Straight To He11 Boy

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Today I am as nervous as a whore in church. I can see everything slipping away. I can see that my liquid position in the financial markets is under pressure, and is GOING to go even lower. I can see my RE (home) value has declined severely and is virtually unsaleable in this market and my Spoons becoming unsaleable before my very eyes All this at the same time. This is the perfect storm that could leave me dead broke.

The political situation in the world is deteriorating with a possible war with Iran,. via an air strike by Israelis. The question is, will the straits of Hormuz be blocked with no shipping in or out of the gulf. If that is the case one is looking at over $200 a barrel. In that sense the world economy will collapse. While the US only draws about 14% of it's oil from the gulf, it is Japan and the rest of the industrialized world that get their supply from that source. So to say the US is in the ME just for its own purposes is not quite accurate.

The political landscape in America with the possible election of Obama is precarious. The financial markets will view an Obama presidency as a disaster and the price of those assets will reflect it. Obama is seen by the financial and monetary people as being dangerous to the health of the US economy. Believe me that opinion is one that you can put in the bank.

To sum it up the world we have known for the past 63 years is changing virtually under our feet. The business as usual mantra is coming to a screeching halt here. A new dynamic which is more like that of the previous one is rearing its ugly head. The idea of continious "good times" in America is fast approaching an end. It will be back to the hardscrabble times of past generations. The Dream is over folks.

How is that for pessimism. Time for me to get a job while there are still ones to be had.

[Buddy]

Karma sucks, doesn't it?

[Gogar]

Make sure you pick a vocation you enjoy, Tabby!

[Shadetree930]

I am not worried. A properly diversified portfolio is a wonderful thing.

Of course, a well stocked liquor cabinet is the next best thing.

[widgeon13]

Everything is relative, to some this is a good buying opportunity, to others it's doom and gloom.

[grudk]

I'm ready. As GWB would say... 'Bring it on...'

[Shaun @ Tru6]

why would a whore be nervous in church?

[scottmandue]

I foresee getting a lot of millage out of this pic in the next few months:

[K9Torro]

Fuk it, I'm rich so I don't care...................

Torro

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

why would a whore be nervous in church?

afraid of running into too many clients?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by Tobra

afraid of running into too many clients?

LOL, could be. either that or the altar boys would gang up on her afraid of her muscling in on the action.

[tabs]

Well I ain't gona be alone in that soup line folks... I'll be in the good company of you folks from PPOT..

It is virtually unbelievable that the reality of the world situation that I have known for my entire life is changing. The world economy as we know it is headed for a possible train wreck. The price of a barrel of oil has to decline, if it stays at these levels there won't be anything left of America financially. This is a sea change in American history.

The transition to alternative fuels needs a relativily intact and robust economy to FUND THAT TRANSITION. If the economy is bust there will be no money to effect that transition.

[tabs]

Warren Buffet offered $1,000,000.00 to any Financial manager that could beat the S&P in this market. What does that mean..NO BODY IS MAKING ANY MONEY, everyone is losing money

I was told today that there is NO PRICE REALITY in the stock market, and that we are due for another DOWN DRAFT in the market. I asked what if the support levels don't hold at the March levels, then she replied, that she, "Doesn't know where it will stop." This is from someone who has been in banking and financials for over 35 years. She has said that she has never seen a market like this. This is a new and different animal than anything in the past 75 years.

SPOOKED is the word...

[CJFusco]

The economy is the least of our worries when the planet itself is trying to kill us off like our own white blood cells attacking a flu virus.

[tabs]

AND THIS IS THE POSITIVE SPIN...for mass consumption.


Stocks drop as credit woes continue, oil rises
Friday June 20, 5:50 pm ET
By Tim Paradis, AP Business Writer
Stocks finish sharply lower amid worries about financials, autos; oil prices rebound


NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks capped a difficult week with steep losses Friday amid escalating worries about the financial and automotive sectors and a rebound in oil prices. The major indexes fell by more than 1 1/2 percent on the day, and the Dow Jones industrial average gave up more than 200 points to end at its lowest level in three months.
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While investors have seen other triple-digit days in the past year since concerns about the economy began emerging, the Dow's first finish under 12,000 since mid-March could deal Wall Street a psychological blow.

An afternoon downgrade of automakers helped draw out sellers in the stock market while Treasury prices rose as investors sought the safety of government debt.

A Merrill Lynch downgrade of regional banks added to the market's initial anxiety, which ballooned Thursday when Citigroup Inc. warned of significant debt markdowns for the second quarter, Washington Mutual Inc. announced 1,200 job cuts and Moody's Investors Service decided late in the day to downgrade the two biggest bond insurers.

Troubling news about the financial sector piled up all week, sending stocks to steep losses. Early on, the investment banks posted profit declines, Fifth Third Bancorp said it need to raise $2 billion in capital and two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were charged with lying to investors -- causing many investors to flee from stocks.

Quincy Krosby, chief investment strategist at The Hartford, said Friday's session saw a confluence of the worries that investors have been grappling with as they try to determine where the economy is headed.

"I liken it to the GPS system saying 'recalculating,'" she said, referring to the market's uncertainty. "There's no clarity, there's no confidence."

Krosby added: "The crosscurrents are coming at a time when the backdrop for the economy appears to be stabilizing. And yet the headline risk is unrelenting."

The headlines Friday helped send the Dow down 220.40, or 1.83 percent, to 11,842.69. The blue chips haven't closed below 12,000 since March 17, when the market was worried about Bear Stearns Cos. collapsing. Friday's pullback left Coca Cola Co. as the only advancer among the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow.

Broader stock indicators also dropped. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 24.90, or 1.85 percent, to 1,317.93, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 55.97, or 2.27 percent, to 2,406.09.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a heavy 5.15 billion shares compared with 4.44 billion shares traded Thursday. Volume was heavy in part because of "quadruple witching" -- the simultaneous expiration of four types of options contracts.

For the week, the Dow fell 3.78 percent, the S&P 500 lost 3.1 percent and the Nasdaq declined 1.97 percent.

Bond prices rose Friday as stocks sank. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.17 percent from 4.21 percent late Thursday.

Concerns over further tensions between Israel and Iran added to investors' worries and pushed oil prices higher.

"That introduces dramatic uncertainty," Krosby said of the investors' reaction to unease in the Middle East.

Crude oil futures jumped $2.69 to settle at $134.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, recovering some of Thursday's drop of nearly $5 per barrel on news of a fuel price hike in China.

Investors are awaiting the weekend's meeting in Saudi Arabia of oil producers and consumer nations, which could bring some relief to the problem of soaring oil prices. But many analysts believe the gathering might end up being a mere finger-pointing session.

The concerns made for a difficult market.

"There has to be reticence about getting back in," said Stephen Carl, principal and head of equity trading at The Williams Capital Group. "It's definitely an ugly end to the week."

Bond insurer MBIA Inc. fell 86 cents, or 13 percent, to $5.59, while competitor Ambac Financial Group Inc. edged up 2 cents to $2.05, after losing their "AAA" rating from Moody's.

Another ratings move hit stocks of automakers. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services placed the corporate credit ratings of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC on watch with negative implications. The classification means ratings have a one-in-two chance of being downgraded in the next three months. S&P believes high fuel costs will hurt the U.S. auto market through 2009.

GM fell $1, or 6.7 percent, to $13.79, while Ford lost 51 cents, or 8.1 percent, to $5.81.

The dollar fell against most other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 12.10, or 1.64, to 725.73.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average dropped 1.33 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.53 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 2.12 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.79 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week down 464.66, or 3.78 percent, at 11,842.69. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 42.10, or 3.10 percent, at 1,317.93. The Nasdaq composite index ended the week down 48.41, or 1.97 percent, at 2,406.09.

The Russell 2000 index finished the week down 7.88, or 1.07 percent, at 725.73.

The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index -- a free-float weighted index that measures 5,000 U.S. based companies -- ended Friday at 13,415.89, down 374.77 points, or 2.70 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 15,291.15.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by CJFusco

The economy is the least of our worries when the planet itself is trying to kill us off like our own white blood cells attacking a flu virus.

Yeah..but where are you gona get the money for the medicine to cure the illness?

[Zeke]

I started to post a new topic and then resisted the thought. But, tabby is right.

A colleague of mine is building a custom home in Newport Beach for an obviously rich enough client ( or a complete fool). Every day as many as 10 trucks roll up and someone is looking for work. This includes laborers, subs and even generals who have nothing. But wait, it gets better.

The colleague tells all that he has all of his crew and subs in order from previous jobs. The people in the trucks won't go away. They beg and argue; let me bid this, I'll beat anyone's price and so on.

All my guy sees in their eyes is fear. It's not far from getting nasty.

[slakjaw]

Nice blog tabdul.

[craigster59]

[tabs]

I am sure I am projecting some of my own anxiety on this whole thing, I really try and be aware and discount my own ravings. I always do that as an internal check on the veracity of my own thoughts. I do that by asking myself that question, and am able to adjust my position a few degrees one way or the other to compensate.

At this point things are still moving with regards to spoons. Prices are leveled off in the auction markets, coming in at the low estimate level or mid estimate with a few special things going for a premium. Business has slowed at the Dealer level, offers are being made substantially below asking prices. One collector told me that by now he was expecting that he would be seeing some really great stuff being offered at good prices. That has not been the case as of yet.

One thing to consider is that in any inflationary envirnomrnt HARD ASSETS increase dramatically in price. That has been the usual scenerio, what I am afraid of is that this isn't a normal scenerio anymore.. We have seen prices on Spoons increase steadily since 1998. I have noticed certain asset classes of spoons have been soft for the past several years. While others have boomed ahead like there was no tommorow even in spite of a softening economy.