Any big business lives on loans. Which is why you see, for example, retailers going bust right before Christmas - which "surely" should be the busiest and most

Any big business lives on loans. Which is why you see, for example, retailers going bust right before Christmas - which "surely" should be the busiest and most profitable time of the year...? But to go through it you need to buy inventory, which requires loans - if you can't raise money, because the market thinks you're already in bad shape, you have to close up shop. Most significantly-sized businesses rely on credit week-in week-out, and tend to implode very quickly if the market turns off the tap.