Between the lines: As we hit the buffers, best not to fire up the train

IF LAST week's cascade of miserable economic and company trading news was a moment of truth for those doubting the scale of the downturn, the coming period should bring further, even more uncomfortable, enlightenment: the depth of the policy crisis that the downward plunge has sparked.

A split has already opened between and within the world's central banks. On the one hand are those who believe the priority is to try to contain the slowdown by holding interest rates at current levels before bringing them down at the earliest opport...