Is this summer’s credit crunch hurting the real economy, or isn’t it? Risk aversion returned to world markets on Wednesday after new data threw up signs that tighter credit was damaging the economy.

Notably, pending sales of US homes hit their lowest level since September 2001. Private-sector surveys suggested US unemployment was rising, stoking up fears for Friday’s non-farm payrolls report for August – a report that regularly provokes a market overreaction.