I have a savings account with Cahoot, an online division of the British Building Society Abbey, which is owned by the Spanish giant Santander (it’s impossible to know who actually has one’s money in the global economy). Today, I couldn’t log in, which prompted panic. Had Cahoot been wiped out? Had my cash been sucked into the vapid abyss of the credit crunch? A little googleing provided brief relief. Apparently, a power cut has “knocked out” Cahoot’s website. Phew.

But, hang on. Why should a temporary power failure paralyze the website for more than an hour or two? And how come the bank’s call center is also out of order? Seems very fishy. I’ll try logging in again now, but I suddenly find myself ardently supporting Gordon Brown’s extreme bailout initiatives…