It's always a sign when the terminology of things change, it generally means that things have got worse. The "credit crunch" metamorphosed into the "credit crisis" quite seamlessly in the first weeks of September.
The latest casualty in the ongoing banking rout is Lehman Brothers one of the "big beasts" on Wall Street. Previously mentioned in these pages, Merrill Lynch another of the big banks on Wall Street effectively disappeared too, being subsumed into Bank of America in what is seen as a bail out buy over. There were worries that Merrill would be the next bank to lose the confidence of investors as it has been hit hard by bad mortgage debt.
It all seems light years away from the daily grind of the mushroom industry in Ireland and elsewhere, but of course it highlights the crunch/ crisis the world of finance which no business is immune from. Anyone trying to get a loan or finance any type of business or property deal is sure to find that the bank manager's ear is suddenly deaf, and his eye glassy. The money go round is grinding to a halt - no more credit seems to be the mantra.
The worrying thing for folk here on the ground in Ireland, many miles from the machinations of Wall Street, is, if one of the biggest banks in the world can go belly up, what's to stop your local high street bank folding too?
The answer to that question is nothing.
And the fear is that with a banking bust in Ireland one could be left with nothing too.
Analysts predict that the crunch cum crisis has a ways to go yet. Place your bets on which venerable institutions are going to bite the dust.
