The Ten Biggest Stock Market Crashes of All Time

Some investors might think they have had a rough ride on the stock market over the past seven or eight months. But the recent share price gyrations pale into insignificance when compared with the biggest stock market falls of all time.

10) Wall Street 1901-03: -46%
The market was spooked by the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, coupled with a severe drought later the same year.

9) Wall Street 1919-21: -46%
There were fears that the new automobile sector was becoming overheated and that car ownership had reached saturation point.

8) Wall Street 1906-07: -48%
Markets took fright after President Theodore Roosevelt had threatened to rein in the monopolies that flourished in various industrial sectors, notably railways.

7) Wall Street 1937-38: -49%
This share price fall was triggerd by an economic recession and doubts about the effectiveness of Franklin D Roosevelt's New Deal policy.

6) London 2000-2003: -52%
The UK took sixth place in the table with a 52 per cent market fall between 2000 and 2003 as investors suffered the consequences of the collapse of the technoogy bubble

5) Hong Kong 1997-98: -64%
The Hong Kong stock market’s heavy fall in 1997-1998 came as investors deserted emerging Asian shares, including a very overheated Hong Kong stock market

4) London 1973-74: -73%
Next came the UK stock market’s 73 per cent drop in 1973 and 1974. set against the backdrop of a dramatic rise in oil prices, the miners’ strike and the downfall of the Heath government.

3) Japan 1990-2003: -79%
In third place, with a 79 per cent decline, was the Japanese stock market, which suffered a protracted slide in price from 1990 to 2003 as a share and property price bubble burst and turned into a deflationary nightmare.

2) US Nasdaq 2000-2002: -82%
The second biggest collapse came from the technology-rich US Nasdaq index, which fell by 82 per cent following the bursting of the dot.com bubble in 2000

1) Wall Street 1929-32: -89%
The Wall Street Crash heads the list, with the US stock market falling by 89 per cent between 1929 and 1932. The bursting of the speculative bubble led to further selling as people who had borrowed money to buy shares had to cash them in in a hurry when their loans wre called in.

David Shwartz, the stock market historian, says: “The very big stock market crashes are invariably triggered by a series of different events which unfold one after the other. For example the biggest UK stock market slump in 1973-74 was started by the fear of stagflation, but was then fuelled by the dramatic rise in oil prices of late 1973, followed by the Miners’ strike and the downfall of the Heath government. One heavy blow is not enough to produce a market crash. It requires several different blows to bring a market to its knees.”

(This list only includes stock market crashes in industrialised economies.)

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Comments

[Grant]

6 of 10 originated in the US, hasn't anyone learned anything from this?

[Sam Eagleson]

GRANT you're anni-Amerrricurnnn, Goddamn commie pinko lefty Moscow thingamjig.

[Julian]

Whatever

[John]

The "technoogy bubble"? (See under 6.) I like it!

[Ross Johns]

Does anyone know why continental European exchanges have never sufffered similar size market crashes to the US and UK?

[American hero...]

Dare I suggest it is because the french are too busy eating cheeze and surrendering to monkezs or something to know anything about markets?

[Pierre Bernardi]

Ah see. So knowing about markets is an important factor in creating a crash. Passez-moi du brie, s'il vous plaît.

[julie]

There was a much bigger crash on the Moscow market in 1936 but Stalin hushed it up.

[Awaiting a crash]

Cheeze? What is monkezs?

Interesting article though!

[dave]

i'm afraid the greatest crash is yet to come and i'm afraid it's just around the corner

[ted]

Noticed how volatile the last 20 years have been?? That happened with no major conflicts and with the end of the cold war. So much for the technology....

[Jimmy Cliff]

Re US, London Japan having the largest falls: The bigger they come the harder they fall

[Joe]

Time to buy gold while it's still affordable, methinks!

Will this be deemed a Global crash to suck up to American jingoism`s ?

[Mark]

To include Nasdaq in there is a bit unfair, particularly since your numbers appear to be based on the Nasdaq 100 as opposed to the Nasdaq Composite index. Effectively you are comparing a tech-dominated subset of a subset of the US market. You should include London's Techmark in there as well if that is the case. Not to mention the European submarkets that were created in response to the techboom - the Neuer Markt/Easdaq etc. Then you would end up with an even geographic dispersion for busts in the last 50 years (any time before that is almost an irrelevence).

[Kim]

Perhaps the reason that mainland Europe does not feature in the list is that no single country in the EU represents a significant exchange centre. The main stock exchange in Europe is in London, hence our featuring in the list.

[Bill Liverpool]

The EU zone will crash and the pound will be back and we British will simply buy up Europe once again

[Matt]

So lets see..
73-74 London Crash vs current trends:
Dramatic oil price increase - check
Stagflation - check
Increasing civil unrest - check
Change of Government - cant be far off..

May be time to start training to be a bailiff.

[bullhead]

moscow, 1998, defolt
almost to zero

[DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD]

Please respect France and all of its assets, including its innovative way of doing business (even if it is about producing and selling lucrative cheese or champagne)...

[Paul]

Roll on the property crash. At least my rapidly depreciating savings will be able to buy something!

[Julian TSB]

Everyone have to just stop taking sickies and come back to work and nobody will fall..

[jack]

and can anyone tell me just how long it took for the crash of 1929 to roll out.
If you think this latest debacle is over I'm happy for you .

[Stuart Parr]

The tone of discussion is always significantly lowered once the Americans start posting.

[kevin]

"The tone of discussion is always significantly lowered once the Americans start posting."

S.Parr

That is because they are Americans. Soon they will not be able to afford a postage stamp so let's enjoy their worthless banter whilst they can afford it.

[Chuck]

Kevin, worthless banter? Try not to be so smug. In any case, be careful what you wish for...

[Bob]

Used to be the French that thought they were better than everyone else? The bigger the market the broader the shifts.

[bkalex]

USA is strongest country on the world they will resolve it as quickly as possible. There will be no any uncertain situation in housing and banking market in couple years then everything is going to turn to normal business routine. of course it is inconvenient now, But it is just temporarily.God safe USA. All global world have been trying to resolve it, but business is still running and despite of some stupid comments from transitional economy's slaves.

[Ashlea]

STUART and KEVIN

The "tone" ? :-) I say, how frightfully proper of you. Thanks ever so much for my laugh of the week. Took me right back to my Brighton schooldays.

[Wes]

"Soon they will not be able to afford a postage stamp"

Crap. Did I forget to put the postage stamp on this message?

[Togobeyond]

Neither the EU nor the world will be spared from the massive economic downturn that's coming. It started with oil prices going up all goods need to be transported even the shirt on your back, then the dollar going down, then it was gold and other metals, then poor banking in housing now we have rice and grain shortages spreading in Asia and elsewhere followed by food riots in some places. Invest your money wisely people the signs are all there for the coming storm.

[Jenny Hyatt]

Much talk of economic recession is depersonalised as if the rates of suicide and mental health breakdowns that accompany economic downturn are by-products rather than human tragedies. An important time to consider how we are going to manage human not monetary depression which is already set to become the second largest global health issue by 2020. Jenny Hyatt, Founder, bigwhitewall.com

[Michel Jutharat]

Please notice Frenchies are not only selling cheese and champagne, but also Airbus A380, key-in-hands nuclear power plants, high speed trains, Ariane space launchers, and mainstream of luxurious items your wives like so much (Dior, Chanel, Vuitton, etc, etc...)
And real estate here remains untouched ! Is it that bad???

[George]

You think they're sending their replies in by post? Wow, Kevin, you're an idiot.

Regarding the European markets, the Dax went from 7600 to 2400 2000-03, worse than the UK so this list isn't complete.

[Neil]

I'd rather be an American at the moment. At least they can still produce goods. In England the few things we make are owned by others.

[Sanny]

73-74
It was as a consequence of this that the Westminster government of the day and subsequent governments suppressed the publication of the McCrone Report of 1974. This report showed that with its newly discovered oil resources Scotland would have been the wealthiest nation in Europe. Instead Westminster sequestered the oil revenue to prop up its bankrupt economy.

Scotland became aware of this theft only a couple of years ago and will in time make Westminster pay!! My nation suffered in order that the politicians in westminster could continue to ride the gravy train.

[Anon]

The biggest crash is soon to come and it will happen because the powers that be will allow it to happen..
These are the same powers that are already so rich their bankrolls couldn't feel the hit of a recession/depression anyway - so no big loss, except to the poor and middle class.

That may be how Bush and Co. plan to usher us toward a North American Union..

[Todd]

The "technoogy" bubble? I have got to get in on that.

[e skelton]

Stalin didn't cover up the Moscow crash of 1936. It was caused by deviant Trotsyite saboteurs who freely confessed their guilt and begged to be purged for the sake of Soviet finance. Geez...the sheer historical ignorance of some capitalist running dogs!

[Stephane]

Kim, before the Pound is be back and before British simply buy up Europe once again, I'll buy 2 of your cheap properties in Chester as your housing market dropped 10% and your Pound dropped 30% against Euro. Saving equals 40%. That is a proper crash..

[John]

Let's see how the Chinese A-share crash is going to continue. Now around -50% since last October. We may well see index at 2000 points later on. That would be same level drop as was Hong Kong in 1997-98.

[Outsider - caught-up-in-it]

RE: Posted by: Bill Liverpool | 16 Apr 2008 13:26:19
"So lets see..
73-74 London Crash vs current trends:
Dramatic oil price increase - check
Stagflation - check
Increasing civil unrest - check
Change of Government - cant be far off.."

DON'T FORGET THE SOARING FOOD COSTS!!!

It's predictable and scary.

Anyone watched "Zeitgeist"? Check out zeitgeistmovie.com if you really want to know what's going on... But, be aware - it's 2hrs long, and will challenge most of what you currently perceive to be reality. If you only want to see the FINANCIAL ISSUES IT DEALS WITH fast forward to 1hr 9mins into the movie, I dare you.

[Jack Ian Mayer]

Let me be as succinct as possible. Historically speaking: USA sneezes, the rest of the world goes into cardiac failure.
Even Haliburton can't build walls high or fast enough to keep out all that are praying for the day they can enter.
France recently wised up and gave the boot to the marxist hordes. Dare I say we should follow suit in the fall? Oh my, I cant believe Im saying:...Vive le France. No cheese for me. Its bad for the heart. Dont mind sniffles.

[mark mcfarland]

This is a lazy nonsense survey. Where is Taiwan 1989?. Down 79%. Bangladesh 1995/96? Down 74%. These are just a few. And then there's the Hang Seng 1971-1974?. Down 91%. Bigger than anything on your survey.

[Just another John]

It is a bit misleading if it does not show the height of the market before the fall. When the tech bubble burst, shares were selling at 100 times earnings. The panic about a fall from the 15-25 times that the market is experiencing now is like a mother in a panic that her child will fall off the sidewalk.

[G Garden]

Cheese eating surrender monkeys and Burger-eating invasion monkeys please be quiet. You are lowering the tone.

[Mr. Ed]

Whether you eat cheese, burgers, rice or Beef Wellington, we are all looking at increased food prices and shortages. Ye who live on an island the size of the US state of Oregon and rely heavily on others for 40% of your food imports, best be considering who's toes ye step on for ego sake. The UK can no longer push people around the globe to provide them with staples for their kitchens. You have to compete, so be nice children.

[Martin Mather]

I hope the Government & the Chancellor are aware of the corporate aims of the banking industry who are about to fleece the UK so comprehensively of any remaining wealth, of which we have plenty today. Once the Bank of England have paid off the corporates' vulnerable mortgage funding balances, they, the corporates, are preparing to engineer a huge market crash, as they will then be able to buy back properties at less than half of their current value.
At present, the banks are working hard to maintain the very highest property prices to support & secure their lending. Take away the need to do this, globally, with fifty billion pounds of funding and it will seem like daddy has just paid off your credit card. No more liabilities, money to spend on other things, but they will not want to pay the excessively high prices for anything we're all complaining about today.
The crash, big enough to rival 1929, will probably happen by the year end, if not sooner, not long after the Bank of England makes its move to cover corporate debt in the UK. This is a gift to all banks operating in the UK, including the US banks, which have had a rough time at home where the US debt & the war overheads push their economy towards desperation, versus China and even India & the many other faster growing world nations.
The pound will then soon equate to the ever strengthening euro, possibly again by the year end, move your money abroad now, sell your properties now, fast, as so many investment managers are doing daily while they can get away with it. Has anyone sounded the alarm? Well no, such an idea would harm the economy today, pre-empt the forthcoming timed demise of the economy & when this happens, as it is set to do so perfectly now the banks are engineering the Chancellor blindly into a corner, it affects the banks today as opposed to the Labour Government tomorrow.
Of course everyone will rush again to blame the Labour PM & Chancellor, but it will only be their fault in so far as they have not seen it coming.
Or have they?
I am preparing fast to sell up everything, even my car, to put my money abroad into Euros & like the banks, my money may come back here when other people are really poor and properties are cheap, repossessed, even nationalised against the outstanding mortgage debt, owned by the Bank of England, which will be truly crippling.
The next fall of the Bank will be colossal, historic, bigger than 9/11 in terms of impact & cost.
And it's all being set up to arrive when the Bank of England do all the corporate jugglers a favour & remove the reason to keep their financial balls in the air.
Watch it all collapse, by the end of 2008, for sure
Now let's see what the Chancellor does, what the PM does, worry about the 10p tax if you dare, but saving it for the poor people will do nothing in comparison to the imminent financial crash. The crash will ensure people really are poor, for decades to come, we will have been taken to the cleaners in the biggest possible way and every single ordinary person in the UK will have paid.
Inflation here will soon hit in excess of twenty per cent, the $ will return to 1.6 or even as low 1.4 against the £, the euro may soon reach parity or even exceed the £ value - food & fuel prices will explode almost destroying society. All by the year end, all when the Bank of England set off the crash, any day now. This is what will happen when they guarantee & buy off a hyper inflated & ultra risky mortgage market, in one total bite.
Not drama, fact. Do you want to do nothing now? Consider it. I've heard from many financially astute friends & the whispers are rife, they are acting, selling, moving funds, right now.
Not the fault of Labour, but avoidable by Labour, if they act right & do it now, if they don't permit the Bank of England to take over what will soon be worthless mortgage assets, then nothing of the sort can happen.
The corporates can't afford to lose it all, can they?
I hope Mr Darling concurs; he may yet use the same crystal ball as the others. If the Bank of England really do save the corporate mortgages, then every one of us, citizens of Labour Britain, will have been sold down the river unlike any other period in British history and to an extent that no-one will, sitting relatively comfortably as we are today, believe the extent of the poverty & deprivation we'll bring to the UK before the year end. Time to speak out, far more important than any change to the tax laws people, allowing the Bank of England to pay-off the corporates really will be the end for us all financially, for many decades, unless of course, you already know it's coming. Boy scouts and bankers, be prepared.

[B Walker]

Forget about stock markets, what about currencies? When they fail they lose 100% of their value. Surely the French experience in this realm eclipses any abscence from the greatest stock market crashes of all time. Not to be outdone, the USA is about to trump them in a spectacular fashion.

[American Big Boss Man]

I'm always amazed at the stupidity of some Americans. But I'm even more amazed at how the ignorant Brits and Eurotrash remain above water.

Americans are 5% of the world's population and have won over 60% of the Nobel Prizes. We are the world's greatest country and greatest people. Be careful of what you say, Mister Bush might just take you down.

[Julia]

I invested in the FTSE in 2003 and came out after two years with a 40% gain, so personally, I'm laughing all the way to the bank!

[Zeev Reuteman]

The mortgage crisis is not going to get any better. That's the end of the "credit fueled paper economy" we have been stretching since gold was forsaken decades ago. Bank are running short of cash because the never had it in the first place. They only had "stamped promises" sustained on credit collaterals.

Sooner or later it was going to collapse just like those "pyramid systems" of the 80s where the last to join bore the crunch of cash. We've reached the solid bottom of the pyramid.

Wake up!; The dream is over! The whole World Economy is doomed because the system only works if it's fueled by further credits and these wont be coming. We now have to face THE LONG NIGHTMARE.

[cyrus]

What a bunch of nationalist morons. That goes mainly to all the Americans who have never even been outside their state and still have WW2 stereotypes of Europe. Maybe go to France sometime? You can learn something from their energy program and social institutions which make the americans look pretty prehistoric.

The EU is the biggest economy in the world. Bigger than the USA+Canada combined. The EU trades primarily through london. The reason Europe has been *relatively* more stable is simply more prudent financial management compared to the americans. Most of these collapses are related to each other anyway, these markets dont exist in a vacuum.

-Unpatriotic, progressive European (British).

[Dave in Dallas]

Crashes and the "irrational exuberance" of markets are nothing new. The first one most agree on was in the first part of the 17th century, around 1636–37 in the Netherlands. The "Tulip Bubble" caused a crash that has defined the terms "crash" and "bubble" in economic terms since.

We recovered from that one, and all subsequent crashes, we'll recover from the current one. It's only a question of how deep and how long..

[Dave in Dallas]

Crashes and the "irrational exuberance" of markets are nothing new. The first one most agree on was in the first part of the 17th century, around 1636–37 in the Netherlands. The "Tulip Bubble" caused a crash that has defined the terms "crash" and "bubble" in economic terms since.

We recovered from that one, and all subsequent crashes, we'll recover from the current one. It's only a question of how deep and how long..

[Paul in CT USA]

PERHAPS TODAY'S MARKET IS "TOO BIG TO FAIL"? ... AND PERHAPS IS NOT?

[Charlotte]

Zeuv - you're so right. The mother of all crashes is around the corner. Our debt-based currency system is a giant ponzi scheme which relies on "growth" to pay the interest. However we have reached the limits of "growth" as natural resources are finite - in particular oil. It is called peak oil, and it actually means "peak everything", and that includes food. (So, if you have a garden - start planting now!)

Enjoy the view from the peak, because it is downhill all the way from here folks.

PS. Research the facts carefully and you might find this is by design.

[NJ]

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WILLING IT TO HAPPEN? HAVE YOU PEOPLE NOT HEARD OF TEMPTING FATE! IF YOU'RE ALL SO CONVINCED WE'RE HEADING FOR THE MOTHER OF ALL DEPRESSIONS/RECESSIONS THEN WHY NOT PUT A BET ON IT - YOU'LL WIN SOME OF YOUR MONEY BACK IF IT'S SUCH A CERTAINTY.

[So funny...]

This is so funny, every time there is an un-unadministered message board involving yanks and pomms it kicks off! Yanks always think they're above everyone else, despite causing most of the world's problems, and they get all wound up when the Brits point out their misgivings in a very british and curt manner.

I'm afraid that, being an impartial witness, the yanks ALWAYS make themselves look ridiculuous and arrogant (check the 'postage stamp' comeback. ha ha) and the brits, despite being usually pretty pompous and self-rightous, win easily.

When will the yanks give up and ACCEPT SOME CRITICISM!!

[Sawdring]

Let us all remember whose security structure Europe's stability has been based on for the last sixty years. The US is the political, cultural, economic, scientific and military center of the planet and whatever happens to the US happens two-fold to other nations and conglomerate look alikes.

[So funny...]

This is so funny, every time there is an un-unadministered message board involving yanks and pomms it kicks off! Yanks always think they're above everyone else, despite causing most of the world's problems, and they get all wound up when the Brits point out their misgivings in a very british and curt manner.

I'm afraid that, being an impartial witness, the yanks ALWAYS make themselves look ridiculuous and arrogant (check the 'postage stamp' comeback. ha ha) and the brits, despite being usually pretty pompous and self-rightous, win easily.

When will the yanks give up and ACCEPT SOME CRITICISM!!

[So funny...]

You are all soo boring...
obsessed with personal gain, materialism, socail standing.

I and many like me are waiting for the crash to come - so we can take to the streets and re-build a society that is not built on the egos of the greedy and cruel.

You people will be first against the wall when the revolution comes.

- anonymous

[JohnF.]

Well, I'm an American. But I'll do my best not to lower the tone. Ignorance among my fellow countrymen is rife, it's true. Many have never left the U.S. and even some of those who have managed somehow to keep insights about the global economy and non-U.S. society and culture at arm's length.

And that, of course, is a tragedy... maybe even in the full Greek sense. Or worse, of the Roman kind. America burned bright in the 20th century. Maybe it will burn bright again. Right now, however, we're in a woeful state. Unloved, unwelcome, unhinged, and unhedged.

I venture, humbly if that's possible, that blind nationalism and table-thumping market rah-rah-ism even in the face of evidence to the contrary is not solely an American export.

For instance, I live in France part of the year, and know that while the country deserves a lot more credit (it's one of the world's largest economies after all, people) it also has undeniable, fundamental financial problems it will be forced to address sooner rather than later.

And the same, of course, goes for the UK. Yet, I do a lot of consulting work with a financial services company in London and even they don't seem wholly aware of what awaits them in the pipeline ("A U.S.-style property crisis in England? Never!"). Meanwhile, the resolutely English-speaking Brit tourists I've met on train platforms, while usually very nice, hold some of their own surprisingly narrow bias toward the Continental Europeans too.

All this, not to excuse the rudeness or ignorance of my fellow Americans, but to say that if we're going to get past it when it matters -- like right now -- we have to be frank about how we're all susceptible to seeing only what we want to see.

re: the list... eye-opening to say the least. It's wonderful that the net of humanity seems to default to hope rather than despair when the chips are down. But it sure is informative to realize how often, how far, and how concentrated downturns can be. Where there's pain, there's prudence after the fall.

re: the future... we may well be headed for the greatest bust of all. I hope not, just seeing how hard hit so many were during these last busts. But the fact of the matter is, so far from the debt crisis (now so much larger than subprime), we've "only" erased about $300 billion. And by informed estimates (Soros, the vice-chair of the Fed, the IMF), we've still got another $700 billion in potential losses in the pipelines.

Someone (I think it was here, but maybe somewhere else) suggested we're only seeing foreclosures hit "house-flippers" not regular buyers. That's wholly incorrect. One only has to take a jog or a drive through a typical American McNeighborhood to see it. The empty houses and "for sale" signs still outnumber the dandelions.

No question, it started as an American problem. Perhaps fueled quietly by some non-American trends (China, cheap labor, and the games with the yuan) and those trends that we had a hand in, but happened elsewhere (Iraq, Iran, geological oil shortages) plus a few that we refuse to be connected with but probably are (terrorism).

But it will not end as just an American problem. And whether we foisted this situation on everyone else or there was some foolish complicity around the globe, those realities need to be faced. And the sooner the better.

Best of luck, everyone. It's going to be a rocky ride.

[Naresh]

Reading thru the myriad of comments, I feel as if I am getting a lesson in human psychology. A glimpse of our differences, nationalistic attitudes and how devided we are actually deep down in our hearts, and truly, we are proving that "adversity makes strange bedfellows. Even in economic progress, if it is really progress so to say, we are all in it as strangers, and trying to reap the benefits. Well, then why not bear the brunt together. Afterall, we were in it together for the benefits too, even if superficially. Yes the Americans are unmindfull of the world and the word planet to them means America...they are oblivious of others and yet preach every one...but then are they the only ones to blame, and the same way the Brits, they still will like to live in the dream of "having ruled the world" and would not like to wake up.
Well, in this world devoid of values, whether cultural, moral or financial ethicsl...let us all stick together, till we can, just so we can see the end together(I wish it does not come soon, but seems only a wishfull thinking now) and not fight and bicker. Let us learn from the more advanced life form, the plants / animals and nature...may be there are lessons.

Naresh from Canada

[Rob]

Buy at least a small amount of gold or risk having your total wealth destroyed when the Hyperflation kicks in.
Anyone that bought gold valued at just 10% of their wealth before the US 1929 depression would have been twice as wealthy after, that includes the 90% that was virtually destroyed. BE WARNED.
Carp Diem.

[stewart sprague]

Any idea where the 50% Chinese 2008 collapse fits in here?

[Sceptic]

Like Communism, Capitalism is doomed to failure - why? Same Principals - The enrichment of a few by the hard work of the many.

[Beemish]

FDR wasn't president until 1933, so why would he be blamed for a 1927 collapse? FDR pulled the states out of depression.

[Me]

I like snails and jelly :-)

[Roger]

There would have been an even bigger CRASH in 2008, but the PPT(Plunge Protection Team) stepped in to by worthless stocks.

[Brad]

I do like the text talk used to construct the list.

[reuben]

look there are a lot of panicking people out there. This is why Northen Rock failed. it was NOT because of world affairs, it was the media again, hyping it up. If they had not told Average Joe to take all his savings out of the bank, he would have had money to play with and would have weathered the storm.

remember douglas adams

"DON`T PANIC"

I personally will carry on and live the life i want to, not what I'm told by 4x4-driving, Boris Johnson-supporting townies who only care about 6-figure bonuses.

[Urban Bear]

I suggest people read "The Grip of Death", then visit, mises.org, to understand that the world is being crushed by fraudulent debt fostered by corrupt Socialist, Political Class politicians, Keynesian economists, bankers, and corporations; goods now travel absurd distances, at great cost, due to debt based economic warfare between businesses and between countries.

I have offshore Gold, because I expect a deep Depression within a decade. Northern Rock looks to me like an alarm call at the tip of a massive pyramid of unpayable, fraudulent, bank created debt.

We need to flush away these damned, fetid, Socialist parasites, ASAP, so that true, non-corporate, Capitalism, honest banking and Liberty can thrive again and replace wasteful, impoverishing, inflation with productive deflation.

[George Wasintown]

I would also like to recommend all of you to watch the movie Zeitgeist (Sign of the Times) and keep in mind particularly that what Rockefeller mentioned and explained to Aaron Russo (bless his soul) about 9/11 BEFORE 9/11 happened, what is next to come and the ultimate goal he and his fellow ultra powerful have planned for the flock of sheep that is the American people.

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/main.htm

Imminent global financial consequences shall be inflicted by the soon to be introduced Americo, which will replace the American and Canadian dollar and the Mexican Peso in the borderless North American Union which apparently is in it's last stages of planning, although largely kept silent by the controlled media.

Wake up folks!

[William Boyd]

My belief is that the stockmarket has been artificially sustained by the hedge funds and the credit default swap market since 2003 helped generously of course by what we now recognise was a foolishly lax interest rate policy.

I should think the FTSE is headed back to 2003 territory and then some.

[Aldo]

I don't care. About any of it.

[Aldo]

Yawn .....

[John]

Bubbles are created by irrational confidence and irrational expectations. The first thing that pops into my mind when I hear those words is UK house prices. Seeing as the lifeblood of this grand service based economy is consumer spending, I see a massive bubble about to go. I am not speaking of the housing market, but our economy as a whole. I bet we can take pole position in this list! Go Britain!