Better regulation and closer scrutiny is essential . • Hamish McRae : Can we avoid the years of stagnation ? 1 Mark Steel : I 'm frozen with fear -- could Obama still lose the election ? 4 Hamish McRae : Can we avoid the years of stagnation suffered by Japan ? 1 Mark Steel : I 'm frozen with fear -- could Obama still lose the election ? 5 Howard Jacobson : So God ' probably ' doesn 't exist .