Sep. 30th, 2008

chrishansenhome: (Default)
The events of today affecting the global economy will be well known to you all. What I would like to say is this: the world we wake up to tomorrow will be changed utterly. These are not the end times; we will dig ourselves out of this hole. However, the road out is going to be long and very steep for many. Some predictions:

1) With government ownership of much of the economy, we will have regulation up the wazoo. As one Repug congresscritter (paraphrased) said, "Joe SixPack isn't going to stand for bailing out Wall Street". The only way this is going to fly is through increased regulation of the banking and financial industry. This will dwarf Sarbanes-Oxley in its reach into the financial markets. Measuring, hedging, and containing risk will be a sought-after talent and well-compensated. Buying and selling securities will be low on the totem pole.

2) Our families and ourselves are going to suffer. Buy-to-let mortgagors will be wiped. Rates will go up, and as people sit tight, not wanting to move, rental prospects will dry up in the short term. Mortgages granted this month are down 98% on last year here in the United Kingdom! Amazing! See #3 for what will happen when the mortgages are finally sold by the governments.

Those who work in the financial area will be hard-hit. Layoffs and postponement of all but absolutely essential projects will mean joblessness for millions. We'll see people selling their possessions on the street in order to make ends meet. Bankruptcies will go up, and the new laws that limit the banks' exposure to personal bankruptcies will bite the ordinary consumer who borrowed prudently but, through no fault of his/her own, has lost his or her job.

Oh, don't try applying for a credit card anytime soon. If you do, and you get one, don't borrow on it. I feel like cutting mine up right now (we don't carry a balance, thank goodness).

Those in the best position will be those who have money in the bank (deposits, I think, will generally be safe), who have little or no money borrowed, and who have little or no money in the stock market (at least in the short term).

3) When we come out of all this, in about 10 years, the financial markets will look very very different. Risk aversion will be the order of the decade. Only those who do not need money will be able to take out loans. The government will package up what is left of the mortgage débacle and sell it on to a prudent investor who did not get into the property market before. This person or firm (there may be several) will make a killing and own a lot of commercial and personal real estate. S/he or it will make Donald Trump look like someone who has one house on one property in Monopoly. People and companies will be turfed out of their homes and offices. The rental market will then look pretty good, as all these properties will be rented out to people who have lost their homes and to companies which have lost their owned offices. Buffett will probably have gone to that great Berkshire Hathaway in the sky by that time, but someone like him will be the property tycoon of the 2010 decade.

4) Personal misery will increase in the next year as the Northern Hemisphere closes in on winter and the gloomy short days of the season start to bite. Retailers that were banking (funny word, that, in these circumstances...) on a good Christmas to lift them out of losses will be disappointed. Expect to see some retailers go bust in January-March 2009 as the losses mount to unseasonable levels. People will be keeping their wallets firmly shut for all except essential spending. I think that PC World/Dixon's might be one of those that has significant troubles after a lean Christmas season. They have already had some trouble, I understand. Wait for the after-Christmas sales.

I would also expect that suicides and murder/suicides of families will increase as financial strains take their toll. Fathers who kill their spouses and their children and then themselves often do so because of financial reverses current or prospective. This is a horrible outcome of the greed that has consumed our economy and we must do all we can to ensure that this does not happen: governments and charities must increase spending on counseling and mental health services. Expect the suicide rate around Christmas to sharply increase since Christmas is often a time of increased suicide rates--'tis the season to be jolly, you know...be supportive of friends who may be in financial difficulties. If you feel that prayer or good thoughts are effective, pray and think good thoughts.

5) If you think you don't own any stocks, but you have a pension plan or an insurance policy, think again.

I dread waking up to the 7:00 news tomorrow.

My tweets

Sep. 30th, 2008 12:03 am
chrishansenhome: (Default)
  • 09:34 morning tweeters. clear and cold in london this morning. #
  • 13:27 lunching on hot dogs. #
  • 14:18 @MikeonTV : i presume that "Wog in a Box" is takeaway Italian food in Australia. #
  • 14:18 @devinjay : why nervous? #
  • 20:52 @mkrigsman : I think that if B&H is a stock company someone should report that writer to the SEC not that they don't have other things to do #
  • 20:58 while i'm glad i'm not in the stock or property markets, i'm sad that greed has led to this and hate what it will do to poor people. #
  • 23:15 good night tweeters. the world i'll wake up to tomorrow will be vastly different than the one i will go to sleep in tonight. R.I.P economy! #
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chrishansenhome: (Default)
Normally one assiciates getting a visa in a small Asian country with standing in line at an embassy for hours (probably in the hot sun) and paying lots of US dollars to them for a 3-day visa.

Well, I just discovered that I can apply for my Cambodian visa online! I was dumbfounded.

Starting through the application process, you fill out a first-page form and upload your passport photo--I quickly scanned my passport photo and uploaded it after trimming it to the right size. Then I pressed "Submit" and a few moments later, the website had gotten my photo and approved it (for size, I presume) and we went to the second page, where I filled out more personal details, passport and journey details, and contact details.

After I pressed "Submit" here the apostrophe in my address (St. Matthew's Court) threw the website; I think their web designer hadn't protected the text from the program itself. Once I corrected that, the page led me to PayPal, where I paid US$25 for the visa and processing. Presto! It's all done and I will be receiving an e-visa via e-mail once a human being approves it.

Other than the little glitch, it was painless and quite efficient. I am dead chuffed that a small country like Cambodia could make it so easy and efficient to apply for and receive a visa. My hat's off to you, Cambodia! I hope that my visit will be as pleasant as applying for a visa was.
chrishansenhome: (Default)
One of the most prominent of Singaporean opposition politicians, JB Jeyaretnam, has died there from heart failure at the age of 82. His interaction with the People's Action Party and its leader for most of its history, MM Lee Kwan Yew, makes interesting reading. He was about to stand again for Parliament, after having been the first opposition party member to have been elected to Parliament after Singapore's independence from Britain. Rest in Peace, JBJ.

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