Monday, January 21, 2008

Does anybody have the paddle?

By Capt. Fogg

No sir, the economy is healthy, "financial markets are strong and solid" and Bush is optimistic. I'm glad the US markets are closed today, because the rest of the world is taking Bush's words to mean the end is nigh. Stocks plunged in Germany, Hong Kong, India and Brazil today and the European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index fell the most since Sept. 11, 2001. Commodities are falling on the perception that a recession will reduce demand.

The slide began last week while President Bush was unveiling his inchoate plan to fix everything with a small handout to the peasantry and a cheerful dose of oblivious optimism. The worst week for US stocks in five years followed apace. The rest of the world has caught on that their US investments are only as sound as the withering Dollar and nothing Bush is capable of doing will do anything to postpone or lessen the coming crisis. The Bank of China alone may have to write down 17.5 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) for the fourth quarter of 2007, and another $2.4 billion this year because of the mortgage crisis, says Bloomberg today and the rest of the world seems to be just as far up the creek.
"It's the worst I've ever seen,''
said Johan Stein, who helps manage the equivalent of about $14 billion at Nordea Asset Management in Stockholm.
"The financial system is in terrible shape, and no one knows where this will end.''
No one knows when either but my guess is that it won't end soon or nicely, nor will I be buying that new boat this year.
"We're confident that the global economy will continue to grow, and that the U.S. economy will return to stronger growth,''
Said White House spokesman Tony Fratto today. If there's anything that typifies the Bush Bunch's reliance on belief rather than competence to change reality, he just expressed it.

Cross posted from Human voices

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6 Comments:

Blogger Libby Spencer said...

It's astounding isn't it, how the White House can just keep blathering on, 'creating' their own reality while the facts beat their propaganda into a bloody pulp.

3:04:00 PM  
Blogger Capt. Fogg said...

The Dow is supposed to open down 500 points tomorrow. Who knows where the bottom is?

I hope I'm wrong and we're not headed for a deep recession, but I don't think I am. If it's inevitable, I hope that at least the Republican economic agenda is discredited until we can get them out of the drivers' seat.

4:54:00 PM  
Blogger Libby Spencer said...

We're in for a really rough ride Fogg. People are still in denial. The good news is, I have lots of practice at being poor and it will turn the masses against GOP style eCONomics.

6:42:00 PM  
Blogger Capt. Fogg said...

I've been poor too, but this thing is interfering with God's plan for me to have a bigger boat. God doesn't like that.

9:22:00 AM  
Blogger Libby Spencer said...

As Roger Waters said, What God wants, God gets, God help us all...

7:44:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

just to reiterate the obvious: when the fed cuts interest rates it creates more currency for the markets.

as a result the dollar drops. prices of anergy and obviously foreign currency and more go up. theyare literally stealing from us to bail out wall street

10:21:00 AM  

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