Finance & economics | Buttonwood

Credit watch

A new book argues that investors should focus on the credit cycle, not economic growth

WHEN this millennium began, investors were confident that an era of high stockmarket returns was here to stay. Not only were American share prices at record-high valuations but books like “Dow 36,000” and “Dow 100,000” promised much more to come.

Alas, the first decade of the 21st century proved a great disappointment. There were two big equity downturns, in 2000-02 and 2007-08; the average pension plan in the OECD achieved a miserly return of just 0.1% a year.

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline "Credit watch"

The America that works

From the March 16th 2013 edition

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