Appeared on August 22, 2007
But there's another view. Economist Joseph Mason of Drexel University argues that the basic financial threat today is "over-borrowing" by investors to buy risky securities. That implies more losses as investors scramble for safety by dumping weak bonds and loans. Given today's global money bazaar – losses in one market may spill over into others – the danger would be a worsening "credit crunch" that corrodes confidence and dooms the world boom.