Mindboggling wealth losses quantified by the IMF

$4.1 trillion that is the sum reported by the IMF as lossed to the world. Looks small like that but put in the noughts: $4,100,000,000,000, - that assumes we are talking US Trillions equivalent to the old English Billion. The Guardian has the report, linked here, complete with further dire warnings which no doubt you will not be hearing from Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, tomorrow afternoon when probably predictions of a recovery around year end will then fill the air. Some quotes from the IMF: "Shrinking economic activity has put further pressure on banks' balance sheets as asset values continue to downgrade, threatening their capital adequacy and further discouraging fresh lending," the report said. "Thus, credit growth is slowing, and even turning negative, adding even more downward pressure on economic activity".... In its breakdown of the losses on toxic assets, the IMF said two-thirds of the writedowns affected banks. But the FSR warned that pension funds and insurance companies had also been hit hard by the crisis. Pension funds had seen the value of their assets tumble and life insurance companies had suffered losses on equity and corporate bond holdings, in some cases depleting their regulatory capital surpluses.

"While perhaps most of these institutions managed their risks prudently, some took on more risk without fully appreciating that potential stressful episodes may lie ahead."

Anger will soon abound, but as I make clear in the collage in the posting beneath this, we must remain calm and not be provoked into a reaction clearly dearly wished by this appalling government allowing them to invoke the Civil Contingencies Act and completely annihalate our democracy!