Tonight on PBS they talked about Iceland's rapid fall and ruinous outcome- they said it dropped 30% in one day; the question had come up as to whether their and Europe's and Asia's stock markets were a result of the US turmoil or a separate issue entirely. The consensus was that it stemmed from the US problems but would be more difficult to resolve overseas than it would be in the US because the US, being a singular entity rather than multi-national, has more control over it and can thus instate various solutions that may work. They said that outside the US a major problem is that everyone is protecting their own turf; they said, for instance, that Spain is not going to use their own money to save Greece.

They were saying that if the bigger countries - like Germany and France - cooperate with each other, they will find their feet earlier than the smaller countries, that the small countries may find themselves having to save themselves.

The question came up as to why the US dollar is still the one to save and said that there could be a variety of reasons, among them a lingering belief that the US will find its way out of the morass sooner.

That's what I think they said...