Sign of the times

A digital clock erected in Times Square to show the US national debt has run out of digits.

When the national debt level passed the $10 trillion mark a couple of weeks ago, the digital display failed to keep pace.

The board was first erected to highlight the $2.7 trillion level of debt in 1989.

A new board with extra digits is under construction. In the interim, the $ sign on the current clock has been converted to an extra digit to keep the show on the road.

While the national debt spirals out of control, the destruction of value in the banking industry continues apace.

The global banking industry has shed nearly one-third of its market value over the first three quarters of 2008, according to figures compiled by the Boston Consulting Group.

Since the onset of the crisis in mid-2007, the banking industry's market value has plunged by nearly $3 trillion say the analysts, wiping out four years of uninterrupted growth.

Among the 30 largest banks, there have been several double-digit changes in rankings over the first three quarters of 2008.

Each of three Canadian banks moved up more than a dozen places since the end of 2007. Two US banks - JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo - had the biggest gains among the ten largest banks, moving up four and five places, respectively.