The latest culture as recommended by our staff

Is gold still a safe haven?

Ingots are just another commodity

City Life

At last, a fine statue of Brian Clough — but still not even a plaque for Jesse Boot

The global currency crisis is still to come

Jonathan Ruffer argues that state bail-outs in response to the credit crunch could lead to yet another massive shock: a widespread collapse of currencies, and a new inflation

A new job for the IMF: as global policeman

The International Monetary Fund was beginning to look like a has-been, says Elliot Wilson, but in the aftermath of the current crisis it may find an important new role

He’s the voice of the crash, but the words are all his own

Financial crisis has transformed Robert Peston from egghead to celebrity, says Dominic Midgley, but the BBC business editor indignantly denies he’s a government mouthpiece

Chasing dragons: the Chinese army takes up art collecting

Elliot Wilson profiles Poly Group, a company controlled by the Chinese military which uses arms-sales profits to buy back artworks that have been illicitly flogged off abroad

Shares that go up as banks go down

Scott Payton on alternative investment

Can Comrade Hank find a way through this crisis?

The US Treasury chief sees his interventionism as a case-by-case response to unprecedented events, says James Doran, but his critics see it as inconsistent, dangerous and ‘un-American’