1 Consumer confidence is evaporating
Having buoyed the economy during Brown's best years (now long gone), the public is fast losing faith. Today's Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index is at its lowest-ever, pushed down by growing worries about employment prospects. Rising utility bills and petrol at £1 a litre are further eroding the feel-good factor.

2 Small investors are piling into shares
Here's a funny thing. While telling Nationwide that they feel nervous about the future, consumers are buying equities more aggressively than at any time this millennium. History's lesson, however, is that few can suspend disbelief more effectively than the small investor. When taxi-drivers start giving share tips, it's time to sell.

3 Oil bills are burning a hole in our pockets
When BP bought Amoco in 1998, the best-timed deal of the century, oil was just $10 a barrel. Today, it's $75, more than three times the post-war average. While it may not stay that high, there's no reason to expect a rapid fall to the old OPEC target price of about $25. The full impact on business and consumers has yet to kick in.

4 We're choking on personal credit
Yes, I know I bang on about this but it's the elephant in the kitchen. The extent to which British consumers are over-borrowed threatens economic stability. The problem will become more acute as unemployment creeps upwards and higher household bills cut purchasing power. Watch out for bad news from this week's bankruptcy figures.

5 House prices are detached from reality
Barely a week passes without a survey showing that the price of bricks and mortar is still rising. For many borrowers, the roof above their heads is sheltering chaotic personal finances. But if mass immigration is forcing down wages, as many officials claim, the maths for low-income families don't make sense. Repossessions, a sure sign of distress, look set to rise even further.

6 UK public finances are out of control
In his madcap dash to fund a spending boom in health and education, the Chancellor has abandoned fiscal discipline. To make his numbers add up, he redefines the rules. At some stage there will have to be a painful realignment of government finances. Meanwhile we can only mourn the chronic waste of taxpayers' money.

7 US debt: over-borrowed, over there
On every level, America is submerged in debt. Not just a Fast Food Nation but also a Credit Glutton. Consumers, companies, states and the federal government are living on the kindness of strangers. China is particularly indulgent, holding more than $250bn of US treasury bills. Unwinding this imbalance will rock the rest of the world.

8 Pensions: we're getting older and poorer
Britain once had a pensions system of which we could be proud. As recently as 1997, when Labour came to power, it was in good shape. Today, it's a mess. Brown's raid on pension funds, the fact we're all living longer, and wretched stewardship by some fund managers have combined to wreck this form of saving. A national disgrace.

9 Assets prices: they can't all remain high
It's unnatural for every asset class to be having a party. When gold is high, it's often because investors fear inflation. When shares are high, it's usually a sign of low inflation. When bonds are high, you'd expect shares to be under pressure. High energy prices hurt homeowners, but the price of houses remain high. Something has to give.

10 Cheap money: a vanishing luxury
Across the world, a steady rise in short-term interest rates has yet to unsettle the world's leading financial markets. Sooner or later, it will. Iceland, yes, is in meltdown - and it's not just global warming. Others could follow. Western economies have become cheap-money addicts. As the drug is removed by central banks, shakes and shivers are inevitable.