The International Monetary Fund confirmed overnight that the world economy is entering a major downturn in the biggest financial crisis since the 1930s.
The one piece is good news where the IMF sees growth continuing. That might help us a little.
In its report, the IMF said that after four years of strong global growth led by emerging and developed economies, the world's economy was now heading into a major downturn led by leading industrialised nations.
Overall growth in the US, Europe, Japan and Canada would drop to 1.5% this year - and was set to fall even lower to just 0.5% next year, it said.
Conversely it has been developing countries in Africa and Asia which had seen the greatest expansion in growth in recent years - and where economic output was set to suffer the least.
Growth in emerging and developing countries would still be 6.9% this year, and 6.1% in 2009 - while growth in China would be still be an impressive 9.3% next year - the IMF forecast.
