Not only has the currency's strength helped to hold down American inflation, but a collapse would make it harder for the Fed to slash interest rates if the economy were to slow more sharply than expected.

ECONOMIST: The dollar��s looking peaky

Thanks mainly to the strength of Argentina's economic recovery from its 2001-02 collapse, Mr Kirchner remains very popular.

ECONOMIST: Disarray over law and order

Mr. Bagli's strength is in crunching numbers, and he makes clear that even without a credit collapse Mr. Speyer would have come up short.

WSJ: Book Review: Other People's Money