America's top financial experts continued to heap praise on Bernanke as economy collapsed

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Independent Crossword

The Flaw (NC)

If the material in this documentary on the financial meltdown seems overfamiliar that's because you've encountered most of it already in the superior Inside Job.

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, BBC2, Monday<br/>Four Rooms, Channel Four, Tuesday

A documentary on the evil of machines managed to be as entertaining as it was synapse-frying

Business Diary: Lorry firm wins race to the bottom

This is not meant to be disrespectful on the day after it emerged that the son of the founder of the logistics business Stobart has died, but there is no denying its latest transaction is a bum deal. It has signed an agreement with the Professional Jockeys Club that will see it, among other things, pay for a charitable scheme that supports riders whose careers are ended prematurely by injury. In return the Stobart logo will feature on jockeys' outfits – specifically, on their backsides.

The banks must be broken apart

Merely ring-fencing the retail and investment sectors doesn't go far enough, argues Geoffrey Lewis

Stephen Foley: The trouble with the FCIC is it agonised too long over who was wrong, rather than why

US Outlook: Since every man and his dog appears to have a dissenting opinion on the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission report, allow me, too.

Bankers, politicians and the people blamed for credit crisis

Wall Street's recklessness and specific frauds to be detailed today in report on US crash

Diary: Palin &ndash; the white cat purring on Murdoch's lap

How to put the seal on media history's most remarkable career and cement the gnawing suspicion that you are the most powerful person on the planet? The answer for Rupert Murdoch is now plain. He apparently intends to put Sarah Palin in the White House, and this must give those of us who have glibly dismissed her chances in a general election, if not of winning the Republican nomination, excruciating pause for thought.

Business Diary: Twinkle-toes Vince will lead

If, as seems likely, Vince Cable accepts the BBC's invitation to appear on a Christmas special of Strictly Come Dancing, he will no doubt wow the public – he has been a keen ballroom dancer for years. The best thing about this story so far, however, was the total bemusement yesterday of the two presenters on the American business channel CNBC who dedicated a good five minutes to discussing Mr Cable's appearance. Though the US has its own version of Strictly – Dancing With The Stars – the US Commerce Secretary, Gary Locke, is not thought to be planning an appearance.

Ben Chu: It's bankers who are the real drain

I am ready to accept that the benefits system harms those it is intended to help. But if a life of reliance on others is bad for the poor, then surely it is equally so for the rich

Album: Loudon Wainwright III, 10 Songs for the New Depression (Proper)

Wainwright goes back to his roots. That's all folk!

Margareta Pagano: How the Tories' NI plans play at the Dog & Whistle

Labour's 1 per cent rise is seen as a tax on jobs

Greenspan denies his hands-off policy caused credit meltdown

Former Fed chief says crisis was not his 'oops' moment

US panel to delve deeper into causes of financial meltdown

Leading figures blamed for credit crisis to be hauled over the coals

Stephen Foley: For the wrong answers, turn to Greenspan

Perhaps it is impossible for someone as ideologically committed to unfettered markets as Mr Greenspan to break out of his flawed view of how the world works
Career Services

Day In a Page

Crossrail: Celebrating 60 years in transport

Jubilant Crossrail

Celebrating 60 years in transport
Grace Dent: If you were on your first foreign trip for 24 years, would you want Bono to be a part of the package?

Grace Dent

If you were on your first foreign trip for 24 years, would you want Bono to be a part of the package?
Ireland's austerity D-Day: How much pain can it take?

Ireland's austerity D-Day: How much pain can it take?

After years of savage cuts, the Irish now face a stark choice: do they hand over control of their economy to Europe – or go it alone without the safety net of future bailouts?
Is doctors' fixation on treatment making us ill?

Is doctors' fixation on treatment making us ill?

Advances in medicine have made the impossible, possible. But an over-reliance on healthcare threatens to bankrupt the world – and make all of us sick
The most complained-about advertisements of all time

The most complained-about advertisements of all time

The ASA has received 430,000 complaints during its existence, with a record 31,548 in 2011
Olympians: They're fit and don't we just know it

Olympians: They're fit and don't we just know it

From Tom Daley's six-pack to scantily clad volleyball players, Olympic athletes are being sold on their sex appeal. Why can't we appreciate talent, not totty?
Return of the unacceptable face of capitalism?

Return of the unacceptable face of capitalism?

Sir Richard Needham's resignation from the board of Lonrho brings back bad memories of the group's controversial past
Off the rails in Bermuda

Off the rails in Bermuda

Best known for beaches, it's also home to a stunning hiking trail that follows the route of an old railway line
Get ready for a royal good time

Get ready for a royal good time

There are plenty of events to help you fly the flag during the Diamond Jubilee long weekend and half term
Spain: World football's marathon men

Marathon men: Are Spain running out of puff?

They have every right to be exhausted after four taxing years of almost non-stop action but the chance to claim a unique treble is spurring them on
Usain Bolt: The Bolt show runs on

Usain Bolt: The Bolt show runs on

Friday's 'slow' 100m has done nothing to dent Jamaican's supreme confidence he will triumph in London
The weirdest and most wonderful Diamond Jubilee memorabilia

Weird and wonderful Jubilee memorabilia

Coronation Chicken ice cream and Jubilee jelly moulds
'I may be deaf, but you can still talk to me'

'I may be deaf, but you can still talk to me'

Being a teenager is hard enough – for those with hearing loss, it can be even more complicated
A right royal trip down the river

A right royal trip down the river

A new exhibition celebrates the glory days of London's mighty Thames
The 10 Best lawn mowers

The 10 Best lawn mowers

From petrol-fuelled to self-propelled