global economic imbalances.

This has been the greatest debt binge in history, and the de-leveraging process will be neither short nor pleasant. I think you should settle in guys this is going to take a while!!