The BBC have an excellent hour of debate over the Wall St meltdown. The list of panellists is weighty indeed:
George Magnus, senior economic adviser, UBS
Ken Courtis, former vice chairman of Goldman Sachs, Asia
Terry Smith, chairman Collins Stewart investment banking group
Jim Chanos, founder and president of Kynikos Associates, a dedicated short-selling hedge fund
BBC business editor Robert Peston.
For those who prefer an unsummery summary:
A more realistic pricetag of an effective US taxpayer bailout is closer to US$3 trillion, including Fannie, Freddie, AIG, etc.
New York and London will be replaced by Hong Kong and Dubai as the banking hubs of the 21st Century.
If any readers are paid in US dollars, now would be a good time to change one's remuneration currency. The days of a hard US currency is over for the foreseeable.
There will be a return to strong and sound financial fundamentals in the banking sector, at least until next time.
