Looking back at the markets

The week has been bookended by the House of Representatives. In between, markets, banks, and the public’s fears took a beating. This bank executive echoes those fears. Others rushed to safe havens: banks dealing gold or 100% guarantees. Governments were working to find the right formulas to restore confidence. Ireland made the boldest move, vowing to insure 100% of all deposits in Irish owned banks. The leaders of France, Spain and Britain are also meeting to be seen as trying to do something. That seems especially important to the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who also sees this as an opportunity to restore and remake his image. This economist believes the seeds of something historic have been sewn in the events of the past few days, something possibly even similar to the events of the 1930s.