It has affected me in a personal way, in the sense that I feel the hurt of those less fortunate - from empathy mainly.

It's from a cycle of behavior that we wound up spreading this collapse:

Major firms (Wall-Street connected) send money $---> Congressional/Presidential Races ----> Deregulation of market/corporate rules ----> Risky investments sold as grade-A nest eggs ----> Market Skyrockets ----> Market Crashes... & Repeat after each crash.

The problem is a lot of working class citizens get hurt badly each time. It could be from ENRON, Worldcom, Sub-prime bank scams, AIG Bailouts, etc. but the ones who feel the pain are always the workers. They get snookered into buying homes with variable-rate clauses; they're the ones who worked for ENRON and lost their pensions. And the workers have no buffer to fall back on - their wages adjusted for inflation have not kept up with household costs, health care, etc. True enough, they need more education to resist the pull of the scams (credit card debt, over-inflated housing, sub-prime swindles, auto swindles), but that's like blaming innocents for the Snidley Wiplashes of the world.. We ought to ask why do we allow so many scams to be run by crooks in the first place?? I'm 100% regulation, but it has to be tough, updated regularly, and put there by more honest elected officials.

 

See you just blame the "bank scams". They weren't mostly scams, just bad investments, but equally to blame are people being greedy and taking out huge loans they could never repay.

 

What happened to intelligence? What happened to reading contracts before signing and making wise decisions? They are just as guilty of greed as the banks are. This was caused by stupid average people, stupid politicians, and stupid bankers. No one group is to blame because they all are. you've yet to realize this simple fact.

 

Regulation by corrupt members of Congress helped cause this mess, how will that fix it? I've yet to hear you or any government supporter put up any reasonable inteligent plans on fixing the problem?

Not really. I found it hard to find a job over the summer but I doubt this had much to do with the financial crisis. There just aren't a lot of jobs where I live.

I made a little over 700 dollars in the last few days by investing in a proshares ultrashort ETF on Scottrade. But otherwise not affected... yet.

 

I'm sure my credit might mean I won't get the best deal when it comes time for me to buy a car or home.

Affluenza.

 

Seeing people queueing for hours at 6am or whatever last week when Currys and PC World and everyone else said they were slashing prices and having huge sales was bonkers, as was Sky News talking about cheap property in the USA and how now might be a good time to invest. Or will spending actually help this at all? I don't know, it just seems a bit ironic and a sad reflection of the times we're living in. Actually I guess it does make sense to want to buy stuff when it is cheaper than usual. Now I'm really confused and don't know what I'm going on about at all. Biscuits.

not yet. maybe in 2010 the crisis reached Uruguay. as the last CD of "coldplay" which came 3 months after the global launch.

 

__________________

 

Last Coldplay CD? Didnt they say that they werent splitting up despite rumors? Theyre enjoying themselves too much to be....

 

Is UK in Recession? Us here we have Liquidity on our banks thats enough so i ve got to say we have a huge advantage on this crisis and my country should take it wiile it lasts.

I do love the gas prices falling.

 

Shame it might not last :(

 

One thing which pisses me off is last year the price diffie between petrol and diesel was on average 2p, now it's 12p, and because Diesel is easier to make than petrol, it's a scam

Affluenza.

 

Seeing people queueing for hours at 6am or whatever last week when Currys and PC World and everyone else said they were slashing prices and having huge sales was bonkers, as was Sky News talking about cheap property in the USA and how now might be a good time to invest. Or will spending actually help this at all? I don't know, it just seems a bit ironic and a sad reflection of the times we're living in. Actually I guess it does make sense to want to buy stuff when it is cheaper than usual. Now I'm really confused and don't know what I'm going on about at all. Biscuits.

 

It's one way to kick-start the econmary to spend spend spend (assuming you have the money)

Yea, gas is getting cheaper.:thumbsup:

Yea, gas is getting cheaper.:thumbsup:

 

Way cheaper. :stunned: It was $2.69 at Costco today!

Way cheaper. :stunned: It was $2.69 at Costco today!

Same here. So far that's the only direct affect it's had on me.

 

I'm happy with this new depression.:P

One of my friends has been fairly badly affected, her parents had lots of money in the stocks and they've just crashed...

Yesterday gas was 2.29 and hopefully it'll hit 2.00 in a few weeks becuase I'm doing a lot of driving for my new short term job.

i voted "no" but right after voting i realized that it actually does affect my life haha.

 

Ah well, silly me.

Yesterday gas was 2.29 and hopefully it'll hit 2.00 in a few weeks becuase I'm doing a lot of driving for my new short term job.

 

It won't, I'd be shocked if oil dropped too much further. Eventually inflation will force it back up.

Even $2.29 is good value for me, with around $6 a gallon in this country :(

It won't, I'd be shocked if oil dropped too much further. Eventually inflation will force it back up.

 

Damn. But it's nice while it lasts, especially since ill be driving almost 200 miles tomorrow.

How do you define optimism?

A banker who irons five shirts on a Sunday.

 

What's the difference between an investment banker and a large pizza?

The pizza can still feed a family of four.

 

As a surprise, a chief exec's wife pops by his office. She finds him in an unorthodox position, with his secretary sitting in his lap. Without hesitation, he starts dictating: '? and in conclusion, gentlemen, credit crunch or no credit crunch, I cannot continue to operate this office with just one chair.'

 

Why have estate agents stopped looking out of the window in the morning?

Because otherwise they'd have nothing to do in the afternoon.

 

What's the difference between a merchant bank and Katie Price?

Both are institutions whose reputation is built on assets that, on closer inspection, turn out to be entirely artificial, vastly over-inflated and in danger of going through the floor at any moment. But at least Katie Price is still worth something.

 

What do you call five hedge fund managers at the bottom of the ocean?

A good start.

 

What's the difference between an investment banker and a pigeon?

The pigeon is still capable of leaving a deposit on a new Ferrari.

 

A lobbyist on his way home from Parliament is stuck in traffic. Noticing a police officer, he winds down his window and asks: 'What's the hold-up?' The policeman replies: 'The Prime Minister is so depressed he's stopped his motorcade and is threatening to douse himself with petrol and set himself on fire. 'He says no one believes he can get us through the credit crunch. So we're taking up a collection for him.' The lobbyist asks: 'How much have you got so far?' The officer replies: 'About 40 gallons, but a lot of people are still siphoning.

 

The credit crunch has helped me get back on my feet. The car's been repossessed.

 

Latest news: The Isle of Dogs bank has collapsed. They've called in the retrievers.

 

What do you say to a hedge fund manager who can't sell anything?

A Quarter-pounder with fries, please.

 

Overheard in a City bar: 'This credit crunch is worse than a divorce. I've lost half my net worth and I still have a wife.'

 

The bank returned a cheque to me this morning, stamped: 'insufficient funds.' Is it them or me?

 

Bradford & Bingley employees are concerned they were given no notice of the takeover by Santander Bank. A Government spokesman said: 'No one expected the Spanish acquisition.'

 

What's the difference between the BBC's Business Editor Robert Peston and God?

God doesn't think he's Robert Peston.

 

You know it's a credit crunch when...·

 

The cashpoint asks if you can spare any change.

· There's a 'buy one, get one free' offer - on banks.

The Inland Revenue is offering a 25% discount for cash-payers.

Gordon Brown has stopped chewing his nails and started sucking his thumb.

Your builder asks to be paid in Zimbabwean dollars rather than sterling.

Highgrove has been repossessed.

Victoria Beckham is pictured shopping in Primark.

Alistair Darling's eyebrows have turned white.

 

talked to my bank manager the other day and he said he was going to concentrate on the big issues from now on. He sold me one outside Boots yesterday.

 

What's the capital of Iceland?

About £3.50.

 

An architect, a surgeon and an economist are discussing the Creation. The surgeon says: 'Look, we surgeons are most important. God's a surgeon because the first thing he did was to extract Eve from Adam's rib.' The architect says: 'No, wait a minute, God is an architect. He made the world in seven days out of chaos.' The economist smiles: 'And who made the chaos?'

 

A man went to his bank manager and said: 'I'd like to start a small business. How do I go about it?'

'Simple,' said the bank manager. 'Buy a big one and wait.'

 

Money talks. Trouble is, mine knows only one word: 'Goodbye.'

 

A young man asked an elderly rich man how he made his money. 'Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last penny, so I invested that penny in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold that apple for ten pennies. 'The next morning I bought two apples, spent the day polishing them and sold them for 20 pennies. I continued this for a month, by which time I'd accumulated a fortune of £1.37.

'Then my wife's father died and left us £2m.'

 

What have an Icelandic bank and an Icelandic streaker got in common? They

both have frozen assets.

 

A director decided to award a prize of £50 for the best idea of saving the company money during the credit crunch. It was won by a young executive who suggested reducing the prize money to £10.

 

News from the Far East: Uncertainty has now hit Japan. In the last seven days ;

 

Origami bank has folded

Sumo Bank has gone belly up

the Bonsai Bank has announced plans to cut some of its branches.

Yesterday, it was also announced that Karaoke Bank will go up for sale and will likely go for a

song, while shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended today after they nose-dived. While Samurai Bank is soldiering on after sharp cutbacks, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank, where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal.

 

And finally:

 

Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and Peter Mandelson are flying to a world economic summit. Peter looks at Alistair and chuckles: 'You know, I could throw a £50 note out of the window right now and make one person very happy.' Alistair shrugs his shoulders and says: 'Well, I could throw five £10 notes out of the window and make five people very happy.' Gordon says: 'Of course, but I could throw ten £5 notes out of the window and make ten people very happy.

' The pilot rolls his eyes, looks at all of them, and says: 'I could throw all of you out of the window and make the whole country happy.'

^ What he said! :lol:

:laugh3:Ah, politicians are loved the world over, aren't they?!:P

The Global Financial Crisis means scrap metal prices have taken a sever tumble. Aluminum is down to $ 0.10 per pound! :( What, have people stopped buying beverages??:confused: Iron is down to $40.00 per ton locally. Down from $120.00 per ton at the same place a year ago. Looks like I'll just have to stockpile it until the economy takes off again..;)

 

yup. my dad works in the stock markets and he has been unemployed for over a year. he actually did get another job but after only a few months we was layed off again. he is 60 so it's been really tough for him to find a new job. with 2 kids in college now and me going next year my family is definatelyy being very negatively affected by all of this.

 

 

Im in a similar boat as you are sir. My dad is 57 years old and has been laid off a bit from work. Plus his age and due to alot of ageism in this country, and world wide probably.. its also difficult for him to find a better paying job. And since we live in michigan... theres not alot of good paying jobs out there. He also had a major surgery which set my family quite a bit back with money.

Yes, it's rough - I sympathize with you! The manufacturing sector's been hit pretty hard, and that's us in the upper Midwest. It was picking up a bit, but then this latests drop has affected sales of everything. I see it in the commodities end for the raw materials, but that translates into less products being sold from the other end of the line...

Multi-level manufacturing is here to stay, but then if our labor looks a bit more expensive, it's hard to convince a company to stay and not ship all the jobs overseas. I hold out hope for Fair Trade to help both ways, as it seems reasonable to reverse the disparity between the rich and the workers, and at the same time ensuring that workers and honest business owners get a fair shake overseas as well. But a good start-point is to end much of the corruption in getting officials elected, as square-one on the path to progress.

I have to say the Right to Vote is being tampered with severely in the US, and the simple act of demanding paper ballots, ensuring all citizens' right to vote, and better counting machines will plug one leak in our ship, and have a good net effect on everything - including less corrupt officials, which means less kick-backs from certain wall-street firms, which in turn means fair regulation and enforcement of fair market rules, which will save us from the sea-saw of market crashes, bubbles, and the scams that hurt us all. In the end, a stronger economy will mean better paying, more stable employment - and better global stability as well, since all the global economies are intertwined.;)

It all starts with fair elections, and the Right to Vote.

:laugh3:Ah, politicians are loved the world over, aren't they?!:P

The Global Financial Crisis means scrap metal prices have taken a sever tumble. Aluminum is down to $ 0.10 per pound! :( What, have people stopped buying beverages??:confused: Iron is down to $40.00 per ton locally. Down from $120.00 per ton at the same place a year ago. Looks like I'll just have to stockpile it until the economy takes off again..;)

 

 

You should invest Chuck if you have the money. I wish i'd saved my money so I could be buying up cheap Asian stocks.

 

Oh btw oil dropped even more, now 2.19 where I live! I think it'll hit 2.00 before it starts to rise again.:)

Not really. I don't do any sort of business .. .so I don't feel like there are consequences on our family.

 

BUT there's inflation so it's not really good anyway. Food is much more expensive than in January 2007. Blame it on the euro - we have European food prices and old old salaries.