"I've seen a lot of crisis, but I've not seen anything quite like this one,"
Volcker said in a speech in Singapore. "I don't think we can escape damage
to the real economy. I think we almost inevitably face a considerable
recession."
"These kinds of measures - government guarantees and interventions - are
really distasteful," said Volcker, who was Fed chief from 1979 to 1987.
"However distasteful, I'm afraid they were necessary in this emergency to
restore some sense of stability and confidence."