Baires, I just can't see the sustained deflation (that is a fall in money supply don't forget and not the same as a depression) that is talked about occuring. Certainly there will be a depression when oil depletion really kicks in but the response will be to print more paper.

As someone else pointed out a week or so ago, they didn't go off the gold standard to NOT print money. Seems to me we have a issue with the money supply getting into the hands of people who are prepared to buy things (assets or goods) with it but that situation has only persisted for a few weeks so far. Once the banks realise that they have been backstopped by their governments then what incentive do they have NOT to lend? They can't make any money unless they do so.

Certainly, things need a while to stabilise but I think credit will start to flow again with 6-12 months. It might take extraordinary measures of course but the authroities are not averse to taking these steps.

Imagine yourself as an investor sat on a pile of paper money with governments printing like there is no tomorrow. At some point you are going to want rid of that paper in exchange for hard assets that have some intrinsic value or else real money that can't be printed like gold. We're just ahead of the curve.