Credit freeze is...melting? So we're starting on a...credit meltdown? Wait

Not sure which metaphor to go with, but it appears that credit--once frozen--is now...unfreezing.

This is good, because the lack of affordable credit (or in some cases the lack of any credit at all) is the actual problem underpinning the financial collapse. Krugman attributes the improvement to the bank recapitalizations by governments around the world, spearheaded by Gordon Brown.

So, if all goes well, Depression II will be averted, and we will undergo a mere run-of-the-mill recession--which sucks, yes, but is better than a whole bunch of people having to live in their cars.