As the saying goes....

"When the US economy sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold!"

This time looks like the cold has hit the US......does that mean the rest of the world is set for the flu?

What sort of impact does anyone here see this having on other global economies?

Panic is here.

US futures are still down HUGE amounts.

It's been a bad day, not just for the markets but me too (bad uni exam results and dog dying). With the US being closed, its added to the problem because US cannot lead today.

If we have a huge sell off in Asia and Europe tomorrow, it means the US futures will stay worse or increase.

That's not good.

These sell off in the world will be a snowball effect in the US tomorrow.

Why anyone is still questioning recession or no is beyond me. The markets are finally realizing it. Bernanke and company are quietly panicking about it -- and have been more months.

This is the start of the 2nd Great Depression. And this has been coming for a long time.

There is lots of blame to go around -- especially the midguided leadership of Alan Greenspan who created a cycle of cheap money that we can't get out of.

But really -- we're all to blame. The American consumer was beyond control for nearly a decade. Buy. Buy. Buy. Flat screen t.v.'s; Playstations 1,2,3,4,5. IPods and Iphones. Cheap, cheap Chinese goods.

In the end, the American savings rate went negative, buoyed by the myth that property values would ever increase and debt was just a four-letter word.

Now, we're sowing what we have reaped, and it stinks like the septic tank at a leper colony.

The problem now is there are no easy answers out. Gold and certain commodities are probably a decent bet, but they have been priced well beyond the ability of the common man. Tent cities are already popping up in California -- it's only a matter of months before that's a more common sight, as with a jumping unemployment rate.

We're in the deep doo, and it may take upwards of a decade to see a return of a decent, measured bull market (just ask Japan about that).

Originally posted by behindthescenes
Why anyone is still questioning recession or no is beyond me. The markets are finally realizing it. Bernanke and company are quietly panicking about it -- and have been more months.

This is the start of the 2nd Great Depression. And this has been coming for a long time.

Actually markets are the most sensitive, so the first to feel the effects. Why do you go from recession, which is a circular trend to the 2nd Great Depression?

When unemployment hits 9% and then continues to 20% plus we will be in a 2nd Great Depression.

[edit on 21-1-2008 by Xtrozero]

Will the retirement of the baby boomers over the next 10 years help to ease the effects of this apparent 20% UE? Although it would probably serve to hurt the markets (way more retirement money coming out than savings going in), I could still see UE never getting above ten. Of course I live in Canada, where illegal labour isn't quite as quick to climb in fill the void as it does south of the border.

Btw, can I ask..

has anyone got an update for US futures for tomorrow?

Actually markets are the most sensitive, so the first to feel the effects. Why do you go from recession, which is a circular trend to the 2nd Great Depression?

actually the markets are starting to feel what the lower and middle class have been feeling for a long time now. we affected the buying in china over the holidays and china is saying the rich can say what they want but your not the ones we are selling to at walmart and other stores chinas not going to listen to rich people hype beware of china they will lead the markets down and its good to see the rich feel it for a change

This is not in response to a U.S recession only

This is in fear of an economic system collapse and tremendous uncertainy from Bond insurer's MBIA and AMBAC going into insolvency.

forget about borders for a moment, The globe is one giant Business based on finance and credit. It is very close to a ponzi scheme.

When Debt goes into default, bankers get to collect real tangible goods for "paper promises and vaporized credit that once existed only on a computer screen"

WE need an announement from the gov't that they are going to bail out MBIA and AmBAC or we got a problem. Perhaps the gov't (actually likely) they will wait until it is painfully obvious that they need to react. (after market crash)

if anyone has insider information that a bailout is coming, then after the crash , stocks will present the buying opporunity of a lifetime. If the bailout never comes well so much for the buying opportunity.

Originally posted by biggie smalls
The system is crashing and its a God-send.

Excuse me?

The collaspe of the finanical system is not a God send, if it happens, we are all royally screwed.