One constant I have noticed is that the "experts" have been lagging in their appreciation of the severity of problems. I'll add that a lot of people with advanced degrees were clever in designing new "financial instruments" but managed to lose track of debt and who owes what to who. Many investors put their money into mortgages because they were "securitised" with with credit default swaps, and because the government (in US anyway) was backing the mortgages up in a way that allowed institutions handling mortgages to get sloppy. Mortgage investments were packaged and re-packaged in so many exchanges of debt and investments that institutions have ultimately lost track of who owes what to who. People are dealing with a lot of figures that are just false or vague. Once the wheels come off the wagon in Italy etc. there is no telling how the dominoes might fall.
There is also going to be a war in the Middle East that could break out at any time and send oil prices sky high. I think people should be prudent and start to build up some supplies. If banks shut down its likely shipping will halt in places. Where I live one large storm causes shelves to empty in a day or two.
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