This week, 50 of my colleagues at Telegraph Media Group lost their jobs, casualties close to home of an economic crisis that has its roots in the readiness of American banks to lend to people who can’t pay them back.
This morning I received a letter from Abbey, with which I have a mortgage, offering me an additional loan. “Use the money for almost anything you like,” it says… “you could even use it to roll up any other borrowings you have in to one manageable monthly repayment.” Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?