How bad is the meltdown? There are dire predictions from Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez, the Governor of the Bank of Spain. He says it's the worst since the Great Depression of 1929. "The lack of confidence is total. The inter-bank (lending) market is not functioning and this is generating vicious cycles: consumers are not consuming, businessmen are not taking on workers, investors are not investing and the banks are not lending. There is an almost total paralysis from which no-one is escaping," he said, adding that any recovery - pencilled in by optimists for the end of 2009 and the start of 2010 - could be delayed if confidence is not restored".

Even more alarming is the warning from Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, who has warned that 2009 could be even darker, unless governments spend more. "Our forecast, already very dark ... will be even darker if not enough fiscal stimulus is implemented," he said.

Things are so bad that Toyota has forecast its first loss in 71 years with sales in the US and Europe dropping 34%. The company's debt load of $19 billion is likely to start costing with Moody's reviewing its rating.