Are the good times over?

[alan refail]

The new "crunch" looks more permanent and threatening than the "credit crunch".
Eco crunch

[Granny]

Yes, I read that in the Guardian today. Frightening, isn't it?

And if £1.2 trillion was lost on stocks and shares, where did it go? Surely someone must have it. I always thought finance was basically trading or bartering on a large scale. I do find it difficult to understand.
---------------
Granny

[Chantal]

Granny, you echo my thoughts. I read that yesterday and simply can't work it out.

[alan refail]

Granny & Chantal

Two things have been taxing my brain recently:
a) if the banks have no money, where's it gone?
b) if the government intends to get through the recession by increased borrowing, where's it going to borrow from?

On the other hand, I am sure the present economic crisis/recession will ease in the course of time. I think people should be much more worried about the "eco-crisis", which will not go away. The developed world (Europe) has built its fortune and standard of living on the back of the rest of the world since the start of imperial conquests. If you look at the present situation three quarters of the world's countries are now living unsustainable lifestyles, i.e. beyond the fair share of what the planet can provide. Now that's worrying.

[oldherbaceous]

It is strange where the money has disappeared to.
And by the way, my Banqueting Hall is coming on a treat.

Recession, what recession.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear Alan, on a more serious note, i have often thought that one day we would overtake what nature can offer us, but when i was younger i never thought that i might actually experience the results.

As you say, worrying, very worrying indeed.

[Tony Hague]

a) if the banks have no money, where's it gone?

It was only ever "virtual" money. Their assests included loans, ie, money owed to them by others. But since many of the borrowers have borrowed amounts that they have no hope of repaying, the loans no longer have their face value.

[peter]

Yes, I read that in the Guardian today. Frightening, isn't it?

And if £1.2 trillion was lost on stocks and shares, where did it go? Surely someone must have it. I always thought finance was basically trading or bartering on a large scale. I do find it difficult to understand.
---------------
Granny

All stocks and shares are valued at what anyone is willing to pay for them at the time.
So everyone panics and sells, supply and demand kick in and the price goes down.
Everyone thinks times are good and hangs on to, or buys, supply and demand kick in and the price goes up.

The whole "financial economy" is a big stage show of many "artistes" spinning a mixture of plates on varied sticks.

Sticks bought twenty removes from cutting, after being rebundled with sticks from other sources at each transaction.

Plates bought from the charity shop, Harrods and Sainsburys, unpacked, mixed, repacked, sold, repeat several times.

Both traded regularly between "artistes".

All using virtual money borrowed from someone else who borrowed it from someone else who borrowed it........

As long as they all keep spinning and being swapped between "artistes" the show goes on.

Then once there are a few too many plates for one "artiste" to keep spinning some fall and break, other "artistes" cut their feet or get slowed down by the shards and chaos spreads.

Which plates get smashed, well, good ones, bad ones, average ones, anyones guess.

[Primrose]

Well, I'm doing my bit to save the world's resources being used up too quickly! Use my teabags twice, recycle my clothes and books at charity shops, grow as many veg as I can and only buy what I "need", rather than what I "want". Come to think of it, it's people like me who will make the credit crunch last for ever. And on the issue of supply and demand, I guess we've just got too many people on the planet for the earth's resources to supply them all with a fair share. And I wouldn't like to be the politician who's going to suggest the solution to that one!

[snooky]

Are the good times over? I certainly hope not.I have cashed in a pension from a failing company pension and on sound financial advice put it into a shares fund. And another pension has gone into the P.P.F.scheme.Must admit,sweating a bit,retirement is only two years away.
As for the "eco-crunch"I agree that it is worrying.I also wonder why the first world countries have to always,it seems,take the blame?With all the monies pumped into the third world countries surely some blame should be placed there.Especially on the politicians who are,allegedly,i.e Mugabwe,salting these monies into private Swiss bank accounts and not doing enough to help their population and country.