All this week, BBC World Service is looking at the credit crisis around the world - what has caused it, and what is being done in response.
As the week began, China announced a fall in its growth rate from 12% to 9% - a very significant drop and one that has led to deep concern. Two Chinese investors seem resigned to a more difficult future - at least in the short term:
Listen Listen to Chinese investors (22 secs)
It is not just the figure on economic growth that worry China's leaders. The country is used to rising trade surpluses because it has been so successful as an exporter, but the surplus is down more than 2.5% and factories making goods for export are closing, with half of China's toy makers now out of business. In Shenzhen, - the birthplace of China's free market reforms - one local shipping employee told us their story:
Listen Listen to Xiong Ming (1 min 11 secs)
John Sudworth assesses why Japan should have been able to weather the storm - and why it the economy is bracing itself for more economic pain:
Listen Listen to John Sudworth (1 min 15 secs)
Peter Greste in Nairobi assesses the likely impact of the crisis on aid to the developing world, and how aid agencies are looking at history to find how their funding might be affected:
Listen Listen to Peter Greste (1 min 15 secs)
Also in Kenya, Johnny Ndungu, who owns a menswear shop and restaurant in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, says he's feeling the effects of the economic situation:
Listen Listen to Johnny Ndungu (1 min 32 secs)
Meanwhile across Africa, Will Ross in Accra has been looking at some of the ingenious measures being taken by Ghanaians keen to avoid the high price of bread:
Listen Listen to Will Ross (4 mins 26 secs)
And in Mumbai, the great Indian dream is failing as reduced business from America means reduced profits. Karishma Vaswani reports:
