<p>Many of us saw what was going to happen. I never imagine things could get this bad and could get worse. </p>
<p>Where were the regulatory agencies? At that time, 2-4 years ago, my state politicians and watchdogs were after predatory lenders who had high interest rates, the P & W ignored lenders who had irrational low rates but worse terms. </p>
<p>Will the credit crunch hit the student loan industry?</p>
<p>^^ I refi’d with WF because they gave me a lower rate with lower costs than I could find elsewhere including my existing lender of the time - Countrywide.</p>
<p>Does it bother you guys at all that the infusion of money from the middle east is what began the jump in the stock market yesterday and today. I just feel like we are putting ourselfs( low dollar) in the position where our next terrorist attack will be from the " owners" of large shares of our financial institutions. We invest in China and other emerging markets and we continue to infuse the middle east with billions of dollars for their overpriced oil so they can buy large shares of our most major companies. This is just looking so ugly. I feel like the U.S. is getting into real trouble here and that no one sees the potential for great harm. We are acting as if these other players will play by the rules when we know that is not the case at all. Ughhh…</p>
<p>I’m not happy that America is for sale. At least when Japan was buying us up in the 80’s, they were buying golf courses.</p>
<p>We’re buying oil and goods from the Middle East and China respectively and they are buying our assets. No. I don’t like that too much.</p>
<p>We need an alternative energy policy.</p>
<p>On the positive side, we are more likely to be friends than enemies if other countries own a piece of us because if they own a piece of us and we suffer financially, they will suffer too.</p>
<p>Wars may be less likely too.</p>
<p>So there are positives.</p>
<p>I don’t understand why the stock market went up today. We need to defend the dollar.</p>
<p>The stock market went up the last two days because of a number of variables: the fed hinted it would drop rates again; the oil guys hinted that they would increase production, we had just hit a 10% loss in the markets which many people believed would be the “low” point, and the middle east co.(forget which company name…Abu…) offered to invest like 6 billion in citibank ( at 11% interest) to help it get through its losses from subprime exposure. </p>
<p>The problem is nothing has really changed. The dollar will continue to skid as we lower interest rates, we will see more foreclosers into the next year, we will see more write downs of billions of dollars from sub prime, unemployment will begin to go up as housing market woes begin to really effect the general economy. People are spending more than they make and the equity in their houses is decreasing. This is all coming to a head in a very slow moving storm.
Milk $5 a gallon…gas soon to see $4 a gallon…heating oil jumping, corn prices soaring. The average american is starting to feel the pinch but has no idea whats possibly in store for them.</p>
<p>My concern with so much middle east money being invested in our banking system is their ability to control the market at will. Granted I am not an economics prof. but watching the daily volatility of the market really makes you wonder what the hell is going on. Somebody’s making a lot of money.</p>
<p>So is the market on a slow road back up or on its way down? Will you be hitting up your home equity to put your kid through school or let retirement take a back seat while your 401 K looks like a rollercoaster. Pretty scarey stuff.</p>
<p>I read the news and I saw why it went up because of potential rate cut. But the question, is why should it go up, it makes no sense to me. A lot of companies are loosing money due to subprimer, not just financial people. A lot of people are loosing jobs due to subprime mess. Other people savings are loosing value. You can’t buy much anymore with the dollar.</p>
<p>The rate cut is expected to lower the interest rate you pay for new loans. It should then be easier to afford mortages and possibly for those people facing forecloser to refi for a lower fixed rate. The thought is this way people will continue to spend and companies profits will rise and the market value goes up. Also stocks are really cheap because of the dollars value so foreigners rushed in to buy while the stocks were at a yearly low expecting a big upswing (which they got).</p>
<p>A lot of the blame should be given to Alan Greenspan for lowering rates too low for too long beginning in 2003. If he had not lowered rates so low, the fed would not have had to raise them so high in the past year which caused a lot of homeowners to go “upside down”.</p>
<p>We on the other hand, appreciate AG for the lower rates, which meant lower 3 month T Bills. … Variable interest student loans which we soon fixed at an average of 3% for the next 25 years. </p>
<p>I would debate whether Congress, BC, and W was just as much to blame to allow such subsidized student loans (read home loans and credit card) as to anyone else. Bush got the credit for getting the restarting the economy after 9/11 for deficit spending financed by foreign purchasers of US Treasurys and tax cut. </p>
<p>Some winners and some losers. On net, our family are net losers.</p>
<p>I was thinking along the lines of the Subprime Winners, being the home owners, who are now and will be in default. But as others have pointed out there are other winners and losers.</p>
<p>I’m with razorsharp. Alan Greenspan screwed up. He had the most control and he lowered rates to 1% for a year. A YEAR!!! The economy was growing at 2 to 3 percent and he kept rates at depression era levels. Then he raised them so slowly that he didn’t tighten for years. </p>
<p>Now Ben Bernanke is under tremendous pressure. He’s folding. Inflation rates close to 4 and the Fed Funds rate is going lower than that. </p>
<p>Saving money in this economy is so foolish. You lose.</p>
<p>I don’t know what is going to happen in about 10 years when the baby boomers are retiring in large numbers. We have a consumer led economy and old people don’t spend money on consumer goods.</p>