Recession, recession, everywhere we turn, we are reminded of this dreaded scenario. For those who are still shy to utter the word “recession,” let’s not kid ourselves anymore. The earlier we face up to the truth, the faster we are on the road to economic recovery.

Investors cheered the measures as the Dow Jones soared 400 points on Friday, after having surged 410 points on Thursday. This included meteoric rises for battered finance firms like Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Washington Mutual.

Should we invest heavily again now that a rally is forming?

After the US government put out a forest fire with the takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae last week, Wall Street’s troubles were far from over. As they say, when you see a rat in the house, you can bet there are hundred more rats lurking in the dark corners. Slowly but surely, they are being flushed out now.

Speaking of fear, stark naked fear has descended on stock markets everywhere. Wall Street is in a bloodbath and Asian markets are not having an easy time either. The Straits Times Index dropped over 30% from its zenith and Shanghai ‘A’ index tumbled over 65%. Seen from a positive lens, it is a sign that we are closer to bottoming out though.

Société Générale rushed to unwind those trades during Monday’s market plunge, and trading in those futures contracts soared to record levels. The bank’s abrupt reversal contributed to a decline that snowballed into an avalanche of sell orders around the world...

Fears of a recession in the US have seen billions wiped off stock markets around the world.