time to party like it's 1929

[erf_]

I didn't feel comfortable talking about this at work, due to the non-disclosure clause in my contract, but hell, this is very public news by now. Guess what day it is today?

Yes, that's right! It's BLACK MONDAY!

Five hundred points. The Dow dropped five hundred points. In one day. You aren't supposed to ever see numbers like that on the stock

Comments

[aesvir]

The reason people aren't completely freaking out (as in committing suicide freaking out, versus shouting like maniacs on MSNBC) is because anyone who's been following the markets saw it coming. I'd first heard rumors about Lehman back in April on the Dealmaker and had a worried conversation with my friend (who was optimistic but now, sadly, out of a job). The individual investor is going to get fucked over, but they should have realized that when Bear Stearns went under and Lehman couldn't get any one buyer to pull the trigger.

Ultimately, I do think the last few weeks are extremely bad news for the American economy. But not because of Lehman or Morgan Stanley, which are ultimately the smaller investment banks on Wall Street. The takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will possibly add trillions to government debt, and that will have long-term complications worse than any one bank that files for bankruptcy

[erf_]

I think it's a long shot to say that Lehman Brothers was hoping for a government bailout. When you are a 120-year-old brokerage firm, one of the largest in the country, and your stability is the primary reason people invest with you, gambling on winning big from a bankruptcy is not an attractive strategy

[aesvir]

Yes, you're right--it's Merrill Lynch that's been bought out. And eventually, once this mortgage mess is cleaned up, BoA will probably have made a good deal

[virtualstar]

"Why worry when I'll just end up dead anyway." -Ladri di Biciclette

[erf_]

This is no time for nihilism!

[virtualstar]

Nor was post-war Italy a time for nihilism.

[erf_]

On the contrary, postwar Italy was the perfect time for nihilism. They had been stirred up with delusions of neo-Roman grandeur and were instead bombed to ruins.

This is more like, oh, I'm falling off a cliff. I should probably find something to grab.

[ennyousai]

Nothing to worry about! John McCain says the American economy is strong!

[erf_]

Both McCain and Obama have actually come out blaming insufficient (and ineffective) regulation. McCain has a more wait-and-see approach (he wants a form a committee to investigate what happened) whereas Obama wants to see more decisive and immediate action.

Bush is the only one who is saying the American economy is strong and will fix itself without intervention. I guess he felt the need to make one last grand display of incompetence before he leaves office.

[ennyousai]

I'm just praying I can continue to pay for graduate school, with the way this is going.

[user_undefined]

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaa

[aesvir]

A comment on Lehman filing for bankruptcy, since we covered the basics in class today