The public gets what the public wants (again)

The UK government wants us to buy as much seasonal tat as we can carry so that the economy doesn't go irredeemably bump untill just after the election. In so doing we might push the natural economy over the brink and plunge headlong into the abyss, but hey, it's christmas. Fill yer boots.
The American Fed pumps another 800 billion into keeping the ship afloat so we can plough full steam ahead into the iceberg field. The folks in first class insist upon it, and they have the captains ear. They also have him by the balls.

Meanwhile there is the usual mix of the good, the bad and the ugly.