HEY, WAIT, I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST AMERICAN “COWBOY CAPITALISM” THAT LED TO THESE PROBLEMS:

Volkswagen briefly became the world’s largest company by market capitalisation on Tuesday after an extraordinary surge in its share price driven by a near-panic by hedge funds and other traders to stem losses on positions betting on a fall in the stock.

The extent of the surge, which has led to sharp criticism of German capital markets, triggered intense market speculation that it could force the collapse of hedge funds and heavy losses for investment banks.

Then again, I haven’t heard those statements in a couple of weeks . . . .