BRUSSELS — The metaphors used during the financial crisis of 2008-2009 — earthquake, tsunami, meltdown, black swan and fallout — are back with a vengeance, but now they are being recycled literally. In fact, the financial crisis and the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima nuclear-power plant in Japan share at least four similarities:
* The "black swan" metaphor suggests that these events reflect difficulty in correctly assessing risks in complex systems.
* Regulators proved unable to forecast and prevent the crisis.
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