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The Man Nobody Wanted to Hear: Global Banking Economist Warned of Coming Crisis - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

William White predicted the approaching financial crisis years before 2007's subprime meltdown. But central bankers preferred to listen to his great rival Alan Greenspan instead, with devastating consequences for the global economy.

William White had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted to do with his life after shedding his pinstriped suit and entering retirement.

White, a Canadian, worked for various central banks for 39 years, most recently serving as chief economist for the central bank for all central bankers, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.

Then, after 15 years in the world's most secretive gentlemen's club, White decided it was time to step down. The 66-year-old approached retirement in his adopted country the way a true Swiss national would. He took his money to the local bank, bought a piece of property in the Bernese Highlands and began building a chalet. There, in the mountains between cow pastures and ski resorts, he and his wife planned to relax and enjoy their retirement, and to live a peaceful existence punctuated only by the occasional vacation trip. That was the plan in June 2008.

And now this.

by Fran (fran at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 8th, 2009 at 02:14:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Thus conclusively demonstrating that there is only one criterion for remaining a Serious PersonTM: Only say what the other Serious PeopleTM want to hear.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 12:22:23 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Peer Review FAIL.

A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds; a man of deeds and not of words is like a garden full of turds — Anonymous
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 02:30:25 AM EST
[ Parent ]
You need a more Serious™ definition of 'peer.'
by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 02:42:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Would 'hereditary' do?

A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds; a man of deeds and not of words is like a garden full of turds — Anonymous
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 02:44:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
That was the plan in June 2008.

And now this.

The crisis started in July 2007...

A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds; a man of deeds and not of words is like a garden full of turds — Anonymous

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Jul 9th, 2009 at 02:34:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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