Four Seasons

Old country saves the New World

The Brown-Bush, Darling-Paulson plan is an explicit repudiation of the first iteration of the US Administration’s proposals

Let’s reconsider Bretton Woods again

Pascal Lamy, the head of the World Trade Organisation, called for the creation of a new Bretton Woods system

Making his own weather in the storm

The banking crisis was a lucky break for Obama. But he has an ability to make the most of it

Doctors must stop their squabbling

The world's financial system needs emergency action to restore confidence. The longer that takes, the weaker it gets

Economy is taxing McCain’s fortune

The Republican candidate's performance on economic issues during the election campaign has been deeply unimpressive

Credit crunch talk is rubbish

Capitalism is dead. America has gone socialist. Europe has shown the way. Oh yes?

Only governments can save us from storm

It is already too late to avoid a period of real economic misery. But there may still be time to avoid a catastrophe

If Paulson is wrong, we can only pray

US Treasury Secretary might soon have to go back down on his knees and plead with an even higher authority for intervention

The election you wouldn't want to win

November's victor could be a one-term disaster but a great president may follow him

Nagging questions remain over bailout plan

There are growing misgivings about whether the $700bn rescue plan is going to be effective in stopping the rot

At last, a route map out of the wreckage

The US authorities finally seem to have arrived at the place where most serious analysts thought they needed to be long ago

More regulation will harm, not help

It is easy to feel that ‘Something Must be Done. But it is a temptation we should resist

Politicians meddle in markets at their peril

Governments could push much too hard in the opposite direction and sacrifice many of the gains that markets have made

The speechmaker is being rumbled

There is a yawning gulf between what Obama says and how he acts. That's why the race is so close

It’s still the economy, stupid

Absent from either Republican or Democratic agenda is a serious plan for dealing with the crisis at the root of US economic stress

A new kind of western conservatism

Sarah Palin's thrilling convention speech showed that Alaska's governor is a force to reckoned with

Republicans can sidestep a political storm

As Gustav bore down on the Gulf coast, McCain's advisers had no choice but to throw over plans for the Republican convention

Choosing Palin is a risky gamble

John McCain has stolen the Democrats' clothes as the progressive party, but her inexperience could expose the Republicans

Obama reels off same-old promises

While his speech addressed problems that have weakened his campaign, it may in the end have done some new damage

Comment: McCain isn't Bush

The Democrats' strategy is to make the election look like a rerun of 2000 and 2004