The Wire

Stock markets around the world have so far reacted enthusiastically to President Obama’s plan to get private investors to invest in the toxic debts that are at the root of the current financial crisis. The new Public-Private Investment Program will use up to $100 billion of federal rescue money to lure private investors to join with the government to purchase as much as $1 trillion in bad debts. Professor of Institutional Economics at RMIT Sinclair Davidson says it’s a good deal for investors and will stabilise the system. Steve Keene, Associate Professor of Economics and Finance at the University of Western Sydney has a completely different take on the new US rescue plan – he sees it just another doomed attempt to save a doomed system.