In a fairly Darwinian manner, many hedge funds will simply disappear

—Emmanuel Roman, co-chief executive officer at GLG Partners

There is now no safe haven globally other than a deeply indebted U.S. government. The events of the last few days are categorical evidence of the globalization of the credit crunch and its subsequent problems.

—Jim Reid, head of fundamental credit strategy at Deutsche Bank AG in London.

We’ve reached a situation of sheer panic. There will be massive dumping of assets…hundreds of hedge funds are going to go bust. Systemic risk has become bigger and bigger. We’re seeing the beginning of a run on a big chunk of the hedge funds…don’t be surprised if policy makers need to close down markets for a week or two in coming days.

Things are getting very ugly also in the emerging markets. We used to say when the U.S. catches a cold, the rest of the world sneezes. Well, the U.S. now has chronic and persistent pneumonia. It’s becoming a mess in emerging markets. There are about a dozen emerging markets that are now in severe financial trouble. Even a small country can have a systemic effect on the global economy. There is not going to be enough IMF money to support them.

—Nouriel Roubini