EDITORS' PICKS

The end of deflationary trade
Alan Kohler
You don't know what you've got till it's gone – and the Baltic Dry index tells us that what's gone is the trade, backed by cheap labour, that kept inflation at bay while developed nations prospered.

Drama unfolds in Europe
Robert Gottliebsen
We now face a deleveraging spiral of massive proportions. After watching market-based positions on borrowed money unravel, investment houses are cutting their losses.

Less gain, less pain
Stephen Bartholomeusz
The harsh reality for investors in non-bank funds is that the higher returns they enjoyed in the good times came with higher risk. Bending prudential rules to allow them to flee the sector now would create unacceptable moral hazard.

Swinging back to the sixties
Alan Kohler
In the absence of a miracle global recovery, the government's deposit guarantee will send the Australian financial system several decades back in time.

Repercussions of the CBA decision
Robert Gottliebsen
While the Commonwealth Bank never guaranteed mortgage trust redemptions in its wholly owned subsidiary, Colonial First State, the decision by Australia's largest bank to freeze them has shocked financial planners and investors.

A short, failed experiment
Alan Kohler
The ban on short selling appears to have done absolutely nothing to protect share prices and many markets that did not ban the practice have done better than our own.

Cashing in on carbon
Giles Parkinson
There's a lot of money to be made, say the carbon-trade believers, for those that see climate change as an economic rather than an environmental issue.