US sub-prime crisis far from over

The man nicknamed 'Mr. Optimistic' by the media, because of his over optimism even in difficult times, expects to see a world that "slows but not tumbling" because of the sub-prime crisis. "The sub prime is far from over. It could take six months, 12 or even 18 months," he told an Investec briefing on Monday night at the GICC. The briefing was meant to share with the market what is happening globally and how the global economy's 'stray missiles' will impact on the Botswana economy.

"Sometime it will bottom, but not yet. We will see a world that slows, but not crumble," Gardiner says. His comments will not be good news for the diamond-dependent Botswana economy as the US is the major consumer of world diamonds.