Unstable equilibrium in 2010
Updated: 2009-12-30 19:26:54
: Accessibility links Text only Skip to content Skip to local navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk navigation Skip to bbc.co.uk search Help Accessibility Help Access keys help Previous Main Unstable equilibrium in 2010 Robert Peston 19:26 UK time , Wednesday , 30 December 2009 Prognosticating about the ensuing 12 months was like shooting fish in a barrel over the past few . years The big facts about the noughties were first that there was too much cheap money sloshing about , and then inevitably there was too . little So my predictions for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 were boom , overheating , crunch and bust . respectively Wobbly me But for the first hogmanay in ages , I have little confidence in what the coming year will bring for business , for savers , for investors and for borrowers . Why am I so wobbly Well it is because of the manner by which we avoided a depression in the UK , the US and much of . Europe With banks , non-financial businesses and households all deleveraging , all trying to reduce their huge and unsustainable debts , a massive economic heart attack was avoided by a reduction in official interest rates to almost zero , to ease the squeeze on the private sector , and by