We are absolutely determined to talk ourselves into recession - until someone says 'oh no - actually there is no recession - and all the lemmings turn round and climb back up the cliff again!

Steve, London, UK

So! We have finally convinced ourselves of the inevitability of a recession

Move over Nostradamus - the new prophet is: The Headline.

It is guarenteed

It is self fulfilling!

(Just beware we start to talk ourselves into World War 3)

Pete, Chichester,

I guess all those foreign investors in my country's banks are not going to yield as much as anticipated. Please continue to buy U.S. assets, especially equities. It is helping to prop up the dollar against foreign currencies. Thank you for your support. US CITIZEN

Blessed Citizen, Southern, WA

Yes, wealth does disappear and not get transferred to someone/somewhere else. If yesterday, someone is willing to pay $2 million for your house and today, the most you get is $1 million, your wealth has halved and gone to no one else. And don't forget the multiplier effect when one disposit money into a bank and the bank lends it out. Basic economics.

A L, Singapore,

You spend too much on space? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Space is the only thing that will save you now.

Nowonder our economies are failing. Not only is space is the answer, it's the only answer.

6.7 billion, soon to be 9 billion, people on the planet.

Get a grip, man. You haven't got a clue.

Thomas Lee Elifritz, Madison, Wisconsin

Get real folks... this is 77bn GBP in bad debt! Those that could not afford the debt were given it any way to artificially inflate the share prices of companies which then paid huge bonuses to people who didnt need them!

And as usual, the tax payer has to pick of the cost of the whinging moaning capitalists cos its all gone wrong for them!

economically depressed, Brussells, Belgium

So the people that sold all that trash credit to those who couldn't afford it and then knowingly sold it on to the rest of the world are now causing this mess.

We must stop the absurd bonus culture where people only think about how to up their bonus at the expense of the economy and prosecute those wrongdoers who sold trash credit to the trailer trash.

David, Madrid,

C'mon guys, the money was so cheap, that it was nearly free! You can't get sense to the financial markets in a better way. The financial institutions have dug their own grave. The bad news is we too are being pulled into it. Perhaps I have to dig a moneyhole in my backyard. That seems to be safest option to keep my money for now!
Let's atleast hope for the governments to be stable.

Balaji, Bangalore, India

What else do you expect to happen?
Oil is at $100, Wheat is at $400/tonne. Gold, steel everything were spiralling up. Things were too hot, and it is good to have a correction, but bad to have a recession.

Balaji, Bangalore, India

Where has the £77 BN,gone !!
Is it lurking somewhere in cyberspace.Waiting to pounce.

Derek Bevan, Huntingdon /Cambs, England/UK

Its Monday Blues cause by the rain and floods and the rising insurance costs because we cannot stop the flooding that is causing the US recession also all the weather disaters in the US pushing up inflation. Political uncertainty in the US does not help. We spend to much on space instead of the basics, solve the US/Worlds problems and then think of glamour projects.

Peter, Hastings, UK

We would do well to remember that wealth doesn't disappear, it just gets transferred to someone/some place else.

Paul Davis, London,

Why all this talk of US recession fears? The US is in recession already

Alex, London,

Ah yes, American corporate greed is impacting negatively on the whole world. Perhaps we should all put our retirement money under our matresses.

Bruce L. Northwood, Washington, D.C., USA

It looks as though the so called experts are talking us into trouble and a possible recession.

David Rustidge, Oldham, England

Didn't the elitist EU crowd in Brussels say that we are in an era of 'decoupling' when assessing the US economy and it's global influence?!

R. D. Lion, Connecticut, USA

It was lending to the BARRIO and GHETTO trash, not trailer trash, that was the moral hazard. Both Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton sanctimoniously encouraged this!

Daniel, Mahomet,

Hmm, not much us ordinary mortals can do. Those the gods wish to destroy they first make mad.
Shame they have to take the rest of us down as well though.
Bet the Christmas bonuses next year don't suffer!!
Any one up there feel guilty?

Dave, Chorley, Lancs

I can't quite understand the way the way in which the financial 'services' 'profession' (?) works.

If a Solicitor or Accountant or engineer / RICS etc (whilst you have them and until the government has destroyed and disbanded them) are negligent then they have to pay for 6 years minimum on their indemnity policy and if they designed say a building which collapsed killing anyone at all they would go to jail or the very least investigated and sued (possibly jailed).

The same needs to happen for bankers. Who merely claim to be professionals. If any decision they have made blows up costing people money, they should be found, sued and if necessary jailed.

Pete Balchin, Solicitor , South West, UK

I can remember well the days when you had to save on a regular basis with your prospective mortgage provider, for perhaps 3 years, to prove that you were a responsible enough person to be allowed to take on debt. Proof of earnings from reliable employment, a clean financial record, and a screening interview, were all required to obtain a 70% 20 year mortgage. How did we get from that stable and sensible way of assessing lending risk to these recent times of unsolicited creditcard-through-the- post, 100% loans for all with no questions asked, Have- it -now and don't pay until next year (if ever), free- for -all times? We deserve our credit crunch and worse , before returning to sanity

Barber, York, UK

Wasn't it Marx that said something about capitalism containing the seeds of its own destruction? As more people realise that obscene bonuses are being paid to all sorts of people for mismanaging the economy and creating avoidable, financial disasters the more distrust in the system will grow.

But, there again, we've all been here before. Haven't we?

Gwyn Harrison, Porthaethwy,

considering today is a national holiday in the U.S, tomorrow could be a very interesting day indeed.

r w, Islington, london

So the fools who created the mess in the first place by lending to the trailer trash markets in the USA and then conning the rest of the worlds bankers into buying their worthless mortgage bonds are now creating this bear market. This really does demonstrate how the markets can talk themselves into their own recession. It is madness

Richard Wyld, Effingham, UK

I hope the financial institutions will take a good look at how the bonus culture is affecting judgements.this present crisis is an own goal, caused by people with clearly little knowledge of economics, but very knowledagable on who to inflate their salaries.getting rid of the bonus culture and reward with shares, may focus their minds.meanwhile, all including the banks are going to suffer.the RBS is now ripe for a takeover!

chris dowling, norwich, england

Boys will be boys! This is just plain insane, why must we put up with this gross mismanagement of the financial sector? The only people who benefit are the rich. If Japan is destabilised by European and US investors, then it will bring China down. As it is the only real manufacturing country left, we will all be left with credit cards to play with and present each other for birthdays and at Xmas.

Stephen Pain, Odense, Denmark