"...Could the current turmoil in world markets outlive anything seen in the last two decades...?"

HANK PAULSON told the Financial Times this week that the turmoil in credit markets is set to last longer than any financial shock of the past two decades.

Here's hoping - for the sake of Western equity investors - that the US Treasury Secretary forgot to include Japan's deflation in his analysis.

Japan: Purchasing power of Gold vs. Nikkei