2008-11-17

State of the Economy....

The announcement by Bank of America (owner of Countrywide), CitiBank, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac that they will start renegotiating mortgages may begin what turns around the economy, in the least it may help keep this bail out to a minimal. Times are tough however and more outside the bank world companies are going to start asking for money. Tough times are ahead.

More signs of a down market that I have heard / seen:

* Paint orders are still extremely low.
* Construction orders are being put on hold / slowed down.
* People I know are still worried about losing their home.

For now my money besides what is already in, is going to wait. What I would like to know is what is the everyday investor's sign of a turn around? So what are your ideas, metals stabilize? New house orders rise? You tell me...

2 comments:

Grant said...

It's interesting that all of those signs you mention have to do with one thing: housing.

The price of copper is tied to housing, HVAC companies have ties to housing, Caterpillar has ties to housing... The success of so many lies on the building of structures..

Without the housing collapse, Bear Stearns is still in business...

Personally, I think that when you see foreclosure rates drop to near 2006 levels you'll start to be close to the bottom. Then when consumer spending increases, you're on the way up.

Anonymous said...

What I would like to know is what is the everyday investor's sign of a turn around?

There's a direct relationship between the word "woe" in the news and the state of the economy.

Once we quit seeing "woe" written by the financial media, things will be on the upswing. ;-)