Investors and City traders are nervously watching events abroad as the UK stock markets prepare for a jittery return to work after the bank holiday weekend.
The crisis in Russia rocked markets around the world last week and the City is braced for more turbulence to come.
The big debate is about whether the heavy falls in share prices in the UK, US, and Europe simply marked a temporary downward correction after rising too fast or were a signal of more serious problems ahead.
Some commentators have predicted that the world economy is on the brink of the most serious slump since the Second World War.
On Friday, the FTSE-100 index of leading British companies crashed 259 points at one stage - the fourth highest points fall on record - as repercussions from the Russian crisis and the Asian economic downturn reverberated around the world.
Although London stocks clawed back some of the ground they still finished the day 119 points down, wiping #21bn off share prices.
The Dow Jones index closed 114 points down on Friday, after a 357-point slide the previous day, contributing to the biggest weekly fall Wall Street has seen.
And with Japanese stocks sliding to a 12-year low last week, few experts are willing to predict that the worst is over.
Ian Amstad, economist at Bankers Trust, said: ''Yes, the markets are ugly: in turmoil, in a tailspin, even in meltdown.''
In spite of the small but growing risk of a global recession, he added, the main message to investors was: ''Don't panic.''
Mr Amstad said: ''Stock markets have been significantly overvalued, and to that extent the recent correction is to be welcomed. The issue for the markets is whether or not the correction turns into a rout.''
In addition to the international turmoil, there are growing fears that the UK economy could be heading for a recession, triggered by the effects of the strong pound.
That led to fresh demands for the Bank of England to cut interest rates, with the Confederation of British Industry and the British Chambers of Commerce calling for the cost of borrowing to come down.
The Bank's committee that sets rates announces its next decision on September 10. Most experts predict it will keep them on hold this time, with some even forecasting a cut in rates later in the year.
q Taiwan has barred all securities and investment trust companies from selling or buying hedge funds linked to international financier George Soros, Taipei newspapers reported yesterday.
''Authorities have not approved sales of (Soros's) Quantum Group's funds in Taiwan, and anyone found illegally doing so will be severely punished,'' the Securities and Exchange Commission was quoted as saying.
Taiwan authorities have worried that their efforts to defend the sagging stock market - which plunged 477 points or 23% in the past week - might be thwarted if Soros's funds enter Taiwan, local stockbrokers said.-Reuters
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