Niko

Just How Terrible Is Housing as an Asset Class? Roubini Weighs In

I don't understand you obsession with consumption. You don't spend your way out of a recession. You can not consume forever. Somewhere something has to give.

Trichet, ECB Missing the Point with Crude

You aren't making any sense. A market where government intervenes is not a free market. And if the FED is doing such a good job, why don't you see any results? You know, the real estate will never spill over the rest of the economy, it is all contained and all the other stuff.

Why Mark to Market Accounting Sucks

Well, if there is no market, than you basically have nothing. Maybe there will be a market in future, aka "the long run", but the future can be tomorrow, or it can be 2030. BUT right now you have nothing, there is no problem of valuation or anything, you really have nothing.

Why Mark to Market Accounting Sucks

I am one of those which don't understand. The market is the one that buys and sells so it the one that sets the price. If you don't like it, take it of market, pure and simple. The fair price is the price the market is prepared to pay at the moment.

Market Bottom Already? I Don't Think So

The problem with exports and a week dollar is that it works in the short term. Those that export, also consume, so after a while they will have to rise their prices just to stay even. So I would not count on them to provide more jobs in the near future. Also you could see some extra taxes in the future in order to compensate for the ones lost because of housing.
Rising population is not going to increase spending, but it may even reduce it. It is pretty hard to spend at Starbucks when you have an extra mouth to feed.
The market is very volatile right now, so it is very hard to peak a good stock, because there aren't many of them so everybody is trying a flight to safety.
BTW, don't bet on technology, very few will do well, and by few I mean one or two.

Media Gloom on the Markets Won't Last

So everything is ok now except inflation and we should see good times again pretty soon. This coming from those that gave AAA ratings to junk stuff and caused those problems. Trust them with your money again ... after all, they do have an AAA rating ...

The Truth About Personal Savings and Debt Levels

You can not eat brick. Ok, so you say a house can appreciate. I have two of them. Yes they did appreciate. The problem is, where do I stay? Because none if them is in the city I work. And assets can go down. Event gold can go down. And up. Cash is king for a reason, and if it regains the throne any time soon, you will find out that those assets are nothing. Banks need money. Period. They are not real estate something, or broke dealer, or whatever. They deal with cash. You may hold all the land in the world and still starve.

Actually ancient Greek had a great story. A king loved gold. And he was cursed that everything he touched turn into gold. He died of hunger. That's exactly the essence of your story.

Diversify, bla bla bla. Want a piece of advice? Work, better yourself, find a good wife, when you are old and tired go to a cheap place, read all the books you couldn't, play with your grand children. Trust me, if you are not rich, doesn't mean you can't be happy. And life doesn't mean a big plasma TV, or a BMW. My grandma' doesn't have any of them, and she has the best life I could wish to myself. She still has a purpose and us.