The Great Depression of the 21st Century: Collapse of the Real Economy

The financial crisis is deepening, with the risk of seriously disrupting the system of international payments.

This crisis is far more serious than the Great Depression. All major sectors of the global economy are affected. Recent reports suggest that the system of Letters of Credit as well as international shipping, which constitute the lifeline of the international trading system, are potentially in jeopardy.

The proposed bank “bailout” under the so-called Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is not a “solution” to the crisis but the “cause” of further collapse.

European stock markets in freefall following Paris financial summit

The response of European stock markets to the crisis summit held in Paris on Saturday could have not been clearer. On Monday, share prices across Europe plummeted.

The Dax (Frankfurt) lost 7 percent, the TecDax 11 percent, the FTSE 100 (London) 8 percent and the CAC 40 (Paris) 9 percent. In Iceland, share trading was halted altogether. Following the nationalisation of the country’s third biggest bank, the government itself was threatened with bankruptcy.