That's the question the world is asking as the US stock market continues to twist and turn on the fulcrum of anxieties over the subprime market.

And while it's by no means clear that the subprime anxiety will push the US into recession, the problems are likely to spread into other parts of the economy.

With African-Americans and Hispanics more likely to take out subprime loans, we can expect it to create more wealth inequality. Also, we can expect to see it hit consumer spending and the construction industry. For more analysis, check this USA Today report.

I'd add that lawyers are probably rubbing their hands in anticipation. This has tremendous lawsuit potential. It's just a matter of time, says John Norris in the Mongomery Advertiser.

So what sort of impact will all this have? One way of looking at it is that this might give us the correction we need. But the worry is that what we might end up with is just volatility, not a correction. Watch this space.

The problem, as this piece from Emory University in Atlanta points out, is that there are just too many imponderables. No-one knows for sure what's ahead.