Worriers are spoilt for choice at present. But there is probably nothing investors should worry about more than the future for US house prices. This applies even for those who live nowhere near the US.

The US housing market is wildly out of whack, with a huge overhang of 4.55m unsold houses. Data on Friday showed this backlog at a record level, which would take more than 11 months to clear if sold at a normal pace.