alterdimension said:
The thing that gets me is that the 700 billion bailout is funded by our tax dollars, yet we still have to pay high interest mortgages. Its not the companies that are at fault, its the ceo and presidents. The one thing that really gets me is that these ceo and presidents are still making seven figure monies. The stock market is going down fast. It went below 10,000 and soon the whole world (if not already) will feel it too.
It hit 91xx today but is back up to 93xx around 1:30eastern. 52week high 14,xxx 52 week low 91xx, nearly a 1/3 contraction. Unemployment figures are not accurate because once your UE runs out, you are no longer unemployed. You have to be registered at the UE office to count as unemployed, in other words. I'm not really sure what all that means in real life, but I'm sure it's not good. The feds lowered the interest rate in an attempt to get some credit going, but in the long run, it creates inflation. There has been massive inflation this year at the supermarket. That is one place where inflation really, really hurts. You can get by by cutting back on a lot of stuff, but not food. In my neck of the woods, winter appears to be coming early (or when it always came), unlike the last 10 years or so, so it might turn out to be a really cold winter in which case heating oil/gas is really going to take a lot of money out of the economy. The energy situation is really bad. There is a glut of oil on the market and yet it is still over $100 a barrel. What is going to happen if there is a spike in demand and the glut turns into a shortage? Back to 150 a barrel this winter? God, imaging if that happens what oil will be selling for next summer? $200 a barrel? I hope not. I am unemployed right now and the chances of me getting a job in the next few months are slim and none. Maybe the upcoming xmas season will help the economy, but with a credit shortage it probably will be a record low xmas sales this year. Of course, extreme discounts and price cuts might help. The us could save so much money by ending this stupid war that nobody wants. We could save a ton more on this crazy war on drugs we have as well. The US has 4% of the population of the world and houses 26% of all incarcerated people world wide. There is also a problem in the auto world. There are so many people with suv's that aren't worth what is owed on t hem. The SUV / pickup truck/ minivan were historically the highest value vehicles, retaining their value at a better rate than any other vehicle. Now they don't hold their value so well and so people who own suvs that are a few years old can't get what they owe for them in trade in so they are stuck with them, creating a slowdown in new care sales. I know a few people who want to get rid of their big trucks/cars to get smaller ones and can't. So with Auto, energy, consumer goods and banking all in trouble, it just seems there is no where to go but down. I don't think we will have people starving in the streets like in the 30's, but I don't know what to expect and I imagine that there are millions of Americans like me that are really worried about their future.
Chris
Stock market fell 7xx more points to cross into the 8xxx range, but I have a question (if any one here knows). At what point does this falling stock market cause major layoffs? Usually, corporations turn to layoffs when their stocks tank to try and cut costs to make their books look better. The stock market has now contracted close to 40% in the last year, will this lead to massive layoffs? Possibly double digits or are these things less related than they appear? Because it seems to me that a company can be doing ok and still have tanking stock prices during times like this. I know lack of credit can cause a profitable company to go under because they just can't keep their operation going without cash flow. I guess my question is at what point does the falling market start to wreak havac on the employment rate and the broader economy?
CHris
