Today was like most any day in recent memory: Another day, Another day of grim news.
In the US, President Obama is struggling to cope with an "unprecedented crisis", regulators closed Centennial Bank in California, Freddie Mac is asking for more cash, and 30 year bonds are getting shellacked.
Overseas, French and Flemish governments are intervening in the markets, the UK is shrinking at the fastest pace since 1980, and Australia needs action to save jobs. Rounding up the grim news, 1.2 million corporate networks have become infected with worms that attack Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating system.
Here are the grim details.
Read on...
Peacenik just received an email from one of his regular correspondents reporting anecdotally that all was well with the local economy: mall busy, store shelves full, pubs packed, people happy. Then Peacenik went to Mish's website to read his overview of the "unprecedented crisis". How does Peacenik reconcile the two different points of view? Peacenik is reminded that institutions and individuals frequently engage in profligate behaviour just before they explode. Thus, Thain, the Wall St. CEO redecorated his office the week before he was fired. Penniless hobos will find six dollars on the street and buy a pint of beer rather than a bag of rice. Peacenik thinks Mish and his correspondent are telling the same story. There will be denial and the illusion of prosperity. Then it will end.
