Eagle-Chief

Will We Know When We've Made a Low?

How about this one Brett - Will we have ANY MORE DOUGH when we've made a LOW?

I have a newfound respect for the stock market as an alternative type of gambling !

The Crash of 2008

Dude - I disagree with your assessment. Here's my take on the matter -

Vladamir Putin was on CNNMoney.com saying that the world has probably lost confidence in Wall Street FOREVER. Forever is a long time. Why have they lost confidence? Because Wall Street and its "investment experts" have been selling fraudulent securities to the American public and to foreign investors for years. And now the game is OVER. The fruad has been exposed.

Americans and foreign investors have entrusted their money (and their retirements) to these fruadulent firms for years. Sadly, because of Wall Street's deception and greed, America will FOREVER lose its position as the center of world finance and investment. Why should investors, foreign or domestic, place their money into the trust of Wall Street money managers who have bankrupted their companies, walked away with million dollar salaries and bonuses and are now bankrutping America and the rest of the world?

Sit tight and ride out this storm? I don't think so. Wall Street and investing in stocks in American has been unveiled to reveal what it is - a con game from the very beginning designed to enrich the corporations and the "investment experts" on Wall Street. Sadly, the hard-working investors saving for their retirement are the ones who are having their LIFE SAVINGS EVAPORATE.

Expect the Real Rally by Mid-2009

"The housing market is beginning to stabilize." I doubt it buddy. I Seriously doubt it. HOW COULD IT? Rising food and gas prices. Wages that are not rising to keep up w/ inflation. Housing that is not affordable to your average citizen (I'm not talking Oklahoma folks). Housing is still WAY TOO HIGH compared to historical standards. The bubble is still deflating and unfortunately still has a long, long way to go.

The Only Chart True Investors Need to See

You're just a Wall Street Stooge, Mister. Sure, stock prices may go up, but you could also buy a house for $20,000 in 1970 (in many places). Increasing prices don't always mean increasing wealth. REMEMBER THE INFLATION MONSTER ! People have been losing money right and left in this MASSIVE BEAR market. So if you say that this is the only chart we need to see (ie-"all we need to know") - my response is "HOGWASH."

Financial Fears Sweeping the Globe

No comments? No comments? Maybe your story was just posted a few minutes ago, Sir William.
Thanks for covering a subject which many news sources avoid like the plague. I hope this doesn't turn out to be the "mother of all meltdowns," such as a worldwide depression. Your second paragragh (the RBS warning) is quite scary to think about. Such a crisis or crash could make the Great Depression seem like a stroll in the park.

Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News

Eli - this statement is interesting -
Food could cost 7-9% more next year. Economists say heavy Midwest flooding may cause U.S. food prices to climb 7-9% in 2009. "The U.S. consumer has gotten used to cheap, affordable food," food-industry analyst Fiona Boal says. "Now the goal posts are moving."

The thought of this sicken me. I had an instructor iin college that said "The U.S. could produce enough food to feed the entire world." Although perhaps an overstatement, it was not far from being truth. And with today's technology and modern equiptment, one would think that food production in the world would be in great abundance.

However, government policies make food less affordable. This ethanol thing is sickening. Ethanol is a government sponsored scam that is contributing to the rising cost of food worldwide and is even causing starvation around the world. Mark Perry wrote an excellent one page article about ethanol on Seeking Alpha -
seekingalpha.com/artic....

In the name of "environmentalism" radiacals are pushing these biofuels at the expense of rising food costs and starving peoples.
Sadly, America has become a socialist-elitist nation which has no regard for rightousness or for the welfare of its citizens and the citizens of other nations.

America could be energy-independent - using nuclear energy, American oil, and solar and wind energy. And yes, we and the rest of the world could have cheap, abundant food too.

Just Your Average Bear Market

Time will tell if this turns out to be a cute little teddy bear or a great big grizzly bear (or somewhere in the middle). But I concure w/ LarryH.

The Reverse Wealth Effect

Chris -

good article, however, your point about the price of oil increasing because of "....it is becoming increasingly difficult and more expensive to get oil out of the ground. Much of the world’s low hanging fruit has already been snatched from the oil patch."
C'mon, Chris. Think about it. If we believe this, we're all being taken for a bunch of suckers. Other factors such as government policies (not allowing for drilling in many parts of the USA, especially offshore) affect the price of oil. Turmoil in the mideast may also adversely affect the price of oil, and the falling dollar is a huge factor. But your argument above, no Chris, I don't fall for this one.

Take at the one year crude oil spot price here:
www.wtrg.com/daily/cls...
Oil went from about $65/barrel one year ago to $138/barrel today.

C'mon Chris. Think again. We're being taken for suckers.

3 Economic Crises: My Take

D.B. You forgot crisis # 4 - the dollar crisis.
This is related to # 3, in fact, is the cause of # 3. On June 3, 08, Reuters ran a story titled "Dollar crisis looms, China ponders reform: Mundell." It says that the Chinese government talks a lot about a major dollar crisis which could come within 5 years, and how they can
"protect" their dollar holdings. I take the phrase "dollar crisis" to mean "dollar collapse." Are the Chinese correct? Well, look at the performance of the dollar since 2000 and decide for yourself....

Dow -3% Days

Your first paragraph here made me want to barf.... "Friday's decline of 3.24% for the Dow was the first -3% day since February 27th, 2007, and just the third of the bull market (if it still is one) that started in October of 2002." Bull market? Are you fools joking? This is an extemely volatile and risky BEAR MARKET. Get your heads out of the sand, you Wall Steet operatives.

Preparing for the Fall

To blah-blah: better to be a bear arisen from hibernation than a bull who is killed for his meat (or a bull run over by the freight train called Recession or Depression).

And if there is anytime during our lifetimes that "a coming doom" may actually come to pass, it's now.

Mike Morgan: Decession or Depression?

Mikee - great article. I too, believe this is a very possible scenario. I am very glad that you are reporting on this. It is a reality check & presents a possible scenario of what lies ahead. Most news articles say that the credit crisis is over (or that the worst is over).

We must not forget who got us into this dire/mortal situation - the banks & the Federal Reserve. Super Low interest rates combined with an extremely loose lending practices (banks llending money to people who they knew could not afford the loans, and making loans which were virtual TIME BOMBS - no money down, 100+% financing & variable rate loans amomg others.)

Now, EVERYBODY IS IN DANGER. EVERYBODY. I cannot help but think all of this might be planned. It's quite ironic that NOW during the housing crisis/deflation, we Americans are also being bombarded with rising food & energy prices.

I hope you are wrong. I hope a depression doesn't come to pass. That being said, one of my favorite sayings is "Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst."