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[Michaelangelica]

"The US dollar has been slammed today," he said.

Mr Rennie said he expected the Australian dollar to reach 96 US cents by the end of 2007 and tipped further rate rises in December and February. .

$A closes higher on back of rates rise - Breaking News - Business - Breaking News

How big is the sub-prime market?

Investment bank Merrill Lynch has estimated that the sub-prime mortgage market in the UK alone was worth between £25bn and £30bn in 2005.

According to market analyst group Datamonitor, mainstream mortgage lending grew by 4.1% in the year previous to that, while sub-prime mortgage lending rose 9.1% for the period.

Until recently, the future of the sub-prime sector had looked rosy.

But the troubles besetting New Century Financial in the US, and higher interest rates in the US, UK and across Europe, have raised concerns in some corners about the long-term viability of the industry.

BBC NEWS | Business | Q&A: Sub-prime lending

Many Australian banks have been exposed.
But everone is keeping the extent very close to the chest.

A financial crisis that began in the US is coming to a home near you
As American banks admit the billion-dollar scale of their losses, Bank of England Governor warns that the worst is still to come in Britain
By Sean O'Grady, Economics Editor
Published: 07 November 2007

No one knows where the bodies are buried. Indeed, no one is quite sure exactly how many bodies there are. But they are out there, and there are plenty of them: underperforming loans, worthless securities and overvalued assets, all safely buried well away from the banks' balance sheets. Buried – but not quite dead

A financial crisis that began in the US is coming to a home near you - Independent Online Edition > Business News