More to add to the doom and gloom story,
an interesting article predicting that the U.S is no longer going to be the financial stronghold of the worlds economy. One quote from the article,

on a global financial scale: America will no longer be the world's financial regulator."
When asked who would replace the U.S. in regulating world markets, he said: "Two countries could assume this role: China, with its vast reserves, and Russia, which could play the role of a regulator in Eurasia."



http://en.rian.ru/world/20081124/118512713.html