Global Economy Bursting?

[Randolph Kinney]

In U.S. Stress Tests, a Tool to Gauge Contagion in Europe

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/08...agion-in-europe/?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25

American banks not only had a small exposure to Italian government bonds, but also a larger one to Italian banks and companies. If the European debt crisis spread to Italy, it could cause another global financial catastrophe. Only this time, global regulators might have fewer weapons to combat it. The Fed declined to comment on its analysis.

 

[Couch Potato]

Opportunity abounds, but common sense is scarce.

You expected immediate increases? Well they should have happened but we have a Fed that is gutless and used the only tool they had left in their bag at the moment.

Just wait ... 2013 will be the beginning of unheard of consequences to the downgrades and our lack of ability to get our financial house in order .... be patient grasshopper ... stand in the middle of the road .... the bus is on schedule and it will run you over if you dont pay attention and take necessary steps to get yourself on the sidewalk.

Getting "our financial house in order" matters, but S&P's rating doesn't mean squat in the markets because the agency lacks credibility. That is the only real news resulting from their downgrade, and it is not news to most in the financial world.

The money I have that I think is most at risk of losing value right now is that I have in Gold. I'm not worried about it since I have not added any gold to my stash in years and I won't be disappointed if gold continues to go up, but I think the current price of gold is ridiculously out of line with reality.
Buying gold now is like buying a house in Vegas in 2006. :new_all_coholic:

Right now we are in day-trader heaven (or hell if you don't know what you are doing. )

 

[Restrain]

The difference between buying gold and buying a house is that you are not getting a 101% loan to buy the gold and there is always a market for gold. Even if you decide to sell your gold tomorrow, it will be highly marketable, with no shortage of buyers. Further, even if you are upside down, you are not dealing with a loan. You have 100% equity. Can you lose? Sure. You can lose in any investment, but don't confuse the two different types of investments.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

USPS proposes cutting 120,000 jobs, pulling out of health-care plan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...8/11/gIQAZxIM9I_story.html?wpisrc=al_national

The financially troubled U.S. Postal Service is seeking to reduce its workforce by 20 percent, including through layoffs now prohibited by union contracts, and to withdraw its employees from existing health and retirement plans, instead creating its own benefit programs specifically for postal employees. If approved by Congress, the changes could have major ramifications for federal workers across the government.

 

[DTB]

Right now we are in day-trader heaven (or hell if you don't know what you are doing. )

I hope some of ya's got long at the open! :laugh: $2,500 per contract today.

 

[Couch Potato]

The difference between buying gold and buying a house is that you are not getting a 101% loan to buy the gold and there is always a market for gold. Even if you decide to sell your gold tomorrow, it will be highly marketable, with no shortage of buyers. Further, even if you are upside down, you are not dealing with a loan. You have 100% equity. Can you lose? Sure. You can lose in any investment, but don't confuse the two different types of investments.

There is always a market for gold and real estate always goes up in value. :new_all_coholic:

If you are upside-down, you took out a loan otherwise it is impossible to owe more than it is worth and thereby be upside-down. Many people are currently buying gold on margin, in other words taking out a loan to do it. Likewise many people buy houses without taking out a loan. Your "differences" simply are not valid. The only real difference is location; gold is portable, which means it is subject to theft.

 

[PropertyEconomics]

There is always a market for gold and real estate always goes up in value. :new_all_coholic:

If you are upside-down, you took out a loan otherwise it is impossible to owe more than it is worth and thereby be upside-down. Many people are currently buying gold on margin, in other words taking out a loan to do it. Likewise many people buy houses without taking out a loan. Your "differences" simply are not valid. The only real difference is location; gold is portable, which means it is subject to theft.

There is one other VERY important difference .. Gold is liquid ... it can be sold immediately and without marketing ... real estate is not a liquid asset.

 

[Austin]

Getting "our financial house in order" matters, but S&P's rating doesn't mean squat in the markets because the agency lacks credibility. That is the only real news resulting from their downgrade, and it is not news to most in the financial world.

I had the same situation back in my school days. I was always by far the smartest student in the class but the test rating, which didn't mean squat" classified me as about average. Standards are just someone's opinion and should be ignored. Were it not for those stupid test I might be a brain surgeon.

Here is a related story proving my point. The State of Virginia released the AYP No Student Left Behind Scores and 90% of the schools flunked the stupid test. Read it for your self:

Dan River Region schools join crowd in failing standards

http://www2.godanriver.com/news/201...schools-join-crowd-failing-standa-ar-1233300/

We have got to do something about those stupid standards. They are making us look like a bunch of monkies. We need more money for educational infrastructure.

 

[Randolph Kinney]

Ninety of Europe's biggest banks hold $6.7 trillion in loans that are due in the next two years. That is more than half of the combined gross domestic product of the 17 nations that use the euro.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/b...escues.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha22

 

[Randolph Kinney]

I had the same situation back in my school days. I was always by far the smartest student in the class but the test rating, which didn't mean squat" classified me as about average. Standards are just someone's opinion and should be ignored. Were it not for those stupid test I might be a brain surgeon.

Here is a related story proving my point. The State of Virginia released the AYP No Student Left Behind Scores and 90% of the schools flunked the stupid test. Read it for your self:

Dan River Region schools join crowd in failing standards

http://www2.godanriver.com/news/201...schools-join-crowd-failing-standa-ar-1233300/

We have got to do something about those stupid standards. They are making us look like a bunch of monkies. We need more money for educational infrastructure.

California has a different problem; high-school dropout rate is at 20%.

94,000 teenagers will hit the streets without diplomas.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/11/BAT71KMA37.DTL