It is absolutely frightening, watching how the rumours and the panic spreads. It's really scary following the daily press and being jolted into reality each morning by the blazing headlines as the tide of fear moves from country to country - Ireland, Germany,
Italy, Iceland ..... And the names of the banks that are now involved! Where and who next?
The fear and uncertainty which now seems to have erupted into a full blown international panic is seeing new rumours at every turn and the information age is actively helping the spread of the panic at unimaginable speed. Local community lists far from the
areas of current concern are now even doing their bit. Questions like "should I close my pension plan and take the cash", or "how safe are our (local) banks" are adding to the mayhem as the uninformed first seek and then regrettably take advice and counsel
from their equally ignorant peers.
And now the politicians, ever wary of their re-election chances, are panicking too! Hence this past week's display of the European Union's disunity as they seek (un)common ground to address the crisis.
I wonder how history will view the panic of 2008?