The London School of Economics produce an excellent series of podcasts.  Last night I listened to “State of the World Economy in 2012”.  Packed with lots of juicy economics facts and analysis.  One point which stuck in my mind was the suggestion that, in previous global economic slumps, a natural ballancing force has been the reduction of commodity prices.  Yet, this time around, commodity prices are not reducing; far from it: most commodity prices are at or near their peak values despite very low growth in many developed countries.