I'm getting nervous. A debt of $14trillion+ is staggering, and the fact that it got so close to the deadline is absurd. Combined with S&P's downgrade, I am quite worried for the US economy, especially with the Eurozone debt crisis getting worse across the pond with now Italy and Spain running the risk of defaulting. It really isn't good news, globally. People are mentioning a "second Global Financial Crisis" or a "double-dip recession", but frankly, I'm not sure the first one was even fully over.

Becky, I was just reading that article before I logged on here. It's true that Australia weathered the GFC exceptionally well, but retail confidence is at extremely low levels - levels that haven't been seen for decades. And anyone in the retail sector will tell you it's been hard going especially this year, even in a country such as ours that seemed to avoid taking too much damage during the GFC. Demand for credit has slumped massively, too. And our stock market plunged on Thursday and Friday.

Locally, none of these indicate any good news. If the world goes back into a recession - or worse, a genuine depression - I am not entirely convinced by Wayne Swan (our treasurer) - in fact, I'm hardly convinced at all - that we are going to be so well-shielded from it. Certainly the current government's economic credentials are a complete joke. The only thing that may prove beneficial to us is our strong economic relationship with China. But that, in itself, has me worried, too.

All in all, I think the next few months, at least, are going to be a bumpy ride for all of us.