Saturday, January 17, 2009

Economic Slowdown - A Repeat Of 1929?

By Don Bethune

The rapid growth of telecommunication with the emerge of IT industry has kept the GDP and different growth parameters steep rising post 1990s.However far beyond the imaginations and expectations of researchers, experts, analyst across the globe the recent turmoil in credit market, banking sector in the banks of USA, European and few Asian banks are the largest since 1929.

The criticality of the current world financial situation has indicated a strong need to strengthen and perhaps reinvent our existing economic and financial models and practices. The financial rescue, or bailout if you prefer, packages put in place just recently initially did little to stop the plunge in stock indexes. Admittedly it will take some time to tell if these financial aids will have the desired effect of turning the USA and global economies around.

For instance the experts comments over the fall of one of the largest banks in US the Lehman Brothers is said to be a calculated and well predicted with time. The policies, strategy, pay role to the employees, exposure to in-calculated field, mortgages over last decade clearly indicates a poor management and policies adopted by the company. If these were so much visible to the experts then why action were not take with time? similar kind of stories lies beneath the fall of other biggies too. These have made many investors, employees and IT companies to shut down the shop or making them bankrupt.

The question arises here is how long and how many times a country or banks would be able to prevent these debacle? Is our strategy of investment or portfolio being adopted is healthy enough to promise a sustainable growth rate. Surprisingly the recent G7 meeting couldn't find out feasible solutions.

The US and China have been working together to attempt to get tings turned around with perhaps some success. However, even if these to major economic powers experience some success in achieving a recovery, the other Asian and the European countries have to be fully involved in the process.

Financial rescue packages will not necessarily help the investor in the short term except perhaps to put a brake on the losses. Assuming it will take some time for financlial institutions and other affected organizations to get their houses in order, the investor must review his or her own investment strategies in hopes of regaining a pattern of sustainable growth.

So it is really up to the political leaders of the affected countries to step up and cooperate in finding the means not only to reverse the current situation but to prevent a reoccurrence as well. Until that happens the small investor, and perhaps the large investor as well, needs to be very cautions as to where they are putting their money.

We may feel sometimes that a plunge in the stock market affects only the major stockholders, the "big boys". It is not always apparent that a decline in the stock market means that companies issuing stock suddenly find themselves with insufficient capital to meet their goals. The results can mean decreased production, lower wages, and lost jobs. Eventually these negatives can and will affect the average citizen. As a part of any recovery package the average citizen needs to be educated as to what the big picture means to him or her. - 16890

About the Author:

No comments: