“Shock waves” felt around globe after recent events

Recent events surrounding the economic downturn have sent “shock waves” through the world, it has been claimed.

The severity of happenings from the past few weeks was discussed by Charles Davis, an expert from the Centre for Economic and Business Research.

He said that businesses have been forced to deal with the “fallout” from events such as the bankruptcy of investment firm Lehman Brothers and the takeover of Merrill Lynch.

“There is a real sense of the credit crunch becoming a major crisis. I don’t think there has been a crisis as significant as this since the Great Depression,” he commented.

Mr Davis also highlighted concerns about the merger between Halifax Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB.

The deal would create a dominant “superbank” within the UK market, he said.

Chairman of Lloyds TSB Sir Victor Blank has stated that the acquisition will form the country’s leading financial services group.

By Jamie Price