Fraser Speirs

Large sums of money were made available to the banks to ease them through the persistent credit crunch and liquidity crisis. The US were tidying up the loose ends of the rescue of America’s fifth largest investment bank. The dollar and the pound were in freefall, bank shares crashed, and the Chinese market fell as the authorities there threatened higher interest rates to combat inflation.

Inside Parliament the government had decided the whole day could be given over to debating climate change again.