Think the credit crunch is over? Think again

[Fortune]

Think the credit crunch is over? Think again

Despite what Wall Street boosters would have us believe, the credit crunch is far from over. Fortune's Peter Eavis outlines the five steps that need to happen before we can say the end has come.

By Peter Eavis, Senior Writer, Fortune
October 17 2007: 11:27 AM EDT

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Careful optimism about the U.S. economy and financial system has given way to a resurgence of unease in the last couple of days, prompted by an announcement Monday of an extraordinary plan to pump liquidity into an important part of the debt markets and less-than-upbeat speeches from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Suddenly, the credit crunch is being talked about as a serious phenomenon again. But, as is always the case on Wall Street, it won't be long before a gaggle of self-interested players make their way to center stage to tell us that recovery is just around the corner, seizing on any halfway optimistic shred of data to bolster their case.

So, in an effort to stay grounded amid the hype, it's worth making a shortlist of things that need to start happening before anyone can talk about the credit crunch coming to an end.

First: way more transparency. The movers and shakers need to tell us what's really happening and show that they understand the seriousness of the credit crunch.
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http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/17/news/economy/eavis_creditcrunch.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007101711