Plunging indexes
Grandad October 10th, 2008
Everyone is waffling on about the Financial Crisis.
I’m not worried about it, for the simple reason that my worrying is not going to change anything. Are people going to stop selling shares because Grandad is worried?
The whole thing is descending into a farce. Britain has even invoked a terrorism law against Iceland, for fuck’s sake, and has frozen all their assets. I wouldn’t say the Icelanders are too worried, as I’d say their assets are frozen most of the year anyway.
Finance was never my strong point.
If I go into a shop and get the wrong change, I’m OK and can cause a financial crisis there until it is resolved, but all this stocks and shares thing has me baffled.
In my simplistic world, I hear about them pumping vast sums of money into the economy to fix things. At this stage we are talking about trillions of whatever currency tickles your fancy.
I have two questions.
Where is all this money coming from that they are pumping in? No country can borrow off another, because all are in the same boat.
Where has all the money gone? Is there some fucker in Wall Street salting away trillions of dollars into a private account for his retirement?
My finances are sound. I know this because I have €7.54 in my pocket and it looks exactly the same as it did a couple of days ago. It hasn’t changed colour, or shrunk. It’s enough for a pint. It’s enough for a pack of tobacco.
Dubya says not to worry.
I see George W is going to make a speech later today reassuring everyone that everything is grand, and that we must stop panicking.
We’re fucked.
- Rambles
- Comments(21)
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Yay, go Dubya. Bock reckons he’s going to make himself king shortly, so I guess he’s not worried. It’s all a load of nonsense anyway:
“Oh noes, all the imaginary money has disappeared, what will we do?”
“Quick, make a whole load of other imaginary money and say it’s going to fix the problem”
“But the problem is trust, no-one trusts each other anymore”
“Yeah, but if we do this right we’ll be unimaginably rich”
“Oh, OK”
Is it King Dubya who is stashing it away? And if it’s only imaginary money, how can anyone spend it? Will my local coffee shop accept imaginary money?
Worth a shot? If not you could try bartering or instigate a LETS scheme?
I’m heading out shortly for coffee, so I’ll bring a few ounces of stash and try a good old barter. You can’t beat the old ways.
I hear they’re accepting jam jars in the cinema again. A positive move. I wonder will they accept Fruitfield marmalade with reduced peel.
We are immoderately fucked.
I think it’s brilliant - for the first time in years I don’t have clients constantly hammering on my inbox. Welcome back the 80s - they were great times. Nobody had any money and everyone was much better off.
As a have-nothing ignorant impoverished backwater peasant, I’m feeling quite smug these days.
I’m with you, Grandad: a few coins for a pint in your pocket is all it takes to make life grand.
I suppose it is scary for the people who understand it - as I don’t …. I’ll just continue in the same vein as you Grandad - we are powerless to stop whatever it is so we might as well ignore it. Ignorance is still bliss - thank goodness - Cheers!!!!!
All of my money is imaginary, so it makes no odds to me.
Celtic Tiger, recession, I’ll still be able to buy the same things with the same money, not for the same amount of it granted.
But for me, nothing is different.
Knowledge about the “market” that most experts never seem to understand. One person sells thinking that the price is going down. One person buys thinking that the price is going up. Only one of the two is right.
The cynic in me also notes that in the USA, most middle class people with jobs and homes vote Republican, most poor people without jobs and without homes vote Democrat. It seems that Congress is doing it best to make Democrats out of Republican by taking away our money, our jobs, and our homes.
A cupboard-full of hoops and we’ll all survive the storm.
I don’t think Iceland have much to worry about - their new owner is sure to be able to lend them a few bob.
Barter works a treat. One doobie = 2 mugs of coffee.
I have to strike a rate for tobacco yet, but I doubt I’ll be able to use my usual trading item. Maybe they are short of ammunition?
I have placed a bid for Iceland on eBay - 1 crate of special harvest [2007].
Your product is related to hops, perhaps some home brew?
The financial crisis is an illusion. Do you think John McCain is worried? He has seven houses. How can he afford to buy seven houses? How can he afford seven property taxes? Utilities? Why is this not making any sense to me. Are we going to stop spending money? Not likely. The only people in financial crisis were the ones that were already in it. Now this problem is being brought to everyone’s attention. Now they need money from the people that actually have it. Why do these things bother me so much? Because I have to hear about it every fucking day. My whole life I have been spoon fed lies no wonder my stomach is a bit upset.
oh bring back yellow-pack lager, butter vouchers and the supermarket bread wars….!
Well there are those that would say we deal in monopoly money here anyway . . no sweat down under . . I’m no more broke than I was before and my mortgage interest rates have gone down! hehe
Baino - We have been dealing here in Monopoly money since the Euro came in. I still can’t get the hang of the fecking coings. I throw them at the dog.
Ghetto Ninja - Welcome and thanks for all the comments! I agree with you. I think the whole thing is an illusion. The only way we will really be affected is in our dealings with banks. If we will be looking for a loan, we could be in trouble, but apart from that….?
Given that most people under 30 have 98 and 100% mortgages and their equity is now negative, I don’t think that’s an illusion. I think that’s pretty tough going. Some are paying a small mortgage to a creche also. Nobody will give them a golden parachute. Plus having George Lee in their ears doesn’t help….
SH - Negative equity means that the house is worth less than the amount borrowed to pay for it. Right? What does that matter? It is irrelevant provided the payments are kept up [and interest rates are going down], and the owner doesn’t wish to sell. Just sit tight, and they’ll be back into positive equity soon enough. Houses are not going to become worthless. It is only a matter of time before the housing market recovers, and prices start to rise again.
The issue of creches is a bad one, but that is an ongoing problem that has nothing to do with the current ‘crisis’
I do agree about George Lee. He is a damn good reporter but he always sounds like a judge handing down a death sentence. Someone should give him some happy pills before he goes on air.
Who can undeerstand anything a politician says or does??? Everytime I see one of the talking heads all I can invision is someone tlking out of both sides of the mouth, neither side really telling the truth
One sad note, the passing of Peggy McGuinness, god bless her and peace to her family