Will this be enough?

OK, it’s starting to look serious. The economic outlook has been poor for a while now but a number of people, including me, have been suggesting that if we can steady our nerves all will be well. There was a rate cut last week and no doubt others will follow.

Then this happens. The Government, bless them, plan to help the banks by converting some of their mortgage debt into Government bonds.

This might have been a good idea a while ago but it has to be pointed out a similar move has done very little for the American economy. We now have a Government that is admitting openly that things are looking scary and imitating an only mildly successful business model to get us out of it.

Mind you, at least they’ve made a decision this time. We’ll see whether they manage to pull it around.

Guy Clapperton is a freelance journalist who specialises in small business issues and has written for the likes of The Guardian, the FT and the Daily Mirror. Guy has written about finance and franchising for SmallBizPod. http://www.guyclapperton.co.uk