Originally Posted By Mr X <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/27/2402240.htm?section=world" target="_blank">http://www.abc.net.au/news/sto...on=world</a> And the pain continues. Many Japanese I've talked to are absolutely shocked, they were convinced that it wouldn't go lower than the low from the 1990's bubble. Now there's no support for the chart whatsoever, anybodys guess how low it might go.
Originally Posted By Mr X Dude, what is your point, at this point? Just being a jerk? I've got friends here in Japan, seriously, ready to jump in front of a train. Are you NOT paying attention, or do you just think you're being funny at this point?
Originally Posted By Mr X Whether or not Wall Street has a good day today, or even a good MONTH at this point, is totally irrelevant. The damage is already done (pray the damage doesn't get materially WORSE from here...god forbid!). Are you just ignoring reality? Are you trying to be funny or something? I don't get your angle, I really don't. (unless the angle is "annoy Mr X"...if that's your plan, yeah, you probably are succeeding )
Originally Posted By fkurucz RT believes he has a bullet proof job and that happy times are around the corner anyway.
Originally Posted By Mr X Well, if that's true I have a lot of Japanese friends who would love to inquire about finding a "bullet proof job"... They are all freaked...and I'm not kidding when I say some of them seem near suicidal over this (in their mind, the "bottom" of their bubble was "the worse thing ever"...so to see their own market sinking even lower is a mind-fuck to say the least...I've talked at least four guys "off the ledge" in the past 48 hours and I'm feeling very, VERY tired but I won't stop!).
Originally Posted By Mr X I wish I could give them "assurance" like RoadTrip apparently feels. I can only be honest. I have no idea where things go from here. But RoadTrip seems to think "things will be fine"... Things "were fine" about 3 crashes ago, according to him! RT, serious question. What would you recommend I say to my Japanese friends who are holding a knife to their belly right now? I'm REALLY serious. Looking for advice here!
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Nothing from nothing here, but your flair for the dramatic doesn't always translate well.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<RT, serious question. What would you recommend I say to my Japanese friends who are holding a knife to their belly right now?>> I'd suggest you tell them to be more optimistic about the future like I am. If I had to sit around and listen to your gloom and doom I'd probably be holding a knife to my belly too.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip X, since you are being serious I will be too. At times I really question your values, and perhaps that is because you post things that do not reflect your true feelings. I guess I figure no matter how bad things went to hell I would still have a wife that I adore and two kids that I love. What would I do if the Minnesota State Retirement System went totally bankrupt and my pension disappeared? I don't know, but I would figure out something. I would absolutely survive and come out OK on the other end. I would also realize that no matter how bad I had it, there are millions and millions of people who would just love to have it as 'bad' as I did. Do I want to be broke? Hell no. But if I was I'd deal with it. I really can't figure out your consistent attitude that all would be lost.
Originally Posted By mawnck FWIW, I thought post 2 was hilarious. Up a whole 12.51? Happy days are indeed here again. Admittedly, I'm a connoisseur of gallows humor, but still. (PS ... down 7)
Originally Posted By Mr X ***If I had to sit around and listen to your gloom and doom I'd probably be holding a knife to my belly too.*** You've got it backwards, I'm sad to say. I'm feeling all "gloom and doomy" because I hear from them all the time. I generally DO try to keep optimistic (because, seriously, these guys are on the edge with this stuff..they suffered through one crashed economy already which devastated them in the 90's).
Originally Posted By Mr X Maw lol. Right? That's pretty gallows right there. Anyway it ended up another 200 down so, there you have it. Hopefully Obama will save the day!
Originally Posted By mawnck I don't think Obama is gonna save squat pucky when it comes to the economy. I don't think anybody can. So far as I can tell, once all the bad credit gets swept out of the market as it must, everybody's economies are going to be left with a heckuva lot less money than they thought they had. The whole friggin' world is preposterously overextended, and now they're going to find out just how much. The question is whether various assorted governments will let it happen and get it over with, or prolong the agony while putting their own solvency in jeopardy, or just keep feeding tax money that they haven't collected yet and probably aren't going to to the fat cats who caused the situation in hopes that they'll use it to correct things rather than just keeping it all for themselves. Any way you slice it, it comes up doo-doo. And I don't know if Obama will do the right thing (which, unfortunately, is option #1 IMHO). But I'm absolutely sure McCain won't. I sincerely hope your friends can cultivate some coping skills, which I think is what RT is recommending. I doubt things will get better any time soon no matter who's living at 1600, and they may get a WHOLE lot worse. I also think everybody needs to quit the "poor me" stuff and get started on the "how can we all help each other deal with this" stuff. Everybody made it through the depression, and we'll come out the other side of this mess as well. (The preceding post featured Secretariat IV playing the part of the high horse. You wouldn't believe how much booze it takes to get a horse high.)
Originally Posted By Mr X lol. Well, I'd say the Japanese aren't so great on coping..considering the suicide rate here. Sad to say, but they are a panicky bunch and they like things to go nice and smoothly. When it does, they are happy and they'll work hard and never complain. When the, as you put it, doo-doo hits the fan and they have to start worrying about their jobs and perhaps think creatively to get through..they freak out.
Originally Posted By fkurucz <<So far as I can tell, once all the bad credit gets swept out of the market as it must, everybody's economies are going to be left with a heckuva lot less money than they thought they had.>> Never underestimate the ability of central banks to print money. I am expecting that we will see the mother of all public works projects next year, on both sides of the North Atlantic and maybe in Asia too.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>Never underestimate the ability of central banks to print money.<< Oh, I don't, but that won't change a thing. Inflation will have no trouble keeping up with the printing operations. If you're right, the silver lining in the cloud is that this country desperately needs work on its infrastructure. The cloud in the silver lining is it'll be amusing to hear unemployed Amurcans telling Congress "whadayamean I gotta work outside?"
Originally Posted By fkurucz ^^^Big inflation will be part of the package, no doubt. I think that the masters of the universe will decide that "print and spend" will be the lesser of evils. They are much more afraid of deflation than of inflation.
Originally Posted By mawnck Problem solved: >> White House tells banks getting federal aid to quit hoarding money and start lending it<< So there. <a href="http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081028/financial_meltdown.html" target="_blank">http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081028...own.html</a> BTW - Dow up 362. We're in the money! We're in the money!
