Consumer credit could be the next “aftershock” of this financial crisis, says Jason Simpkins. Banks have suffered big losses on mortgages, and are now looking to reduce their exposure to credit card debt. This could be the death knell for the American consumer, and deepen the US recession in 2009.

The government is banking on the American consumer to rescue the economy. But debt-ridden households have had enough, says Andrew Gordon. He says the government’s massive bailout are benefiting very few in the short-term. But the long-term consequences will be felt by all.

Rick Pendergraft says you shouldn’t underestimate the lift that tumbling gas prices can give consumers in 2009. Compared to the $4 a gallon peak in July, drivers will save $162 billion a year at today’s prices. Add that to a boost in confidence from the Presidential changeover, and Rick says a slow recovery could be on the horizon.

There’s more bad news ahead for the U.S. economy as home foreclosures continue to rise. One out of every 483 U.S. households is at some stage of the foreclosure process, and with that many displaced or struggling homeowners, the economic recovery may well take longer than expected.

As China grapples with the consequences of its devastating earthquake, it finally also has begun to confront the destabilizing forces that are bubbling up from beneath its economic landscape.

Are you getting dizzy yet trying to keep track of all the takeover activity in the Aussie market? From the big fish to the little fish, all of fishes in Australia’s resource ocean are on the Chinese menu.