Have you ever wondered what would have happened if the government didn't step in to bail out every well- connected, "too-big-to-fail" institution on Wall Street?

With the South African rand gaining almost 29% against the US dollar, 19% against the euro and 18% against the pound sterling, the local currency is turning out to be one of the world’s strongest currencies for the year to date. Many potential investors are asking if it’s a good time to increase international exposure.

The maestro himself, Sir Alan Greenspan, has declared a recovery underway in the United States. The same man who didn't see the world's biggest financial bubble until it exploded in his face. This revelation seals the deal for Bill Bonner: the country is clearly not recovering.

They didn’t have a lot of choice. Or at least, they felt they didn’t. Ireland is in a deep hole right now. Apart from pretty-much bankrupt countries like Iceland, Ireland is the developed economy which has suffered the worst in the financial crisis. And the last thing the Irish felt like doing was embracing wholesale change, which might make things even worse.