Doomed, Doomed, Thrice Doomed

[Marina]

Fantastic doom posting Marina, absolutely the best one we've ever had.

Gotta say Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is a big help though, as practically all his articles these days have an air of deep gloom.

[BlasterBates]

Fantastic doom posting Marina, absolutely the best one we've ever had.

[Marina]

Thankfully, gormless tells us we are better placed than most economies to ride out the global storm. Thnaks to his prudence, etc. He's saved us before and he can do it again

sink like a stone in

[Old Greg]

I'm not a natural Torygraph reader but you've got to love Ambrose Evans-Pritchard.

[TimberWolf]

Thankfully, gormless tells us we are better placed than most economies to ride out the global storm. Thnaks to his prudence, etc. He's saved us before and he can do it again

[Xenophon]

On the upside

Two loggerhead turtles, which were washed up on the south-west UK coast this winter, have been flown to Gran Canaria and released back into the sea.

[Marina]

Global economy faces deep slowdown, warns central bankers' club

The global economy may be heading for a far deeper crisis than is expected and a bout of deflation in the world's biggest economies is now a possibility, according to one of the world's most highly regarded economic institutions.

The Bank for International Settlements has warned that many in the City and elsewhere may have underestimated the scale of the coming economic downturn in one of its most sombre portraits yet of the international financial system.

The Swiss institution - known as the central bankers' bank - issued the alert in its annual report, released today.

It warned that the sub-prime crisis in financial markets was merely a reflection of growing debt burdens in the developed world, which could soon contribute to a deep slowdown.

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Barclays warns of a financial storm as Federal Reserve's credibility crumbles

US central bank accused of unleashing an inflation shock that will rock financial markets, reports Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Barclays Capital has advised clients to batten down the hatches for a worldwide financial storm, warning that the US Federal Reserve has allowed the inflation genie out of the bottle and let its credibility fall "below zero".

"We're in a nasty environment," said Tim Bond, the bank's chief equity strategist. "There is an inflation shock underway. This is going to be very negative for financial assets. We are going into tortoise mood and are retreating into our shell. Investors will do well if they can preserve their wealth."

Barclays Capital said in its closely-watched Global Outlook that US headline inflation would hit 5.5pc by August and the Fed will have to raise interest rates six times by the end of next year to prevent a wage-spiral. If it hesitates, the bond markets will take matters into their own hands. "This is the first test for central banks in 30 years and they have fluffed it. They have zero credibility, and the Fed is negative if that's possible. It has lost all credibility," said Mr Bond.

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BIS slams central banks, warns of worse crunch to come

The central bankers' bank renews fear of second depression, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

A year ago, the Bank for International Settlements startled the financial world by warning that we might soon face challenges last seen during the onset of the Great Depression. This has proved frighteningly accurate.

The venerable body, the ultimate bank of central bankers, said years of loose monetary policy had fuelled a dangerous credit bubble that would entail "much higher costs than is commonly supposed".

In a pointed attack on the US Federal Reserve, it said central banks would not find it easy to "clean up" once property bubbles have burst.

If only we had all listened to the BIS a long time ago. Ensconced in its Swiss lair, it has fired off anathemas for years, struggling to uphold orthodoxy against the follies of modern central banking.

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