The severity of the current financial crisis is reflected in the language employed to describe the events that have unfolded over the past few weeks. The Financial Times, reporting on a European initiative to protect European banks, explains that 'the idea is to help bail out banks, not mop up toxic assets...It comes as governments on both sides of the Atlantique scramble to find ways to contain unprecedented stress in the global financial system.'
The FT also reports that the crisis is hitting other sectors of the economy : 'Manufacturers feel the pinch as woes spread from banking crisis'. The paper explains that governments are determined to shore up the global financial system which is undermined by 'a crisis of confidencethat has paralysed the interbank money market'.
The financial crisis has already taken a heavy toll, leading to 'a string of failures of weak financial institutions' and 'threatens to cause a full-blown credit crunch'
