Pitfalls in a Post-Bubble World August 12, 2008 A year ago, there was barely an inkling of what was about to transpire in world financial markets and the global economy. There were some early warning signs that all was not well in the subprime slice of the US mortgage market. But as was the case with the dot-com bubble in early 2000, subprime was widely judged to be of little consequence for the macro story. Denial, one of the most powerful of human emotions, once again had the upper hand. The broad consensus of consumers, business people, policymakers, and politicians ignored simmering problems on the subprime front and believed that the global boom of the preceding five years was very much intact.