The Lib Dems have faced an onslaught of voter anger over the past year, over the U-turn on tuition fees and support for spending cuts - and saw a long-cherished dream of changing the UK voting system dashed, when the AV referendum resulted in a resounding "no" from the electorate.

BBC: Nick Clegg warns of 'long, hard road' on economy

The producer category saw its net-short position rise as longs were cut and shorts added, while the swap dealer category saw cuts to both sides, but with more coming on their short side, lowering their net-short position.

FORBES: FOCUS: Speculators Increase Exposure To Precious Metals -- CFTC

You might have thought that interest-rate cuts were the answer, until you saw the market response to the co-ordinated announcements from the Federal Reserve and others on October 8th.

ECONOMIST: Have markets got what they wanted at last?

The Conservative manifesto - The Best Future for Britain - saw the Tories stick to their traditional issues, promising tax cuts where possible and pushing further ahead with their programme of privatisations.

BBC: NEWS | VOTE2001 | THE ELECTION BATTLES 1945-1997

We have seen the effect of the alternative, the weak economic growth that we saw when giving huge tax cuts to the wealthy occurred in 2001 and 2003, and the result -- I mentioned this on the plane yesterday -- is rather extraordinary.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

And we know a lot of what happened in terms of the explosion of deficit spending, and it was two massive, unpaid for tax cuts that largely benefited wealthiest Americans -- not the middle class that during that time period saw its incomes stagnate or shrink.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing