Economy

[AngieChick]

The small CA bank we have had for 12 years was taken over by the FDIC recently, we got the account when we lived there. They brokered a deal with a bank of similar size to buy it, and for us the transition was seamless. There wasn't a blip in access to our funds or being able to check our balance over the phone. Of course within a few months we will be given a new account #, etc, but we were already in the process of changing banks to a local one here so we will just close that one out. I guess the employees at the bank didn't know it was happening until the guys in suits with attache cases showed up. It was taken over due to insufficient liquid assets, I believe. I'm sure it was traumatic to the employees, but to us it was amazingly streamlined and issue-free.

I think the FDIC is pressing the doom and gloom in order to raise the banks' rates, and the banks are pitching a fit. But you know, they raise everyone else's rates to mitigate risk, so you would think that they'd "get it"

 

[maplesky7]

Quote:
We named him... drumroll... what else? BLUE!

The first i read that, I thought you named him "drumroll."

 

[conradpdx]

Wonder if I should ask my boss to start paying me out in cash. Though if this all keeps going the way it seems to be going that'll be about worthless too.

 

[rufus]

Things are bad, but they will be getting better. Now is the time to buy GM, BofA and believe it or not Citibank.

No way will the government let the banks fail. It will be just like it was in Sweden and Mexico. The government takes over partial ownership of the banks, pumps tons of our tax dollars into them, and then sells their interest to insiders like Carlos Slim. Just go along for the ride.

GM will probably be saved by China buying most of the stock and moving the company to China. Once there, it will make money hand over fist.

If you hang onto cash, you will lose. The banks are hanging onto the TARP money because they are too scared to lend it out. Once they do, between that and the stimulus spending and the budget just passed there will be a horrendous inflation.

If you went to Las Vegas and blew ten thousand dollars you will end up with nothing. Put the same amount in stocks and you just might come out wealthy.

Good Luck,

Rufus

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
I seriously wish I could believe that.

 

[lengel]

We have started "exchange" relationships with our neighbors and are buying equipment to garden on a large scale when we have extra cash. Last September, when Lehman Brothers went south, we bought two years worth of toiletries, vitamins and food staples that we couldn't produce ourselves. We just don't keep a lot of cash on hand anymore. The value is in the goods as far as we're concerned.

We've already bought the penny stocks through our 401K's but a lot of those started at $38 or so months before they broke the buck so I don't feel any great need to keep snapping them up. What we have is enough to make us wealthy if they recover but odds are they'll just dissolve the companies. So we're done with that.

One thing about China - they are masters of survival skills. When they don't like the rules of capitalism, they just change them to whatever system they like. It's kind of brilliant actually since it's kept so many people alive for so long. However, they don't really give a care about the foreign investor. At all. Or the Chinese investors either for that matter. It's about the good of the whole. Their sense of nationalism is like nothing you've ever seen before.

 

[sugarbush]

The economy is bad, but not as bad as the media wants to make us think it is. Yes millions of people are getting laid off, that does not mean that they are loosing all their income. the continue to have unemployment benifits for several months. Plenty of time to find a new job if they work towards it.

If masses of people pull their money from the banks than there will be many more layoffs in the banking industry. But may be those people can all go and work for the safe companies because they will be hiring with the demand on safes.

I went to a cash only farm auction yesterday and they sold a semi for 37K and two combines for almost 90 K each. That is in cash...

There are plenty of people still out spending money....I can't even go two miles across town because there is so much traffic on the road.

The down turn started because of high gas prices, those have come down quite a bit so we soon will start to see more money flowing around. Sure a lot of credit is gone now, but that is not a bad thing.

I would not buy any big three stock options right now...let the reconsolidations occure first and catch it on the up swing from there.

 

[smom1976]

I too am a bit nervous.. we will be investing in goods.. mostly because we dont have a large sum of $ to put into anything else.. but goods.. Bartering is the way to go..

we are planting more this year than we did last year and started fruit trees.. (I would like to start some more) we are selling off tons of stuff.. and we are in a really good position with our house.. (good decisions made during buying/mortgage time)

I am really trying to get ourselves in a better position for worse times ahead.. but the sad reality is i dont know if I am going to be able to do enough.

 

[PurpleChicken]

I'm still on the fence with this whole thing. In a lot of ways I agree with
Rufus and sugarbush. Downturns like this are hardships for some and
opportunities for others.

On the other hand I do not believe we have hit bottom yet and question
what the bottom will actually look like. I tend to be an economic contrarian
which means I believe whatever the majority believes, when it comes to
economics, is usually wrong. Don't get me started on the media.

The politicians are grabbing the opportunity to increase government
controls and spending. We know historically this doesn't work yet we
are letting it happen.

Mahonri's idea of being prepared is about the most pragmatic way to
approach this. Only God knows the future. Stocking up on both foodstuffs
and cash is always a prudent thing to do. In fact, if most Americans had
put some money away, acted a little more conservative rather than
getting into heavy credit debt (I'm guilty of this BAD), and didn't live beyond
their means, then this economic crisis would not be nearly as bad as it is
now.

 

[Jena]

I am also just trying to be prepared for whatever is coming.

Here in the UK, the news just gets worse every day. I really don't think the politicians know what to do. This really is uncharted waters, but the decisions they are making here are only serving to increase the fear.

I have been watching this situation grow since last summer, and I am doing all I can to stock up and be prepared. I think due to the lack of any really knowledgeable leaders that is all we can do really. Thank God for chickens and gardens to grow more foods.

but I believe it has been clear for a very long time that this situation was inevitable. There has to be balance, and if the system gets too pumped up, then at some point it has to crash.

Good luck to everyone.

Jena.