These include labour-market measures and incentives for firms to shed excess capacity and debt.

ECONOMIST: Japan

Excess capacity and the overhang of corporate debt may prevent full recovery for some time, but most Asian economies could start to see at least some growth by the second half of 1999.

ECONOMIST: Time to buy?

America's government is working hard to revive markets for securitised debt, aware that banks lack the balance-sheet capacity to absorb all of those credit-card receivables and auto loans.

ECONOMIST: Investment banking: Wall Street's annus horribilis | The

This will also provide an opportunity for the ESM to receive loans to purchase sovereign debt in an almost unlimited capacity, effectively mutualising debt between countries (effectively creating a common Eurobond) while expanding capacity to purchase on an unlimited basis.

FORBES: Quantitative Easing in the Eurozone:Enter the ECB

"We do think it is clearly negative for holders of commercial debt, that is our view, that it will weigh on countries' capacity to serve their commercial debt, " he said.

BBC: Portugal and Greece downgraded on debt worries