MPH 2008

Darling's plan may stave off depression

Two of his innovations may stabilise the banking system. But it will be only a small mercy

Act of faith needed

Government must offer a temporary guarantee on all liabilities of all banks - with no qualifications, no ifs and no buts

We must encourage confidence in banks

The only real guarantee against panic is the knowledge that government will stand behind banks that are 'too big to fail'

'Punish bankers' is not a rescue plan

If Congress fails to pass some kind of support package, then banks around the world will continue to fall like dominoes

The bailout will still go ahead in some form

A definitive collapse of the US bailout would be nationalisation of all leading banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions

Hank just didn't have a clue

US Treasury Secretary's staggering incompetence is now acknowledged and is a disaster for Bush

After a breathless week, I'm optimistic again

Fears of bank failures and financial panics should soon disappear as the US Treasury takes radical new steps

Failure will bring down all the banks

If the Lloyd's-HBOS merger does not work, wholesale nationalisation of banks is inevitable

Hank Paulson has created a crisis

The US Treasury Secretary has made the rescue of other troubled banks almost impossible

Financial chaos does not rule out recovery

There is no contradiction between expecting a recovery, or stability, in the US economy and chaos in its financial system

We're all capitalists now? Not any longer

An historic turning point has been reached: the West is ditching its faith in free markets and private enterprise

Falling pound? The only way is up

Despite the Government's ineffective ‘rescue package', the outlook is looking brighter for Britain

Crisis? Darling’s just got his figures wrong

The Chancellor’s reputation for frankness makes his political blunder worse; it reveals a basic ignorance of economic facts

The Republicans need a good kicking

The Democrats may be faltering - but they must keep faith that the electorate will punish Bush

UK will not be the 'sick man of Europe'

Does the fact that Britain's 16-year period of uninterrupted growth ended this week really matter to anyone but statisticians?

Sell-off puts a spoke in Brown's wheel

Breaking-up BAA will improve passenger conditions and save Britain from an environmental disaster

Pessimists base gloom on old news

My view remains that this credit crunch episode is likely to be remembered as one of those extremes of panic in financial markets

Treasury needs a new golden rule fast

Abandoning Gordon Brown's framework for fiscal prudence is no bad thing. It made no sense at all

The real reason bankers feel so gloomy

We could be on the verge on the greatest slump of all time... if you ignore the encouraging figures

Financial woes, not economic crisis

Every now and then markets make spectacular blunders, losing touch with the real economy of consumption, investment and employment