Let us apply the logic of extremes. Jean-Claude Trichet on Thursday pushed the euro to new unimagined highs against the dollar as he declined to talk down the single currency. He appears set on a starkly divergent path from the Federal Reserve, which is committed to cutting rates to aid growth.

VIDEO

John Authers on the S&P 500 and the US housing market

Meanwhile, commodity prices stayed near record levels, suggesting extreme concern about inflation. And the price of buying insurance against default on the credit market showed that fears for the health of the financial sector, particularly in the US, is at extreme levels.