Yea or Nay?

I think that Wall Street is taking a breather and trying hard to find anything positive, but I have the sense it ain't over yet.

George Saros estimated worldwide losses will eventually top $1 trillion.

Thoughts? Opinions? Rants?

pgrundy wrote:

Yea or Nay?

I think that Wall Street is taking a breather and trying hard to find anything positive, but I have the sense it ain't over yet.

George Saros estimated worldwide losses will eventually top $1 trillion.

Thoughts? Opinions? Rants?

I'm not usually a glass half empty kinda girl--but I think it is far from over. The subprime mess in the USA is a pebble thrown into the pond of the world. We've never had markets this global or this interconnected before soooooooo I dunno<looks around> Now where did I put my crystal ball? BTW pg--I greatly enjoy your reports from the financial trenches of the bank's call center. I know the job sucks, but you are giving us all some great insights.

Nay

Not over yet.

112+ today for a barrel of oil.

I don't think we've heard the last of the bad news by a long shot. The subprime crisis has affected banks in several other countries. Unemployment is still increasing. Middle class earnings are down for the first time in a long time. The budget deficit and national debt are breaking records. We have no coherent energy policy. The Iraq war drags on. Very hard to be optimistic.

Stocks fall as oil jumps

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business … s-imf.html

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/busines … ref=slogin

robie2 wrote:

pgrundy wrote:

Yea or Nay?

I think that Wall Street is taking a breather and trying hard to find anything positive, but I have the sense it ain't over yet.

George Saros estimated worldwide losses will eventually top $1 trillion.

Thoughts? Opinions? Rants?

I'm not usually a glass half empty kinda girl--but I think it is far from over. The subprime mess in the USA is a pebble thrown into the pond of the world. We've never had markets this global or this interconnected before soooooooo I dunno<looks around> Now where did I put my crystal ball? BTW pg--I greatly enjoy your reports from the financial trenches of the bank's call center. I know the job sucks, but you are giving us all some great insights.

Thanks robie2! I should quit whining about that job. I did cut back to 20 hrs a week and I have health insurance because of them, so really, it's time for me to suck it up. It is so much fun trashing the bank though.

Ralph Deeds wrote:

I don't think we've heard the last of the bad news by a long shot. The subprime crisis has affected banks in several other countries. Unemployment is still increasing. Middle class earnings are down for the first time in a long time. The budget deficit and national debt are breaking records. We have no coherent energy policy. The Iraq war drags on. Very hard to be optimistic.

Stocks fall as oil jumps

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/business … s-imf.html

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/busines … ref=slogin

I know! It's a new onslaught of bad news every single day. It's craziness. And yet the market will hear one small positive thing from day to day and rally 300 points. It's all so volatile. I think that is almost worse than if it would just crash and stay down there.

Saw in the paper tonight that one gas station is already at $3.99/gal for regular gasoline here. Diesel has been over $4 for a couple of months now. It's not so much the cost of commuting as what it will do to the cost of everything else, especially food. That is going to hit ordinary people hard--it already is.

I'm more worried now about hedge fund leverage.  The problem is that these guys are unregulated and control gigantic sums of money which they in turn leverage beyond belief.  If one or two of those funds start going under, they could bring down the whole shadow economy.

They will :devil smile:

If that house of cards comes down we'll be taking up farming again if we have the good fortune to have forty acres and a mule.

LOL may be not to that extent, but I think we are up for something pretty serious...

barranca wrote:

If that house of cards comes down we'll be taking up farming again if we have the good fortune to have forty acres and a mule.

Even though I know that what you re saying is true, I confess I want to see the "shadow banking system" fall. The shadow banking system came about because stockholders expected and demanded greater and greater profits, and banks and large corporations responded to that pressure by gutting middle management, outsourcing entry level work, cutting wages and benefits, and skirting regulation at every opportunity.

So over the past 10 years, most of the money in this country has floated to the top 1/2% of the people who live here, and the rest of us share the ever diminishing leftovers while prices skyrocket. My partner and I could live comfortably for the rest of our lives on a small fraction of what the Fed loaned JP Morgan Chase to acquire Bear Stearns at a fire sale price. We could easily still get stuck with the bill for that bailout.

I say, let it fall.

The subprime mess is just part of the cycle.  Anyone who could chew gum could get a loan for a house.  Betting on the rising value of real estate.  Anytime an investment becomes a sure thing then it isn't a sure thing.  When you can't lose then someone will.

The goal of the government has always been to have every American have their own home.  This goes  back to Henry Ford's basic premise that any man who has an acre is never unemployed.  The problem is many people are not responsible enough to own property. 

I have no mercy for the people who put nothing down and bought a house they could not afford.  Then they were stupid enough to make the loan an interest only payment.  duhhh....  They are adults and they signed the contract.  If they cannot handle their finances then we do not need to protect them.  You cannot protect people from being stupid. 

Are we at the bottom of the slump?  Yes in some areas of the country but no in others.  Where the percentage of loans that were interest only were the highest is where the drop will be the greatest.

The land flippers losing money?   Too bad.

my two cents

George Soros remains pessimistic on market outlook

http://hubpages.com/hub/Stock_MarketMor … _happening

Ralph Deeds wrote:

George Soros remains pessimistic on market outlook

http://hubpages.com/hub/Stock_MarketMor … _happening

Great hub on the market Deeds.

At this point, I really do think no one has a clue how to stabilize the market or how to get the country back on track. It ought to be the United States of FUBAR right now. Seriously, what next? As I write this American Airlines just cancelled another 600 flights and NPR has airline people saying everything from "what an overreaction" to "run for your lives!"

This is what happens when the fox is in charge of the hen house.

pgrundy wrote:

This is what happens when the fox is in charge of the hen house.

I don't think it is what caused all that mess. It is definitely a part of the mess, but I don't think it is THE reason

I tend to think that is just one of the manifestations of the natural process, which goes pretty much like summer-winter, high tide-low tide, etc... All is alternating in our world, and finance is no exception.

pgrundy wrote:

Ralph Deeds wrote:

George Soros remains pessimistic on market outlook

http://hubpages.com/hub/Stock_MarketMor … _happening

Great hub on the market Deeds.

At this point, I really do think no one has a clue how to stabilize the market or how to get the country back on track. It ought to be the United States of FUBAR right now. Seriously, what next? As I write this American Airlines just cancelled another 600 flights and NPR has airline people saying everything from "what an overreaction" to "run for your lives!"

This is what happens when the fox is in charge of the hen house.

...and the stockmarket is tanking today too--all atwitter over GE -- Now everyone is worrying about inflation--somebody better go tell Chicken Licken  

BTW I saw George Soros interviewed on Charlie Rose last night--it was a great interview. The guy knows what he is talking about----unfortunately

robie2 wrote:

pgrundy wrote:

Ralph Deeds wrote:

George Soros remains pessimistic on market outlook

http://hubpages.com/hub/Stock_MarketMor … _happening

Great hub on the market Deeds.

At this point, I really do think no one has a clue how to stabilize the market or how to get the country back on track. It ought to be the United States of FUBAR right now. Seriously, what next? As I write this American Airlines just cancelled another 600 flights and NPR has airline people saying everything from "what an overreaction" to "run for your lives!"

This is what happens when the fox is in charge of the hen house.

...and the stockmarket is tanking today too--all atwitter over GE -- Now everyone is worrying about inflation--somebody better go tell Chicken Licken  

BTW I saw George Soros interviewed on Charlie Rose last night--it was a great interview. The guy knows what he is talking about----unfortunately

Yes, it's feast or famine, you never know when you wake up in the morning what is next.

Misha wrote:

pgrundy wrote:

This is what happens when the fox is in charge of the hen house.

I don't think it is what caused all that mess. It is definitely a part of the mess, but I don't think it is THE reason

I tend to think that is just one of the manifestations of the natural process, which goes pretty much like summer-winter, high tide-low tide, etc... All is alternating in our world, and finance is no exception.

That is very profound and easternly philosophical-ish Misha! Great attitude, you have my admiration.

I personally blame persons though. Know their names. Know where they live.

I'm less evolved I guess...