Hmmmm...
I read this last night...
The Crash of 1929: Are We on the Verge of a Repeat?
The recent implosion of the subprime housing market -- in which people with little or no significant savings of their own are offered huge loans for little or no money down for houses often but not always located in fast-track developments -- shares similarities with the junk bond burnout of the 1980s.
And this morning I read this...
Investors who had been able to shrug off concerns about subprime mortgage lending problems and a more difficult environment for corporate borrowing were clearly worried once again. The Dow's drop is the biggest since it plummeted 416 points on Feb. 27 after a nearly 10 percent decline in Chinese stock markets.
Two things concern me, but don't concern me personally. Bush keeps touting about how strong our economy is - and you can make that argument the same way he made the case for the war in Iraq - by cherry picking data. The wealthy are doing f-ing fantastic and the rest of us, including the rich are back sliding. If the market tanks, the wealthy will be fine, the rich will take it in the shorts, relatively speaking, and the rest of us will continue backsliding.
I'm also concerned because, as I understand it, the architecture of the market now features automatic trading stoppages to prevent massive crashes. Also, as I understand it, there is no such mechanism in place to slow market upswings. But what if a massive crash is in order? How free is a market that can only fall so far in a day?
I can't imagine what another Great Depression would look like - the Joads can't hop in a Jalopy and head West anymore. I'm just glad I am currently working for somebody else instead of for myself, and that both Rachel's job and my own are secure, relatively speaking.
So I am concerned, but it doesn't concern me.
The Crash of 1929: Are We on the Verge of a Repeat?
The recent implosion of the subprime housing market -- in which people with little or no significant savings of their own are offered huge loans for little or no money down for houses often but not always located in fast-track developments -- shares similarities with the junk bond burnout of the 1980s.
And this morning I read this...
Dow plunges 300 on credit concerns
Investors who had been able to shrug off concerns about subprime mortgage lending problems and a more difficult environment for corporate borrowing were clearly worried once again. The Dow's drop is the biggest since it plummeted 416 points on Feb. 27 after a nearly 10 percent decline in Chinese stock markets.
Two things concern me, but don't concern me personally. Bush keeps touting about how strong our economy is - and you can make that argument the same way he made the case for the war in Iraq - by cherry picking data. The wealthy are doing f-ing fantastic and the rest of us, including the rich are back sliding. If the market tanks, the wealthy will be fine, the rich will take it in the shorts, relatively speaking, and the rest of us will continue backsliding.
I'm also concerned because, as I understand it, the architecture of the market now features automatic trading stoppages to prevent massive crashes. Also, as I understand it, there is no such mechanism in place to slow market upswings. But what if a massive crash is in order? How free is a market that can only fall so far in a day?
I can't imagine what another Great Depression would look like - the Joads can't hop in a Jalopy and head West anymore. I'm just glad I am currently working for somebody else instead of for myself, and that both Rachel's job and my own are secure, relatively speaking.
So I am concerned, but it doesn't concern me.
posted by Eric Soderstrom at 11:18 AM
1 Comments:
Well, it doesn't concern you today. Eeeh... I probably shouldn't bring my cynicism here.
I have a fixed rate mortgage, so that makes me feel a little bit better. My retirement savings (what little I have), are in 401K's - which are invested in the stock market. So, although a crash would not impact my day to day life, it would cause me stress watching my retirement dreams dissolve. Also - a major crash could also cause real estate prices to drop potentially putting me upside down in my mortgage.
Watching the stock market has made me think that people are somewhat opportunistic &... stupid. I certainly hope we aren't in for a major crash, but if there is a huge "market adjustment", it could still be extremely painful for a lot of people.
-Joe
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