The daily flood of financial bad news and the prediction of collapse I posted above, has me aiming at a prep goal of mid-summer to finish some critical items. Among those is cleaning out a spare room in case some family members need it.

Thanks, I feel a lot better now RdSnt. Maine is a lot like Canada, but without the money. Same temperatures, anyway.

I have heard the word depression used a lot lately. Is it a state of mind or of the economy, or both?

Thanks, I feel a lot better now RdSnt. Maine is a lot like Canada, but without the money. Same temperatures, anyway.

I have heard the word depression used a lot lately. Is it a state of mind or of the economy, or both?[/quote]

For most people it is probably both, but taking Prozac won't help in either case!

Of course cutting rates is not going to help. The problem is not money, IT’S DEPLETION!

Until this is understood, anything they do will probably have as much negative effect, as it does beneficial. They are running the same old paradigms in a new race, and they are running at 500 mph straight toward a concrete wall!

Fasten your seat belts, Alfred E. Newman is driving the bus!

Oh, I was talking about economic matters. I'm not the least bit depressed emotionally.
I worry most times though. The general population is not paying attention and thus much of the misery that is about to befall all of us is going to be a big surprise and shock. Their reaction worries me a great deal.
Personally I can defend against that panic, but many will suffer unnecessarily.

Not something you see everyday!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 9389956642

That was great viewing!

Excellent link, couldn't agree more with good ol Jim.

Only problem is he's about 45 years too late.

We may never know for sure whether the Federal Reserve's rescue of Bear Stearns averted a seizure of the $516 trillion derivatives system, the ultimate Chernobyl for global finance.

"If the Fed had not stepped in, we would have had pandemonium," said James Melcher, president of the New York hedge fund Balestra Capital.

……Bear Stearns had total positions of $13.4 trillion. This is greater than the US national income, or equal to a quarter of world GDP - at least in "notional" terms. The contracts were described as "swaps", "swaptions", "caps", "collars" and "floors". This heady edifice of new-fangled instruments was built on an asset base of $80bn at best.


Fed's rescue halted a derivatives Chernobyl
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.j ... fed123.xml


Last Updated: 9:59am GMT 24/03/2008Page 1 of 3
When the Federal Reserve stepped in to save Bear Stearns, most people had no idea what was at stake, writes Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

We may never know for sure whether the Federal Reserve's rescue of Bear Stearns averted a seizure of the $516 trillion derivatives system, the ultimate Chernobyl for global finance.

It's always interesting to get confirmation, but I don't think anyone here is terribly surprised. Excellent find, Angry.

This deal has the stink of a corpse. I have never seen such a blatantly corrupt act, on such a large scale.
These are desperate cowards without a thought in their heads other than saving their own skins.

i agree.

More like they've merely postponed the event, and that what we'll get a few months down the road will be several times worse than what it would have been if they'd let BS die a natural death.

well its end of the quarter so Write down season is coming up.

here's the Merrill at the starting gate with another $8B to add to its current total of $25B

So just how much capital does Merrill have anyways? And just how much Treasuries does the Fed have left for these guys to play Hide the Sausage with?

These Accounting Shell games can only last so long till somebody has to mark their Derivatives to market. And when that happens the FED will be taken out because they're loading up on the stuff.

Keep drinking that cool-aid boys