So confident was Gordon Brown that his policies had neutered the boom-bust cycle, that he claimed in his 2007 Budget speech it would never happen again.<BR>This, Harrison argues, ignores an inconvenient truth. Relying on evidence going back more than 200 years, he warns of a remarkably regular 18-year property cycle due to peak at the end of 2007 or beginning of 2008. The crisis that began with sub-prime mortgages in the US has already sent shock waves through the global economy and triggered a run on Northern Rock. This demonstrates the accuracy of Harrison's prognosis outlined in the first edition of Boom Bust in 2005.<BR>Under present policies the bust is predictable, and readers can learn how to avoid being trapped in the debts that bankrupt businesses and lead to the repossession of homes. However, the more desirable aim of long-term stability, sought by Brown and governments around the world, is not achievable, Harrison argues, without a particular reform of taxation.