Société Générale's Albert Edwards says this has nothing to do with that downgrade (Aug. 9, 2011)

Sometimes I wonder if Izabella and the rest of the toilers in Alphaville have a bit of a crush on Albert.
I know I do.
From FTA:

Thought the current turmoil was down to the downgrade of US debt? Wrong!
According to Societe Generale’s uber bear, Albert Edwards, this has absolutely nothing to do with S&P, the White House, Tea Party etc. It’s the economy stupid:

The simple fact is that the global economy is falling back into recession or indeed is already in recession. Equity markets were sliding before the downgrade and bond yields were reacting as one would have expected to the dire economic data. The S&P downgrade may have caused the breach of critical support levels of 1250 on the S&P, but anything could have caused that breach and triggered the technical rout. Expect some sort of retest of this neckline before the market ultimately meets its date with destiny.
Recent US GDP revisions revealed QE2 to be an abject failure as far as producing an economic recovery is concerned with dire 0.9% annualised growth reported in H1 2011. Yet to a man with a hammer, everything is a nail. Hence despite rising core inflation, there is certainly a level of economic and/or market pain to prompt QE3. But expect the real fireworks to occur when the adrenalin rush of QE3 wears off even quicker than QE2.
There are still some diehard ‘happy clappies’ out there who think we are going to avert recession and the markets will recover. Yet US GDP growth has now fallen below the wellknown 2% stall speed, below which the economy does not seem to be able to regain altitude but instead crashes directly into recession.

Which means it’s time to come to terms with the fact that recession 2.0 (or was it ever really a recovery?) is on its way whether you like it or not...MORE

How can you not love the big lug. Look at these headlines:
Société Générale's Albert Edwards: "Many Think I am Mad..." (sub 2% Treasuries, S&P at 400 etc.) May 25, 2011
Société Générale's Albert Edwards: "I Have Been Wrong – I’ve Been Too Bullish" (Jan. 17, 2011)
Société Générale's Albert Edwards Upbeat, Almost Chipper: See's Humanity Approaching Broad Sunlit Uplands (Nov. 17, 2010)
Société Générale's Albert Edwards: Cry Havoc and Let Slip the...Ah Screw it (Oct. 20, 2010)
Société Générale's Albert Edwards: On Terminal Competitive Devaluation, The Nuclear Option, And How The Fed's Policies May Start An All Out War (September 22, 2010)
"Société Générale's Albert Edwards: 'Equity Investors Are In A Vulcan Death Grip And Are About To Fall Unconscious"' (September 2010)

And the 2008 series in which he foretold the future and made some of the funniest headlines of the financial crisis:

May 8, 2008
This Week’s Advice: Canned Food, Guns and a Ham Radio
June 26, 2008
Société Générale: “We see a y-shaped global recession. We are going down before looping backwards”
September 5, 2oo8
"Meltdown"-Société Générale
September, 2008
Société Générale: Prepare for the Great Unwind, part Deux

We have a lot from Mr. Edwards. Copy and paste the keywords
"Société Générale's Albert Edwards
in the blog search box.