The northern country of Iceland has emerged as the biggest casualty in the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

While the impact of the market crisis is being felt in major economies around the world, it has left a vast majority of Iceland’s banking sector nationalized. On October 9, its government took control of the nation’s largest bank, Kaupthing and suspended stock trading at the Reykjavik Exchange till October 13. State agencies also acquired sweeping new powers in order to hive off most of the assets of Iceland’s second-largest bank Landsbanki into a separate entity to be known as the New Landsbanki and to be fully controlled by the government.

Home to a mere 304,000-stron population, Iceland is one of the smallest countries of the world but one of the wealthiest nations of Europe. However the recent finance crisis has devastated its profitable banking industry and brought the country on the brink of bankruptcy. Besides its two biggest banks, Kaupthing and Landsbanki, passing under government control, the third biggest bank of Iceland Glitnir too has been compelled to seek state intervention. Not only that, the Norwegian unit of Glitnir has also been propped up by the Norwegian Banks’ Guarantee Fund with $819 million of liquidity support.

US Treasury Secretary announced late Friday that the government will buy equity in banks and other troubled financial institutions, “as soon as we can”. The move is expected to restore stability in finance markets as well as revive economic growth.

Henry Paulson, Treasury Secretary of the United States addressed a press conference soon after an emergency meeting of finance chiefs from G-7 nations where he declared that the US government was planning to buy equity in banks and financial institutions reeling under the credit crisis. The resulting infusion of equity would enable banks to survive the worst credit crunch in seven decades. However Treasury would not be directly involved in the management of banks, clarified Paulson at the press conference even as he declined to elaborate on the details or a specific time table for the purchase of equities.

The US Treasury’s plan to purchase equities in beleaguered financial institutions forms part of the broader mortgage asset purchase plan approved in the $700 billion finance rescue bill a week ago by the US Congress. Few days back the UK government also passed a 50 billion pound $87 billion measure to partly nationalize at least eight lenders in the country.

Finance chiefs of Group of Seven nations have agreed to work together in protecting key banks and financial institutions from collapse even as they stopped short of taking any new initiatives to deal with the worst financial crisis in recent times.

Key finance representatives of G-7 countries came together for an emergency meeting after global stock markets plunged the most since 1970. Participants of the meeting in Washington included finance ministers as well as central bankers of the G-7 nations like U.S, Japan, Germany, U.K, Canada, France and Italy. The members reiterated the need for “urgent and exceptional action” in order to stem the crisis in global financial markets. In a 266-wrod statement, they further pledged to take all necessary steps to “unfreeze the credit and money markets”.

However the final statement issued by the G-7 finance representatives did not specify the measures that would be taken in order to ensure liquidity in the money markets and restore the confidence of the investors. The members stopped short of announcing any fresh measures in the vein of UK government’s step to guarantee loans between banks, a lack which may disappoint investors and further heighten the turmoil in the credit markets

US presidential candidates, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen John McCain sought to woo the American public by mooting economic measures which would offer relief in the current stock market chaos.

Even as the Dow Jones continued its downward slide for the eighth straight day, candidates for the US presidential elections presented their plans to deal with the impact of the current market crisis. Sen. John McCain of the Republican Party proposed that investors should be given temporary one-year reprieve from the rule that which requires them to withdraw from 401(k) accounts after the age of seventy. This is because the current plunge in stocks will compel those above 70 and half years to sell their retirement stocks at great losses.

Sen. Obama of the Democrat Party, meanwhile, took up the cause of small businesses in his campaign trail at Ohio. He proposed a rescue plan under which the Small Business Administration would directly lend to small businesses that are unable to acquire credit from other sources of loans. The plan would provide fixed-rate loans to help small businesses pay for operating expenses besides refinancing debts and making short term investments. The plan also includes additional tax incentives for small businesses to stimulate investment and job growth.

With the recent slow down in economic growth showing no signs of easing, job losses have become a very real possibility. However in the event of a lay off, you should not despair of ever landing a new job again. Rather you can take the opportunity to explore possibilities you may have never considered before.

While you cannot prevent lay offs from taking place and should you happen to be affected by it, your response to the event is certainly within your control. After the initial feelings of rejection and self-doubts pass away, take a hard look at your skill set. Upgrade your work skills or join a new course so that a new employer takes a second look at you.

Prepare a list of all the things you are good at or even know how to do. Explore work options in areas you had once dabbled in or enjoyed but never got around to doing it professionally. If you enjoy baking or decorating cakes in your spare time or were a creative costume designer for theatrical productions at college, see if you can develop these skills as a profession.

This is also a good time to experiment with new skills to see if they can be turned into a profession, like starting a business or working as a freelance writer. Finally remain confident of your abilities and be open to all kinds of positive options while looking for a new job.