[DeaconBenjamin]

Expects rate cuts in US, UK, and EU.

[Gary Boldwater]

A decade ago there were predictions that the Japanese economy would take over the world. Remember Japan Inc?

At one time the most expensive real estate and cost of living in the world was in Japan.

Maybe Japan's deflation is a return to reality.

[DPB101]

Another reason why the entire Bush tax plan should have been passed. Japan shows how small, gradual attempts at stimulus fail.

[proxy_user]

The US differs from Japan in one important respect: in the US, if a company is bankrupt, it goes out of business. This may seem like a small matter, but it is amazingly effective at making our economy dynamic.

[jungleboy]

And Toyota just set RECORD PROFITS for the qtr just ended!

[arthurus]

America is right now looking at inflation, not deflation.The Fed is rapidly devaluing the dollar. That is inflation and must result in across the board price rises. Wages will be the last class of prices to increase.

The Fed is partially defaulting on the Federal debt by shoveling dollars into the economy so that the dollars that go to repay the debt are worth less than the dollars that were borrowed. That is the classic manner for governments determined to cheat their creditors.

Because the price of oil which affects directly most of the prices of goods in the world is coming down the inflation will not be noticeed for a while. Prices of oil affected goods will not soar with the inflation and the price of oil will not go down so far as it should given the increased supply and confidence. When the oil price hits bottom in a couple of months prices will commence that inflation rise, including the price of oil. If the arabs try to stem the leakage by switching to Euro pricing the general price rise will be soon and steep, at least until Europe retaliats by devaluing the Euro.

[Beck_isright]

Would not the rate cuts you expect be akin to chasing the wind?

[P.O.E.]

They tried (and succeeded) to do this to George HW Bush.

The press kept murmuring "recession, recession, recession" for about a year and a half, until people actually began believing it, cut back on economic activity, and created a recession.

How soon people forget, and how easily they are sucked into the mantra.

[boris]

As I comment frequently, Greenspan is in deep trouble. A one-trick pony, his only control is/was to turn the Fed interest rate down. He has been doing this for a decade or so, to the point where the knob is nearing zero.

A negative fed rate would be amusing but hardly possible.

So he is out of control authority, and he seems to know it.

In other words, the only way anyone can turn the 'knob' is UP, i.e., increasing interest rates. This amounts to deliberately trying to start an inflationary period because they've been deflating so hard there's nowhere else to go.

--Boris

[ckilmer]

kill the cost of oil.

cheap oil priced in cheap dollars will be pure oxygen to the world's economy

[RISU]

Prehaps we are now seeing the "end" of the "Central Bankers", and the return of money (and freedom) to this world.

The purpose of a deflation may well be to return the wealth to the rightful owners.

[ETERNAL WARMING]

IMAGINE a world in which house prices have ceased to rise

What! Are they kidding? This has been happening to towns all across America thanks to Free Trade policies, has been happening for 13 years now.

[ApesForEvolution]

The value of a 1913 US Dollar in year 2000 was approximately 3 cents. Where did the other 97 cents go??

[American in Israel]

The last warning bell to get out of debt folks, including the morgage. Heed it or suffer.

[SevenDaysInMay]

Our politicians will create some inflation because deflation stalls then ruins a national or world economy longer than a 4 year election cycle. That is what this tax reduction bill is about.

[Joe Hadenuf]

In America, the Federal Reserve is running out of ammunition to revive the US economy by way of interest rate cuts

Get ready, they are going to cut interest rates again......

[Porterville]

One word: geisha, sell hookers to the world.

[Jumper]

The West has enough wealth and now in order to stablize the world in a dangerous period we must "spread the wealth" in the socalist fashion dictated socialist membership organizations like the UN and WTO. Anyone who thinks deflation is not going to provide a stimulus to some poor place the World Community wants to uplift is missing the greater meaning of managing the world's economy to benefit the people. The great danger of these world organizations is that they are dominated by socialists and because socialism is a failed idealogy (economically speaking) they want to "feel good".

[Lessismore]

The economy is going through a period of reorganization. Massive improvements in cost effectiveness of information technology and telecommunications happened in the last decade. These are not nearly worked out in terms of their impact on costs generally in the economy. There are many sectors of business who haven't been hammered as badly as, for example, small travel agents. We are only starting to see declining prices in IT wages as outsourcing to India is getting started. But there are all kinds of clerical and lower level managerial jobs that are candidates. If you don't either work with your hands or provide a personal service, your job is a candidate for automation or outsourcing.