Crunch?

BBC: Credit crunch costs '$1 trillion'

The International Monetary Fund...has warned that potential losses from the credit crunch will reach $945bn...and could be even higher.

The IMF says that losses are spreading from sub-prime mortgage assets to other sectors, such as commercial property, consumer credit, and company debt.

AP: Alert

Some Federal Reserve figures worried about "a prolonged and severe downturn" as they voted to cut a key interest rate last month, minutes of the meeting say.

As I read these articles on Tuesday mid afternoon, I also can't help but notice the significant downturn in stock prices on the NYSE. Presumably the market is reacting to these recent revelations.

A few stocks are about as low as they were on January 22 when there was a decisive drop. Recall that in that time frame January 22 to April 8, we have witnessed spikes in stock prices , when the news is favorable. Curious there is also an accompanying sense that all is well when the upward spikes occur.

Why do they keep calling it the credit 'crunch.' I suspect its a governmental PR firms doing.