It is a big problem (messy to) and the US Fed can only cut rates so much due to the effect on the value of the dollar. But that decline in the Dollar makes imports more expensive or stated differently home made goods more attractive (keeping employment strong there). The size of the US consumer market and competition in that market means pricing power on imports and consumer goods (importers will force some on the origin countries and retailers will have margins squeezed...). As for housing, A great deal of the subprime stuff was exported (greed got to more than just US Banks) and the devalued dollar means others holding US based dept (including Government bonds get less than they bargained for. More spreading out of the pain. As for the mortgages, more work or personal bankruptcy and loss of personal savings (where many of these individuals who got into the situation in the first place have little to loose to start with). There are many factors in play to cover ther but the long and short of it is that the US is in a mess, but not quite as bad as one would expect. Still a mess though. There have been these kinds of bubbles before (S&L, Office Buildings, Junk Bonds, Tech IPO's, etc.) and some time for recovery to happen, but the scamers quickly moved onto new scams and the overall economy survived. This time a good bit of the scam was neatly exported. For this, many in the rest of the world will demand better regulation and over site and will get some of what they demand but not all. The Banking System will get less of a shakeout (remember tree shaking) than otherwise would/should be the case. So, is it pretty? No! Will it impact the US economy and other economy's? Yes! Will it cause a world wide recession? Not likely! (some bumps and a few shakes there and there but overall unlikely). Will there be a lot of individuals in the US and some else were adversely affected? For sure! And so on... Will Metals hold up in price? Yes! Should Noront benefit from this? Yes! (more so than most junior minerals explorers). Will there be increased minerals exploration and subsequent mine developments? Yes! Will I be holding onto my NOT shares? Most Definitely! Should you hold onto your Noront shares? Your choice! (hoping each of you have the choice). Old Joe