Royal Bank Of Scotland Issues Crash Alert and BIS Warns of Great Depression

Global stockmarkets are braced for one of the worst crashes in 100 years, according to the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) credit strategy team. RBS credit strategy team, in a special report for clients, said it expects inflation to paralyse economies and spark the crash. The report advised investors to be prepared for a severe downturn in global stock and credit markets, saying the S&P 500 index is likely to fall by more than 300 points to around 1,050 points by September.

Mr Bob Janjuah, the report's author is highly respected in the City after his foresighted warnings last year about the credit crisis proved accurate.

Meanwhile, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) has continued to warn of a possible second Great Depression.  The Bank for International Settlements, the organisation that fosters cooperation between central banks, has warned that the credit crisis could lead world economies into a crash on a scale not seen since the 1930s. In its latest quarterly report, the body points out that the Great Depression of the 1930s was not foreseen and that commentators on the financial turmoil, instigated by the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis, may not have grasped the level of exposure that lies at its heart.

According to the BIS, complex credit instruments, a strong appetite for risk, rising levels of household debt and long-term imbalances in the world currency system, all form part of the loose monetarist policy that could result in another Great Depression.