Tuesday, October 07, 2008

WHY FINANCIAL MARKETS CRASH - AND WHEN


If you haven't noticed yet the financial bubble has burst. And while everyone complains, and points the blame, let's remember no one I know was complaining when everything was on the way up! We can read how we got here - cheap and easy money - and why it burst - breakdown in bank interloan system. Many, especially left wing europeans, proclaim this the end of the American Empire. Many of these pundits also make comparisons to the Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. If I recall correctly the United States survived that, and WWII, and came out in pretty good shape. The question is not what happens but how we respond to crisis.
Markets are always right - except when they're wrong! Price volatility is natural - it is the pump that enriches and impoverishes financial speculators. Why are the markets collapsing now? I am sure some financial interests benefit from a fall in prices: If they are short, then they will wait until a bottom is made. While billions of dollars of value has evaporated there are still piles of money waiting to buy. The banks are reloading with cheap money, and they will pick up the pieces for pennies on the dollar. Others - like Soros and Obama - derive political and/or financial benefits from the crash. Finally, I am afraid many investors are afraid Obama will win the election - and they fear that would proove catastrophic.
Another factor: Anti-democratic forces have successfully influenced elections in the past. Sovereign funds could be imposing their weight upon the markets...so hold on to your hats! and vote!

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