The crashing of the US.......most interesting

[Chris Ryser]

The Crashing U.S. Economy Held Hostage
Our Economy is on an Artificial Life-support System
by Richard C. Cook

................................The question is not when will the system start to come down, because this has already begun. It’s shown most clearly by the fact that according to Federal Reserve data, M1, the part of the money supply most readily available for consumer purchases, is not only lagging behind inflation but has actually decreased in eleven of the last twelve months. This means that the producing economy is already in a recession.

The federal government is trying to figure out what to do. Their biggest concern is that foreign investors have started to pull out of dollar-denominated markets.
The government’s “plunge protection team”—known officially as the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets—is trying to engineer what they call a “soft landing.”

It’s been likened to the process by which you cook a frog in a pot where you raise the temperature one degree a day. The frog doesn’t hop out because the heat goes up gradually, but before long it’s too late. The frog has been cooked.

Even if the plunge protection team succeeds, and the frog cooks slowly, there will be a massive de facto default on dollar-denominated debt and a long-term degradation of the U.S. standard of living. The inside word is that we are likely to see major monetary shocks and a possible stock market crash as early as December 2007.

The worst off will be people locked into retirement funds which have a heavy load of mortgage-related securities. Entire investment portfolios are likely to disappear overnight.


See this most interesting article at: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.p...xt=va&aid=6239

[Barry Santini]

There has been NO, *true* leadership in the US for over 30 years...we've been coasting...

GWB really is the closest thing to "What me worry?"

Now, as the ball of twine of our society unravels..

Buckle up.....

Barry

[Chris Ryser]

Actually a few minutes ago that Canadian Dollar gained 3 cents against the US Dollars and went from $ 1.05 to $ 1.08 since early this morning.

Over the last 12 month the US Dollar has dropped 45% against the Canadian currency.

[ilanh]

Before accepting such inflammatory statements as facts, let us look at some real facts first:

-The U.S continues to be the dominant economy in the world and has been shown in many studies to have the most productive workers in the world.
-Burgeoning economies in India, China and the developing thirld world are very dependent on the U.S markets and are very motivated to work in tandem with us. This continues to be a win-win situation for us.
-Yes there has been a housing bubble; but at the same time millions of Americans have gotten their own homes, neighborhoods have been revitalized and the economy was helped by the boom. Yes there will be some pain down the road, there will be foreclosures and prices will drop. This may cause a recession but is not as unprecedented or drastic as some may believe. Collateral debt obligations will plague the financial markets for a time but they too will eventually be flushed out and the major losers will be the banks, hedge funds and other financial institutions that absorbed them.
-The U.S remains the world's most creative and inventive power and noone else to date has come close to replacing us in the technology, health, film, entertainment and music industries. Ever noticed how China doesn't have a single brand name product despite their massive production capabilities?
-No country in the world even approaches the business- friendly infrastructure of the U.S.
-The U.S has the lowest unemployment rate of any developed country. Compare our 4% rate with France's 10% rate.
-The financial markets of the U.S remain the envy of the world. Players from around the world come to play on wall street; not Shanghai, Paris, Berlin or Rome. Also, despite several prominent scandals our Fortune 500 companies remain far more transparent and regulated than their counterparts elsewhere.
-Despite continuing problems in Iraq the U.S remains, by far, the dominant military power in the world. It's army is approximately 50 times larger than France, Germany and England put together. This still commands some clout in today's world.

As Mark Twain liked to say: " The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

[Barry Santini]

...we'll see......

Barry

[braheem24]

Barry if you were in Fort Lauderdale this weekend you may have noticed the land auction on the 1st floor in the convention center. I was the high bidder on 6 properties with 3 properties declined by seller so I ended up with 3 Florida properties at a bargain.

Hopefully we see a turnaround soon, but judging by the sellers(developers) and buyer's(realtors) enthusiasm they dont seem very optimistic about the housing economy's recovery.

[Barry Santini]

meeting you and the properties...Damn!

Barry

[cash1]

now how am i gonna get to sleep tonight!

[chip anderson]

Chris:

Do you really believe that if the U.S. economy crashes, Canada and the rest of the world will be very far behind?
Another note, when the U.S. economy really hits the dregs there is always another World War that occurs to put things right again.

Chip

[Johns]

Hopefully we see a turnaround soon, but judging by the sellers(developers) and buyer's(realtors) enthusiasm they dont seem very optimistic about the housing economy's recovery.

I too have been dabling in the land market. In the past year, I bought over 300 acres of land. Ironically, I only have 74 acres left, as I was able to turn around, within a matter of months, and resell much of it, and at a very healthy gain. There are many people out there that are optimistic
about the economy, or they wouldn't be so eager to build new houses, condos, and retail devolpments. It might not be happening in your neighborhood, but it's happening somewhere.

It all depends on where you're at, and what business you're in. I hear the optical business is in a major slump, but you wouldn't know it from some of the people I met out in Vegas, and you wouldn't it if you asked my employees.

People that have been running up their credit cards, going on vacation with their home equity loans, and buying new SUVs each year may feel the pinch, or even a sucker punch - and deservedly so. They've been living their version of the American dream with somebody else's money. Those who live within their means and put away money for a rainy day will survive, and may even come out way ahead.

[rbaker]

Do any of you recall “The Whiners” on SNL? Now I know what happened to them. They seem to be alive and well here on OptiBoard. It seems that life’s losers are always the ones who predict doom and gloom. For them it is a self fulfilling prophecy. Then, there are those who see economic setbacks as opportunities. These are life's winners.

[Johns]

It seems that life’s losers are always the ones who predict doom and gloom. For them it is a self fulfilling prophecy.

And on Optiboard, they take a lot of glee in doing so.

Great post rbaker!:cheers:

[DragonLensmanWV]

Chris:

Do you really believe that if the U.S. economy crashes, Canada and the rest of the world will be very far behind?
Another note, when the U.S. economy really hits the dregs there is always another World War that occurs to put things right again.

Chip

Chip, I'll be a lot of money you don't watch South Park, but they have a song you might like - "Blame Canada!":D

[Chris Ryser]

Do you really believe that if the U.S. economy crashes, Canada and the rest of the world will be very far behind?
Another note, when the U.S. economy really hits the dregs there is always another World War that occurs to put things right again.
Chip

Chip, Actually Canada and the rest of the world will be right behind, it looks that everything seems to be tied together.

I am not predicting gloom, I am just interested in world happenings and how these happenings are tied together.

Looking at some of the other post's I see braheem who lives in Florida did the right thing, has the money and bought some property at rock bottom which is probably way below evaluation..
However he will also have to pay the taxes and the insurance which just about have doubled in S.Florida over the last 2 years.
There are always that believe that another world war will lift the economy, it may, but only on a temporary basis.

Do any of you recall “The Whiners” on SNL? Now I know what happened to them. They seem to be alive and well here on OptiBoard. It seems that life’s losers are always the ones who predict doom and gloom. For them it is a self fulfilling prophecy. Then, there are those who see economic setbacks as opportunities. These are life's winners.

baker....The red highlighted text tells me that you did not even bother to read the linked article which proposes solutions to the problem, but proceed with comments about lifes loosers oon Optiboard who predict gloom and doom.

This seems to be typical for people that make comments without getting fully informed.

It is now 4.45 am on November 7th and at 4.30 it announced in the news that the Canadian Dollar is now trading at $ 1.10 against the US $, which is a full 2 cents more since yesterday afternoon. This result represents a drop of over 40% in 4 month.

I bet, that this will not alarm you, you probably just wont go to Canada and drink their beer because everything will more expensive by 40% when you go with your US Dollars.

It all depends on where you're at, and what business you're in. I hear the optical business is in a major slump, but you wouldn't know it from some of the people I met out in Vegas, and you wouldn't it if you asked my employees.

The people you meet at shows are always saying that times were never that good. In a slump there are always some that are doing better than others, because they have adapted to the situation with proper foresight.

[rbaker]

Remember thee the tales of Chicken Little and the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf. Much truth can be found in these old nursery rhymes.

[Johns]

The people you meet at shows are always saying that times were never that good. In a slump there are always some that are doing better than others, because they have adapted to the situation with proper foresight.

I wasn't talking about vendors, I was talking about the people sitting next to me in the suites that were waiting to buy. They were putting their money where their mouth was.

Vendors will usually say everything's good...

[Chris Ryser]

I wasn't talking about vendors, I was talking about the people sitting next to me in the suites that were waiting to buy. They were putting their money where their mouth was.

Vendors will usually say everything's good...

Am I right assuming that you did the buying in a hotel suite instead of the show. There are always a lot of companies setting up their booth in hotel suites to get around the exhibition cost. T direct and for less.hey are usually the ones that sell

If that is the case I would assume that you are right because they adopted the same business system as you do.

[Chris Ryser]

Dollar slides to historic lows
Wed Nov 7, 2007 7:27am EST

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar fell on Wednesday to historic lows of $1.47 per euro and $2.10 to the pound on expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts to limit damage from an ailing housing market.
The dollar slid further after comments from senior Chinese officials stirred concerns about its central bank shifting reserves away from the U.S. currency.

See whole story at: http://www.reuters.com/article/hotSt...17880720071107

[For-Life]

Remember thee the tales of Chicken Little and the Little Boy Who Cried Wolf. Much truth can be found in these old nursery rhymes.

Yes and no

I mean a lower US dollar can be good for American Exporters. Will lower the costs of goods in the US compared to other nations and could be good for industry.

However, several years ago the Canadian dollar was at 60 cents. Earlier this year it was at 90 cents. Not it is at 1.10. That is a tremendous drop for the US currency, and is more of a shock than a benefit.

Chris is right, price changes will happen to reflect those costs. In the Eyecare only Forum, it has been established that Canadian companies are paying significantly more for lens prices than the Americans are. Now that the position has been switched, the American prices could go up as much as 40 percent.

[Chris Ryser]

Now that the position has been switched, the American prices could go up as much as 40 percent.

China was going to increase prices by 20% on January first. with the happenings over the last few days they might even make the move earlier.

[Johns]

Am I right assuming that you did the buying in a hotel suite instead of the show. There are always a lot of companies setting up their booth in hotel suites to get around the exhibition cost. .

It was in the hotel, but it appeared to be VICA sactioned. I was buying from KATA, and the sales there wre brisk. In fact, they almost wouldn't see me, because I didn't have an appt.

[ellivron55]

I have just converted 5000 english pounds and got over 10000 us dollars.
Christmas shopping Big Apple here I come.
Happy Days

[Chris Ryser]

China may dump greenback from its foreign currency reserves


ZHOU XIN AND EADIE CHEN
Reuters
November 7, 2007 at 7:37 AM EST


BEIJING — China delivered a one-two punch to the dollar as a top lawmaker suggested a bigger role for the euro in its $1.43-trillion (U.S.) hoard of foreign reserves and a central banker said the dollar is losing its global currency status.
The euro hit a record high above $1.47 following remarks on Wednesday by Cheng Siwei, vice-chairman of the standing committee of the National People's Congress, China's parliament, pointing to diversification of the country's reserves.

Read the whole article at: http://www.reportonbusiness.com/serv.../Business/home

[medkoinc]

with all this money talk.... do any of you guys trade on the forex market???

if you think dollar is going down .... get on it and invest in the pound or the canadian dollar....

Just because the dollar is going down... doesnt mean we cant make money betting against it.

The Current economy status is just killing off the weak.... the strong will survive and the economy will grow again....

Plus...we will have a new president soon... he/she cant possible do any worst than bush did....

Mina

[rbaker]

Over the past years we have placed an increasing portion of our investments in foreign markets. That returns on that sector of our portfolio has by far exceeded any losses in the domestic and European markets.

Our investment philosophy is very conservative as we do not seek to achieve high gains overnight. We invest for the long term protection of our assets. When we were young we were in the business of asset accumulation. Now that we are retired our main concern is asset protection. The trick is to know when to change from the first to the latter.