Brace yourselves for a dangerous week

1800.a.m. UK time tomorrow (Monday morning) is the moment when we’ll get our first insights into just how tough the next week is going to be…

Normally the opening of the Japanese stock market markets at 1.00 a.m. would give us the first indication. However, the Tokyo and New York makets are closed for public holidays tomorrow, so all eyes will be on the London Stock Exchange at 8.00 .a.m. The tv studio gasps when the FTSE opened 10% down last Friday were unsual enough. But there could be much worse to come over the next few days, depending on how the market react to the G7 meeting over the weekend and the IMF’s warning of a global financial meltdown.

Already (9.30 p.m.) the onliune newspapers are speculating that RBS and HBOS will be nationalised tomorrow, with the government taking a majority stake in each. Presumably, that means the Lloyds HBOS merger may be off, assuming of course that Lloyds TSB isn’t nationalised too. So…

What proportion of the UK banking sector will be owned by the taxpayer by the end of the week?
Which household names in the real economy will be put into receivership as their directors realise that they cannot refinance the substantial bank debts on which they are funded?
What price-sensitive, insider information will be published first on Pestons Picks rather than to shareholders via the Stock Exchange newswires?

How times have changed - where markets are moved by bloggers!

It should be a fascinating week, and the online newspapers will cover it in depth as always.

I can recommend this detailed, daily timeline of the credit crunch by the Guardian.