A stormy autumn looms

Autumn is traditionally a bad time for the markets but this year, the halloween season is set to be a howler. Crises in the eurozone and America conspire to make this autumn one to forget.

It's been a "dreadful summer" for global equities, says David Oakley in the FT. In August, many markets saw their worst monthly slide since the one in October 2008 that followed Lehman's collapse. The pan-European FTSE Eurofirst 300 index slid by almost 11%. No wonder, says The Guardian's Heather Stewart. August "was the month of shattered illusions". The US debt stand-off made it clear that "Washington was not the cockpit of the world's unrivalled economic superpower, but a chaotic bearpit", while France and Germany couldn't agree on a new rescue plan for the eurozone debt crisis.

Not only can policymakers not agree, but they're rapidly running out of weapons that could potentially bolster growth anyway. Interest rates are near zero and there's no money for another round of bank recapitalisation if there's another banking crisis. Meanwhile, the macroeconomic data deteriorated rapidly.

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