Today we heard that one of the biggest construction companies in the UK has been unsuccessful in acquiring a ���£500,000,000 loan from the City bankers.

The money being needed to cover a cash flow deficiency. 700 jobs are likely to go. Other builders are planning to seek similar funding, a common enough procedure when things are good. They too may not get what they want.

With consumer spending falling, house prices tumbling and unemployment rising there is bound to be a knock on effect in other parts of the EU. There is also evidence that migrant workers from Eastern Europe are returning home in greater numbers than those arriving.