Foundations for the future

The path to recovery requires a new intellectual architecture and a new belief system, says Philippa Malmgren

We are in the middle of the 9/11 of the financial markets. And, like that tragic terrorist event in 2001, the impact is not just the human loss. It also involves the shattering of a belief system. Just as we believed that America was immune to terrorists attacks on home territory, so we had believed the financial markets would be robust enough to adjust to any amount of pressure. But, the twin towers of finance, investment banking and the existence of a clear price, have both collapsed under the weight of bad assets. I was working in the White House on 11 September and I remember the NY...