We also thought they would probably cut or leave unchanged their estimate of spare capacity in the economy (the "output gap") - again, on the basis of their calculations in March.

BBC: The Bank, the OBR and Mr Osborne

Those numbers get all the more alarming in light of a Morgan Stanley estimate of worldwide spare capacity that we shared on March 4.

FORBES: OPEC Quota Flap Illustrates Deep Divisions

And so they are: by one estimate, 15m barrels of new capacity should come onstream by 2010 (see article).

ECONOMIST: Uncertainty looks a bigger problem than high prices

Surging capacity in China and elsewhere has prompted the North American Steel Trade Committee (comprising America, Canada and Mexico and their country's steel firms) to estimate that the world's total annual steelmaking capacity will rise by 250m tonnes over the next five years, an increase of 25% that threatens a return to glut, and thus plunging prices, especially if Chinese demand falters.

ECONOMIST: Enjoy it while it lasts | The