Bernanke's Bluff: "This is nothing like the Great Depression" - er...the US has been in a recession for a year and are still struggling to admit that (The R word) is happening

NVDL: If they can't admit to a recession, you can bet your bottom dollar they can't see a Depression looming. Worse, they're too distracted by their own myopia to do anything useful or practical to stave off a long term crisis. Like what? Investment in alternative transport arrangements - GM should become GR - no longer General Motors but General Railways. And extensive investments in alternative energies. And it should be clear that now, no one can afford to go to war.

clipped from www.ft.com But Ben Bernanke, US Federal Reserve chairman, sought to allay concerns that the US was entering a period of economic stress on par with the Great Depression. “Let’s put that out of our minds,” Mr Bernanke said in a speech in Austin, Texas. “There’s no comparison in terms of severity.” New car sales slumped across the world, including a near 50 per cent fall in Spain. The gloom prompted a near 9 per cent fall in the S&P 500 index, reversing gains made last week, while the 10-year Treasury yield fell to its lowest level for more than half a century.