Yeah Eric, but the point is anyone at any time can say anything about anything. I don't have a problem with people making claims, but at least make claims that can be falsified within some reasonable amount of time, and then own up to the outcome.
I do understand where all the negativism comes from, believe me. But don't you ever get sick of all these prognosticators making calls? How many deep out of the money puts do you think the guy owns? No one can tell what is going to happen even a month into the future, let alone over the time scales these prognosticators tend to operate on.
FWIW, people on this site and in markets in general have this very poor opinion of crowds. There is a huge amount of wisdom in crowds, especially modern ones because they are so well informed. Further, this particular debacle has touched so many lives, that it is not just exposing financial cracks in America, but the very foundations of that make up this country. There is a crisis in just about every foundation that makes a society whole in this country.
Consumerism has to be nipped at every conceivable bud. The problem is, I have no idea what else can sustain this country. Worse, the rest of the world is just now being lured into the same trap by Capitalists that see opportunity to exploit people that don't have the economic maturity to deal with the onslaught of marketers. Turn off the TV, India, China, Brazil, Russia, lest your kids mind be polluted!
History is everyones least favorite subject in school, it seems...so the world goes round and round making the same mistakes, over and over again

If I wrote a history book, I would write one that included the current crisis, and made it must reading for every nation that these corporations are now trying to exploit.
Quote from EMRGLOBAL:
Crazy Nitro..you know that that 2point move up in futures could disapear at any moment.
33 billion in equity removed form the Stock Market and rolled into bonds. Hummm.....I wonder why that is. Of course, bonds are not much of a flight to safty or quality at this rate.
China and south east Asia are growing, parts of latin america, Brazil in general in South America...all gaining momentum.
So the "World" is larger than the US.
Tony may or may not be correct. Unemployment numbers do not lie, however the gov.s accounting and tracking these numbers are so out dated...that the % is far higher.
The writting is on the wall. There will be no surprise collapse. It's a decade of unwinding of Leverage. Period. Those who carry debt that they can't manage will feel the pain. Innocent people will get caught in final URSA, or last move in the bear market which could last late into this decade.
But there will be plenty of ways to make money in the proper industries.