Recently, some already anxious clients have been picking up on media comparisons of today's economy to the Great Depression or Japan's "lost decades."

For advisors looking for a factual response to these concerns, Morgan Stanley last week issued a report pointing out lessons today's policy makers took from those two meltdowns and outlining why the chances of a repetition are extremely low as a result.

http://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/archive/2008/20081120-Thu.html

Even if you don't want to send clients the report directly - and it is fairly technical - it's important to arm yourself with the facts on how today's global economy differs from those nightmare scenarios.

P.S. Thanks to Tony Layton of PWL Capital in Montreal for making me aware of this report