This is an eye-opener. Whenever I talk about the Great Depression and compare it with what is going on today, I get a lot of skepticism. I hear a lot of people say, definitively, “This isn’t as bad as the Great Depression.”

What you have to remember, though, is the Great Depression unfolded like a train wreck in slow motion. It took awhile before it became the Great Depression. It wasn’t like someone flipped a switch and poof! — bread lines, Hoovervilles and hobos.

Another point to remember is that the Great Depression was a global economic event. It wasn’t just confined to the U.S. You have a take a wide-angle view of the global economy to get a better sense of the breadth of the slump. And so it is today.

Take a look at the next few charts, from economists Barry Eichengreen and Kevin O’Rourke. The first

Although two different groups are proposing ways to use ETFs to help boost U.S. markets, a third concept blending the best of each may work.

With trillions of dollars in U.S. government funding already committed to combating the worst recession since World War II, regulators are increasingly enlisting private sector support.

Along those lines, lawmakers and Treasury officials are reportedly listening to—and in some cases soliciting—outside views from key leaders in the financial sector.

Asset managers focusing on exchange-traded funds are being included in this movement to broaden the scope of U.S. economic recovery plans. As detailed in an IndexUniverse.com analysis of key developments in the effort to thaw credit markets, large ETF sponsors as well as small-yet-influential players are involved.

(The full 21-page Special Report, three months in the making, can be viewed here.) 

Two ETF Plans Emerge

At the heart of the issue is resolving so-called "toxic" debt

Although two different groups are proposing ways to use ETFs to help boost U.S. markets, a third concept blending the best of each may work.

With trillions of dollars in U.S. government funding already committed to combating the worst recession since the Great Depression, regulators are increasingly enlisting private sector support.

Along those lines, lawmakers and Treasury officials are reportedly listening to—and in some cases soliciting—outside views from key leaders in the financial sector.

Asset managers focusing on exchange-traded funds are being included in this movement to broaden the scope of U.S. economic recovery plans. As detailed in an IndexUniverse.com analysis of key developments in the effort to thaw credit markets, large ETF sponsors as well as small-yet-influential players are involved.

(The full 21-page Special Report, three months in the making, can be viewed here.) 

Two ETF Plans Emerge

At the heart of the issue is resolving so-called "toxic" debt