Click to viewTrading in bank shares could be suspended across the G7 nations tomorrow as the British government carries out plans to take a majority stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland and major holdings in another three of the country's largest banks.

Treasury sources confirmed that the Government had drawn up plans to take on a majority stake in Royal Bank of Scotland and big holdings in Lloyds TSB, HBOS and Barclays under its £500bn plan to bail out the banking industry. Talks were continuing this weekend, added the source, warning that it was a fast-moving environment. The Government is expected to invest £12bn in RBS, £10bn in HBOS, £7bn in Lloyds TSB and £3bn in Barclays, following request for the emergency funding from the banks. Analysts believe a further 20 per cent fall in bank shares this week would leave the Government with little option but to nationalise virtually the entire sector. With markets in the US and Japan closed on Monday, Britain and the other G7 nations are determined to avoid further slumps in banking stocks that could compound the global contagion.

[Telegraph] Frighteningly, crazy-pants Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi predicted this on Friday!