Financial Times

God, what a depressing week. It seems financial meltdown is certain and the world may be about to end if American politicians don't pass the 'crisis bill' on Thursday - the $700 billion rescue plan to avoid financial catastrophe which was rejected by the House of Representatives on Monday.

Across the pond, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has told the BBC that he will do "whatever it takes" to protect people's savings. Moves to guarantee bank deposits up to £50,000 - compared with the current £35,000 limit - are expected shortly.

Now I may well be moving in the wrong circles but I don't know anyone who has anything near £35,000 in savings, let alone £50,000. Like so many other people, I have a fair amount of debt but no savings. I do, however, bank with the Bank of Scotland and the takeover of a Scottish financial institution by Lloyds TSB is a concern. I've been with BoS for more than a decade and always found them to be an excellent bank with good rates of interest - not that money stays long enough in my account to earn any...

But surely I'm not alone in thinking - not for the first time - that the world has gone mad. Just a month ago a wealthy Arab consortium took over an English football club - Manchester City. Their first act was to pay more than £32m for just one player - Brazilian Robinho. On the same day their city rivals United forked out just under £31m for a Bulgarian striker. United are backed, rather ironically given Monday's events, by Americans. Such transfers are, quite frankly, obscene. And with the world in financial crisis, crass doesn't begin to describe the behaviour of those behind these transfers.

Who knows when the financial horror stories will end. I have a good friend who works for the Bank of Scotland and he's naturally very worried about the threat to his job. Truth is none of us are certain of anything any more.

My old granny, God rest her soul, used to despise banks and never trusted them. She used to keep her money in several biscuit tins under her bed.

I think I'll go to the bank tomorrow and withdraw the four figure sum presently in my account. £10.50 should get me a decent sized tin of biscuits...