Controversial in Britain, Bootle's brisk, clearly written report predicts that we are gradually returning to a world of zero inflation, much like the era immediately after WWII before perpetual inflation set in. In this new anti-inflationary environment, he forecasts, the price of housing will be as likely to go down as up; automatic annual pay raises will disappear; retail prices will rise in some years, fall in others; and interest rates will remain in the 2%-4% range. Bootle, a business professor in Britain and chief economist of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corp., spells out the implications of zero inflation for individuals, corporations, investors and governments, dispensing often unorthodox advice. On a global scale, he predicts that monetary authorities' fears about resurgent inflation could cause them to set interest rates too high, thereby triggering a slump. Though Bootle overstates his case, his book provides a new slant on the economic terrain. (Text from Publisher Weekly)