And instead of trying to prop up prices using intervention schemes, as Brazil and other coffee producers have been doing recently, low prices should be seen as an ally: eventually they will drive out inefficient producers elsewhere, and Brazil will be able to increase its earnings through greater volumes.

ECONOMIST: Brazil

Homeowners who have suffered for five years as they watched the value of their homes, the consummate investment, drop lower and lower would rather not forgo government intervention to see just how low prices will go.

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Analysts had warned of further government intervention after official estimates this month showed private and public home prices climbed to record levels in the October-to-December period.

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With the nominal exchange rate held down by intervention, this could only come about through a rise in prices, creating expectations of future inflation and so reducing real interest rates.

ECONOMIST: The yen

If labor and other markets are allowed to function without government intervention, there will be a tendency toward market-clearing prices, including relative wage rates and interest rates that reflect time preferences and the productivity of capital.

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Yet, although a number of studies have suggested that intervention by institutions over matters of corporate governance can boost profits and share prices in the long run, the results are inconclusive, especially when considering the risk of angering customers.

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Sensible intervention cannot even buy long-term relief: the plan cannot stop house prices falling and the bloated financial sector shrinking.

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Oxfam said prices in Gao had risen by more than 20% since the French military intervention.

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Japan should then use intervention in the foreign-exchange markets to push the yen sharply down, and to hold it down until prices reach their target level.

ECONOMIST: The yen