Global economic crisis – A six-month tally of woe

In October 2008, Alan Greenspan, the 1987 to 2006 chairman of the US Federal Reserve, testified before congressional leaders in Washington saying “I was shocked when the system broke down, my ideology and model that I always believed in proved me wrong.” He hastened to add that, “the crisis will pass” and that the then proposed $700 billion rescue package “is adequate to serve the needs.” In December 2008, he went on to say that “the global stock market value wiped out this year is $30 trillion, but human nature being what it is, we can count on a market reversal within six months to a year.” Six months into the crisis, economic reality defies Mr. Greenspan’s assessments and predictions. The lost value in stocks has reached $50 trillion — nearly double his estimate and almost as much as last year’s world global output that is estimated to be $55