CDO, however, and in a credit squeeze they fall together, by virtue of being in the same murky structure, as investors rush for the exit or seek to hedge their risks.

ECONOMIST: Securitisation

Unlike the sort of fusion done in big machines, which squeeze heavy hydrogen nuclei together, no neutrons are released in this reaction.

ECONOMIST: A novel form of fusion power

This project, a collaboration between America, Russia, Japan and Europe, is intended to create sustained nuclear fusion by squeezing gases so hard that their atomic nuclei fuse together and give off more energy than was needed to squeeze them.

ECONOMIST: The diamonds in the rubble

Those measures together would add perhaps 0.5% of GDP to the deficit, partly offsetting the squeeze on current spending.

ECONOMIST: Tackling the slump