A Wall Street Week Of Biblical Proportions

[Richard D]

A Wall Street Week Of Biblical Proportions
With Talk Of An Impending Financial Armageddon, The Gov't Takes Unprecedented Action. But Where Will It Lead?

(CBS) We're taking stock this morning of the economic whirlwind that swept from Wall Street across the world this past week. Our Cover Story is reported by Martha Teichner:

At least the Dow ended the week up ... 410 points Thursday, 366 points Friday, a glimmer of optimism that the economy might not be allowed to implode after all.

From the moment word reached Wall Street Thursday afternoon that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was about to meet with congressional leaders about a massive bailout plan, stocks soared.

The photo op after the meeting was a picture of cooperation and bipartisan unity.

Then there was Paulson, looking like a man in a hurry, announcing his plan:
"We must now take further, decisive action to fundamentally and comprehensively address the root cause of our financial system's stresses."

And President Bush, speaking to an audience larger than Wall Street, on Friday morning: "Investors should know that the United States government is taking action to restore confidence in America's financial markets so they can thrive again."

Confidence ... there is no more ephemeral, or essential, component in what amounts to a huge gamble that our leaders can pull our economy (perhaps even the global economy) back from the brink of collapse. Yes, that's apparently how bad things had gotten.

"These are the most difficult times I think our markets have faced in the last 200 years," former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Harvey Pitt told Martha Teichner.


Pitt spent a dozen years at the SEC and was its head from 2001-2003.

"Certainly it's been historical; it could've been Biblical," said Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Economy.com and author of the book "Financial Shock: A 360º Look at the Subprime Mortgage Implosion, and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis" (FT press). "I mean, I was waiting for the locusts to fly through my office at one point."

"This could be comparable to the Great Depression in terms of just its effect on financial markets," said Robert Reich.

Now a professor at Berkeley, Reich was Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton. We asked him what lots of Americans are asking: How did it come to this?

"The people who were issuing warnings were not listened to," he said, "partly because Wall Street is very powerful in Washington. Wall Street kept on saying, 'Well, don't worry about anything, we have everything under control, we don't need more regulation.'"

Regulatory firewalls were put in place to prevent the financial excesses that led to the Great Depression. By the 1970s, banks and securities firms, caught up in major turf wars, lobbied for deregulation ... and got it.

"We had over-leveraging in many of these firms," said Pitt, "and the net result was that people were leveraged, in some cases, as high as 100 to one."

People were also making piles of money by trading in packages of questionable mortgages and complicated, unregulated securities, called derivatives.

[Stevernator]

Yes this is a serious issue that I have been following for a little less than a year. I think there are some changes ahead. We can prepare for the worst and hope for the best. It may be an opportunity to take our eyes off ourselves and learn to rely more and God and support each other. I know a bit but I am not an expert so I hope people can research for themselves and take any necessary precautions.

[Kent]

The sooner God brings their new world order crashing down on their heads, the happier I will be. Even if I die in the process.

I find it oddly humorous when men in monkey suits, nice ties, hair all stylish, look all scared and shocked because of their lost and worthless money. They care so much for something so useless. Money is a tool. Hoarding it is as silly as a carpenter hoarding hammers.

[Stevernator]

Right after I posted I thought of this scripture.

Matthew ch 6
33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

[Beloved]

I have a question if I invest a million dollars and the stocks drop to 10 cents on the dollar, where did 990,000 go....who has the money?  The company's assets are still the same and the company is still doing business..

It seems to me that all of this is just a ploy they are just suckering more people to buy because stock because it appears cheap , just to drop the price later and repeat the cycle on another sucker.

The rich who are manipulating the market are basically stealing from all of the various retirement plans and also individual stock owners. they are moving a good deal of their money out ahead of the downturns.  

I also find it odd that the banks and AIG all bailed out after all the big financial losses from these storms, perhaps they can get out of paying for the damages or if they do pay  end up paying the home and business owners less after legal negotiation.

beloved

[Stevernator]

The money goes to business expenses. Corporations depend on profitable sales and growth to continue. To raise capital for their operations, they sell shares of ownership and sell bonds and take loans from banks. If the company's operations are not profitable (perhaps due to declining sales or increasing costs), it still must pay the banks and bondholders for the debt and must pay off other business expenses. So when other investors see that their potential for receiving capital gains and dividends is decreased, they are not willing to pay as much for your ownership in the corporation.

The prices of stocks are determined by the demand of the market.

When it comes to corporate accountability and government intervention, there is significant moral hazard which can put shareholders and taxpayers at risk.

[Longhorn]

I hid 4 coffee cans full of quarters when I first moved to the farm 8 years ago, the only problem is I was inubriated ( cheap whiskey ) at the time and for the life of me I still can't remember where their burried.

Love in Christ

Longhorn

[Jackie Lee]

I hid 4 coffee cans full of quarters when I first moved to the farm 8 years ago, the only problem is I was inubriated ( cheap whiskey ) at the time and for the life of me I still can't remember where their burried.

Love in Christ

Longhorn

I would guess that to be about 400.00...

[cherokee]

I hid 4 coffee cans full of quarters when I first moved to the farm 8 years ago, the only problem is I was inubriated ( cheap whiskey ) at the time and for the life of me I still can't remember where their burried.

Love in Christ

Longhorn

I would guess that to be about 400.00...

Jackie Lee,
That would depend on the size of the cans. If they are the small one I would say you are close, but if they were the large one I would guess close to $1,200.00.   Having recently rolled 5 large coffee jars and 3 small ones of mixed change we found while cleaning up my Dad's estate we ended up with alittle over $1,000.00 dollors.

Longhorn,
I'm on my way with my metal detector.

Suzie

[carol v]

Okay Longhorn, I'm in Texas and in need of an upper body workout. Let's dig

If those quarters are pre-1964, they are worth a whole lot more than face value! That's the important date for dimes & half dollars too.

[Samson]

I hid 4 coffee cans full of quarters when I first moved to the farm 8 years ago, the only problem is I was inubriated ( cheap whiskey ) at the time and for the life of me I still can't remember where their burried.

Love in Christ

Longhorn

Hey Longhorn,

                     All those quarters could have bought alot of cheap whiskey, on the otherhand, that was the most expensive bottle of Whiskey you ever drank. I worked out with weights this Morning, but I could do a few more repetitions, whats my cut(percentage). No finders keepers, losers weepers for me. 

                                                Kind Regards & Quarters, Samson.

[frecklegirl417]

I hid 4 coffee cans full of quarters when I first moved to the farm 8 years ago, the only problem is I was inubriated ( cheap whiskey ) at the time and for the life of me I still can't remember where their burried.

Love in Christ

Longhorn

  Longhorn,

If it don't get you into too much trouble maybe that cheap whiskey could help find the quarters and maybe Samson and I could be there to dig them up for you. How about 60/40 split?  If the cans didn't rust away a metal detector would find them if they weren't the new plastic ones.

                                                           Waiting to count quarters,
                                                                     Pam

[WhoAmI]

I hid 4 coffee cans full of quarters when I first moved to the farm 8 years ago, the only problem is I was inubriated ( cheap whiskey ) at the time and for the life of me I still can't remember where their burried.

Love in Christ

Longhorn

Hey Longhorn,

  It sounds like you weren't using good "sense/cents" at the time. 


Jeff

[jenniferonline]

I wish someone would tell the people at the mall that the market is crashing.  I don't like big crowds in the mall and I just want to get my "exercise on" when it's raining!  It's been busier than ever!