Is the commodity bubble about to pop? Edward Hadas at BreakingViews.com argues that commodities have become the last refuge for speculators as other bubbles have popped. But it looks like the party is now over.
The Economist talks about the biological reasons why so many people believe in God, gods and religion in general.
Still trying to understand last week’s Fed rate cut? Joachim Fels at Morgan Stanley rejects the notion that the smaller-than-anticipated rate cut reflects an attempt to save some ammunition. “Back in June 2002, the Fed staff produced a widely circulated study of the Japan deflationary experience of the 1990s, which concluded that policymakers should become more aggressive in reducing the target rate as it approaches zero not less.”
Anatole Kaletsky, a columnist at The New York Times, asks: Did last week mark the beginning of the end of the credit crunch, or merely the end of the beginning? Has the liquidity crisis that started last August in the U.S. mortgage market degenerated into a solvency crisis for the global banking system as a whole?
Paul Krugman at The New York Times takes a jab at the U.S. presidential candidates. “Were now in the midst of an epic financial crisis, which ought to be at the center of the election debate. But it isnt.”