Bits and Bobs

Oil rallies in $5 turnaround to $136.68

Stocks drop on bank worries, FedEx profit warning
"Record high fuel prices and the weak U.S. economy dampened volume growth and substantially affected our bottom line ... We will continue to reduce expenses to match volume and revenue expectations," FedEx chairman Frederick W. Smith said in a statement.

RBS Warns of Stock, Credit Market Crash: Report
The Royal Bank of Scotland issued a stark warning to investors Wednesday, stating global stock and credit markets could be on the verge of a fully-fledged crash as central banks have their hands tied by soaring inflation, the Telegraph reported.

"A very nasty period is soon to be upon us - be prepared," Bob Janjuah, credit strategist at RBS, told the UK daily paper.

Central bank body warns of Great Depression
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the organisation that fosters cooperation between central banks, has warned that the credit crisis could lead world economies into a crash on a scale not seen since the 1930s.
In its latest quarterly report, the body points out that the Great Depression of the 1930s was not foreseen and that commentators on the financial turmoil, instigated by the US sub-prime mortgage crisis, may not have grasped the level of exposure that lies at its heart.

Fund managers respond to the RBS prediction of a fully-fledged stock market crash.