Markets are in for a long, rough ride

The last week or so has seen an extraordinary set of events which saw shares first plunge following the failure of Lehman Brothers and the rescue of AIG only to surge on the back of plans by the US government to buy bad and illiquid debt from financial companies along with bans on short selling. But the big question is: will the rescue efforts work? The events of the last few weeks have their origin of course in the subprime mortgage crisis in the US, which has led to massive financia…