What the &^$*&# is happening in the financial markets? And how should it be solved?

Discussion in 'Finance, Investing & Economy' started by FCGrunn, Sep 17, 2008.

  1. FCGrunn

    FCGrunn Member

    Oct 30, 2007
    Groningen
    Club:
    FC Groningen
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/business/17insure.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

    Yet another bailout, and how many are to come? Main street will be paying the bill for Wall Street for decades! Tighter regulations will certainly be discussed. And too right as I see it. This is getting ridiculous. We need tightening regulations akin to the ones introduced in the thirties. But will this really happen? Said Will Rogers once: "These old Wall Street boys are putting up an awful fight to keep the government from putting a cop on their corner." But I think that we need a cop on the corner of Wall Street - a whole lot of them indeed! Years of boasting about how America kept the world economy running, and this is the result? The average American household is already in debt up to their eyebrows. How is anyone going to pay for this?

    Well, enough ramblings to get a decent discussion going.

    But let's try and focus a bit after ten replies or so. ;)
     
  2. FCGrunn

    FCGrunn Member

    Oct 30, 2007
    Groningen
    Club:
    FC Groningen
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
  3. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    The Feds will pick and choose the "crucial" firms to keep float, and let the others fall....

    Lehman wasnt crucial.. It was a brokerage house....

    There is alot more at stake if AIG went down.
     
  4. CosmosKramer

    CosmosKramer Member

    Sep 24, 2000
    Yokohama
    Club:
    Yokohama F Marinos
    Nat'l Team:
    United States



    I think firms realize this, and that explains why B of A would take on Countrywide and Merrill despite the latter's toxicity. Firms are scrambling to pair up now - becoming "too big to fail" is their only hope of survival in this climate.

    BTW - My wife works for Lehman (no one layed-off, yet, in Tokyo at least - hope she gets paid!)
     
  5. bostonsoccermdl

    bostonsoccermdl Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 3, 2002
    Denver, CO
    OUCH! best of luck with that. (I know how it feels)

    Doesn't our old teamate Joe M also?
     
  6. CosmosKramer

    CosmosKramer Member

    Sep 24, 2000
    Yokohama
    Club:
    Yokohama F Marinos
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    He was with JPMorgan/Chase last I heard - I imagine that's just about as safe as you can be in finance - without a doubt too big to fail!

    Rumor has it Barclay's is going to take over Lehman's Tokyo business.
     
  7. FCGrunn

    FCGrunn Member

    Oct 30, 2007
    Groningen
    Club:
    FC Groningen
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
  8. John_Harkes_6

    John_Harkes_6 New Member

    Mar 29, 2000
    Baltimore, MD.
    The Fed was a step late in eliminating naked shorts. They should have done this after Bear and didn't go far enough because they should have also brought back the uptick rule.

    As someone who was screwed by Putnam deciding to change the rules 24 hrs later I am a little weary we have turned the corner. However, it appears the market has calmed down a little although another MM Fund closed this morning.

    The market is never as good as people think it is and conversely it is never as bad as people think it is. Greed and Fear - that is all it is.
     
  9. Footer Phooter

    Jul 23, 2000
    Falls Church, VA
    I bought some OXPS on Tuesday. I'll probably be selling that today. I'm not convinced that we're out of the woods yet either. Should be a nice little gain though.
     
  10. Footer Phooter

    Jul 23, 2000
    Falls Church, VA
    Update: Wow. I had a limit sell of $23.00 on that. Opened over $25. Much better than I had hoped for, and it came down almost immediately. Better to be lucky than good. :D

    It looks to me like this rally seems to be limited to very specific sectors this morning. Outside of OXPS, my other stocks are up about .5%
     
  11. Juan Luis Guerra

    Juan Luis Guerra Red Card

    Jun 11, 2001
    New York City
    I'm investing 1,100 a month. Is that too much to risk?. Or is that fair enough? I'm doing it with Transamerica.
     
  12. CrewDust

    CrewDust Member

    May 6, 1999
    Columbus, Ohio
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    As long as you are diversified you'll be ok.
     
  13. Juan Luis Guerra

    Juan Luis Guerra Red Card

    Jun 11, 2001
    New York City
    Yeah, they are. They diversify the money in different investments in China, Europe (in euros), Brazil and of course in the USA.
     
  14. Levante

    Levante Member+

    Jul 28, 2001
    Did anyone here have one or multiple accounts with either Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers?

    If so, how easy/hard was it to transfer your accounts? Could you transfer your accounts?
     
  15. Elvis Minaya

    Elvis Minaya Member

    Sep 22, 2008
    Valparaiso, Chile
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    Chile
    I did not have money with Lehman. So i did well. Juan Luis Guerra, I think Transamerica is a well established company. You should be ok.
     
  16. Elvis Minaya

    Elvis Minaya Member

    Sep 22, 2008
    Valparaiso, Chile
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    Chile
    How is the market now?
     
  17. John_Harkes_6

    John_Harkes_6 New Member

    Mar 29, 2000
    Baltimore, MD.
    Horrible - the bozos in Congress are mucking everything up and using it for political gain.
     
  18. Elvis Minaya

    Elvis Minaya Member

    Sep 22, 2008
    Valparaiso, Chile
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    Chile
    Is my 401k save?
     
  19. AngryMobRun

    AngryMobRun Member

    Jul 22, 2007
    Houston/Dallas
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This is a boom and bust economy. Every so often there will be a depression like 9/11, Enron, and the current depression resulting from such things as public debt, the credit crisis, higher oil prices, etc.

    However, there will also always be booms in the economy that tend to last a lot longer than busts such as PCs, cell phones, the internet, etc. The biggest financial boom the US has ever had resulted from victory in wwII when we controlled 90% of the world's industry. Inevitably, this depression will end with planned recovery followed by a boom. Since there is a depression, now is the time to invest before the next boom as long as you diversify. Just make sure you sell before the resulting bust.
     
  20. FCGrunn

    FCGrunn Member

    Oct 30, 2007
    Groningen
    Club:
    FC Groningen
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    I go along with the diversifying part. But still there are some gems around. Some banks seem a bargain. Also, private equity is very interesting I reckon. All mid- to long term though. I'm buying both because I think they will eventually perform despite another short term market slump.
     
  21. prk166

    prk166 BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 8, 2000
    Med City
    we haven't had a depression since The Depression
     
  22. Flyin Ryan

    Flyin Ryan Member

    May 13, 2004
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  23. AngryMobRun

    AngryMobRun Member

    Jul 22, 2007
    Houston/Dallas
    Club:
    Houston Dynamo
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Correct, we haven't had real depressions for awhile, only recessions. Mostly, b/c the USA has stayed on top since wwII but the rest of the world is catching up for a multitude of reasons.
     
  24. SgtSchultz

    SgtSchultz Member

    Jul 11, 2001
    Parts Unknown
    Are you clueless? Do you see what is happening in the rest of the world? One of the reasons I think the US will ultimately come out okay is our government will finally decide to let the markets take care of themselves. We do have transperancy. Look at Japan. They were mired in a 17 year recession. I dont think that will happen here. Furthermore, all these bailout plans are destined to fail. The markets will then adjust accordingly.
     

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