Japan, the worlds number two economy, today annouced a quarterly fall of 4% in its GDP. Annualized this becomes a 15.2% fall. Its the biggest ever recorded, the worst since WW2, its simply a massive loss of GDP in a massive economy.
Like most things that fall off a cliff there will be a bounce. There are a lot of hopes being pinned on this being the bottom. I think that's as tragic as in Blackadder Goes Fourth when George believes the guns have stopped because the war is over and announces with delight "the Great War 1914 to 1917...."
The worlds major economies have mortgaged the future, slashed interest rates to the floor and flooded money supply. None of which is desireable. Simply to avoid anarchic economic collapse and get us this pause for breath. The flightplan to a sound, expansionary, global economy is a long and challenging one.
Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
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