I invested heavily in gold in 2002/2003 as I could see all of this coming, I just didnt know exactly when.

If you are a gold investor like me, you just sit back and enjoy the spectacle, especially now that gold has hit $1,000 and rising.

The whole banking system is a fraud based on debt, has been ever since William Patterson set up the first scam in 1694.

Now can people please wake up and smell the coffee - I'll drop a red pill in for anyone who still doesnt get it.

Simon Ralli Robinson, Gibraltar, GI

This is un-regulated free market capitalism in action. In the current situation if you even get a hint that a company is in trouble you have to get your money out while they still have some money left. The early birds get their full investment back and the late arrivals only get a small portion of their investment back when the company goes bankrupt. It is a dog eat dog world out there and you have to act accordingly. The financial institutions are in competition with each other and not working for the common good. Working for the common good will do nothing for your share price and next years bonuses.

Keith, Ashford,

The American Credo is complete freedom to do what you like (except smoke),but without a certain number of pre-controls,we periodically fall into chaos.
These "storms" arrive from across the Atlantic every few years (internet bubble,stock market fraud etc etc)

Tony, Henley/Thames, uk

The credit crunch will continue. It might be a good idea to apply for a few cedit cards before they stop handing them out as if they sweets!!

Costas, Cyprus,

Let's face it... the probelm is economies, and the rat-racing within them... that causes felony pyramid schemes like capitalism. Seeing any 18 yr olds being forced to join a competer's church, or starve? Seeing the pyramid scheme symbol on the back of the USA one dollar bill? Seeing anything in capitalism that resembles the farmyard pyramids we tried to erect as children... where the upper 1/3 is "head in the clouds" while the kids on the bottom ALWAYS GET HURT from the weight of the world's knees in their backs? Some of us see a felony pyramid scheme, including the person who painted "pyramid of capitalist" (do a Google IMAGE SEARCH for that phrase... to see it). Some of us Christian socialists have wanted a cease and desist order on the free marketeers for a LONG time, but servitude is legal in the USA... due to herd enjoyment addictions. Yeah, we got trouble, with a capital(ism) "T" that rhymes with "P" and that stands for Pyramid (of servitude infestation).

Wingnut
Anti-cap

Wingnut, Bessemer MI,

Let's face it, the credit 'crunch' is a symptom of the problem, which was too much easy credit to begin with. Prescribing even more credit for that problem is not going to work.

Paul, Coventry,

The Bankers should be force by law to sell their overpriced London homes, flash cars, pay back their bonus' to help those who will pay the real price of unemployment. They have with their greed and with regulators that were too busy' lunching out' led us into this crisis that could make depression look like a minor economic adjustment not a potential total collapse of western economics , however short a time or expensive until a fix is in place. Ask Japan!
Our nanny state will be too busy collecting 5pences off plastic bags to wake up to this!

John D Derby

John Dembovskis, Derby, UK

When all this mess is finally cleared up our problems are not over by any means. In the wake of this catastropy then internationally the regulators and the legislators will go into overdrive, with such a plethora of regulation beaurocracy and red tape that the bankers will not be allowed to operate a petty cash account without an official looking over their shoulders. There will be a drive to root out the people responsible and many scape goats will be sacrificed (not of course the top men) while the real culprits - the government administration and regulators go unscathed. With every day that this is allowed to continue the confidence of ordinary people diminishes and the fear is that those with money will put it under the bed or buy gold or coffee or anything, because looking at the crazy way currency markets are going - whats the point of the ...'promise to pay the bearer'... when there is nothing to pay them with except faith.???

David Nammory, Liverpool,