[Declan]

OK, maybe it's not quite that bad but only by a hair. Markets are in free fall and the words "Emergency Measures", "Bank Holiday" and "Martial Law" are being thrown around quite generously today. I'm actually thinking of taking a few days off from work.

Well, see for yourself:

"We may soon be hearing the declaration of emergency measures involving the allocation of food and rationing of oil"

What happens here and now? To this points,events have been proceeding
under a veneer of still-just-barely-credible authority. We (as represented
by congress) have allowed Mr. Paulson to advance and activate his
remedies. As things unspool further, he will be out of credibility, perhaps in
a few days, and it's unlikely that his successor will have any either. Mr.
Bernanke has simply gone AWOL. Notice, he has vanished from the media
andscape. We may soon be hearing the declaration of various "emergency"
measures involving the allocation of food and the rationing of oil products.

UK Telegraph: "We face extreme danger. We risk a disintegration of global finance within days. Nobody will be spared . . ."

During the past week, we have tipped over the edge, into the middle of the
abyss. Systemic collapse is in full train. The Netherlands has just rushed
through a second, more sweeping nationalisation of Fortis. Ireland and
Greece have had to rescue all their banks. Iceland is facing an Argentine
denouement. The US commercial paper market is closed. The interbank
lending market has seized up. There are almost no bids. It is a ghost
market. Healthy companies cannot roll over debt. Some will have to sack
staff today to stave off default. As the unflappable Warren Buffett puts it,
" . . . I don’t think I’ve ever seen people as fearful," he said. We are fast
approaching the point of no return. The only way out of this descent is
"shock and awe" on a global scale, and even that may not be enough . . .

NY Times: Home of Wachovia, Bank of America Plunges Into the Abyss

With Wachovia dominating the south end of Tryon Street, uptown’s main
thoroughfare, and Bank of America dominating the north end, Charlotte
became the second-largest banking center in the nation, behind New York.
With the financial crisis vividly in evidence, the mood on Tryon Street was
palpably glum. Last weekend, after long hours of work trying to save
Wachovia, one middle-aged employee had a fatal heart attack. In Raleigh,
executives at RBC Bank canceled the parachuters that were supposed to
appear at the grand opening of its new headquarters, saying it was not an
appropriate time to have people jumping off a bank building . . .

Time Magazine: U.S. Economy in the Grip of Total Downward Spiral

In the case of households, debt rose from about 50% of GDP in 1980 to a
peak of 100% in 2006. In other words, households now owe as much as the
entire U.S. economy can produce in a year. Much of the increase in debt
was used to invest in real estate. The result was a bubble; at its peak,
average U.S. house prices were rising at 20% a year. Then — as bubbles
always do — it burst. The S&P Case-Shiller index of house prices in 20 cities
has been falling since February 2007. And the decline is accelerating. In
June prices were down 16% compared with a year earlier. In some cities —
like Phoenix and Miami — they have fallen by as much as a third from their
peaks. The U.S. real estate market hasn't faced anything like this since the
Depression. And the pain is not over. Credit Suisse predicts that 13% of
U.S. homeowners with mortgages could end up losing their homes . ..

Wall Street Journal: California Will Run Out of Money by October 28th

California hoped passage of the $700 billion rescue plan Friday would avert
financial disaster for the most populous U.S. state, which a day earlier had
called for a possible emergency federal loan. Its precarious financial
position is an example of how the credit crunch has spread to states and
municipalities. With credit frozen, California had enough cash reserves to
last until Oct. 28, said Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for Mr. Lockyer. As a
result, the state was prepared to seek initial loans of between $1.5 billion
and $2 billion to cover expenses including payrolls for teachers, police,
firefighters and other public employees. Mr. Dresslar said $7 billion in loans
might be needed before next spring, when new tax revenue will be flowing.

Macleans: "This is going to change the way we live for decades to come"

How painful will that bruising be? Worse than anything we've faced in our
lifetimes, Peter Schiff says. He describes a depression that would forge a
new world economic order, with sharply higher interest rates, a weaker
American dollar, surging prices and shortages of consumer basics. These
are the strains that can pull a society apart, and while not everyone
believes it needs to get that bad, such warnings are fast gaining currency
all over the world. There is no easy way out of the economic vice
tightening around America, and all the many countries, like Canada, which
rely on it for their own prosperity. Last week, with major banks failing,
home foreclosures running at a rate of 10,000 a day and unemployment
climbing steadily higher, it was clear that something big was happening.
Something that is going to change the way we live for decades to come.

Economist: "Internationally, a massive run on the banks is taking place"

At the moment, these markets are well and truly bunged up. In the words
of Michael Hartnett, a strategist at Merrill Lynch, "the global interbank
market is effectively closed." The equivalent of a run on banks has been
taking place, without the queues of depositors seen outside Northern Rock
last year. This stealthy run has been led by institutional investors and by
banks themselves. Many banks have had to be rescued by rivals or the
state. This week the Irish government felt compelled to guarantee the
deposits and some other liabilities of the country’s six largest banks.
Surviving banks have become ultra-cautious — "just taking things one day
at a time," says Matt King, a strategist at Citigroup. The effect has been
most dramatic in the overnight rate for borrowing dollars. Bank borrowing
costs reached 6.88% on September 30th, more than three times the level
of official U.S. rates, while some were willing to pay a remarkable 11% . . .

 

[Brew]

Its time to hunker down and watch the show. The sooner people get the idea that money never existed except in our own minds the better off they will be. Its a concept to transfer value, nothing more.

Right now you should be checking building security, avoiding strangers and deciding how best to ensure your safety if it all stops swirling around the bowl and disapears down the hole.

Good articles.

 

[wvsurvivalist]

I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. I'm fully confident that the federal reserve will find some extra printing presses to pay for more bailouts.

And while they're doing that, I'm going to walmart tonight to stock up on more ammo and food after work tonight.

 

[rlm1966]

I wouldn't worry too much about it yet. I'm fully confident that the federal reserve will find some extra printing presses to pay for more bailouts.

And while they're doing that, I'm going to walmart tonight to stock up on more ammo and food after work tonight.

I am not so sure if I would count on more bailouts since this event has gone global. I would not be surprised to see large banks and companies nationalized in the coming days as this melt down continues.

Keep your head down

 

[Panzermitch]

Unless you have vacation time, go ahead and go to work. Put your BOB in the trunk.

Keep a radio on or a television to stay informed.

If something in the CONUS goes "ka-boom" in a huge way, then take some time off.

Mitch

 

[mgd_only]

well its a good thing i haven't replaced the window trim yet on the house i might have to up scews into them just to hold up the 1" thick plywood i have pre cut sooner than i thought

 

[albertjohnson]

I'd say this is the beginning of it. And it could snowball fast.

I agree with WVSurv. Their solution will be more fiat money which of course will make it worse. Anyone want to sell me 1 roll of toilet paper for $10?

I need to get more tp and food. :thumb:

 

[arisinwind]

I went to Sam's Club and bought more food preps during lunch. I'm pretty well set right now.

 

[arisinwind]

I'd say this is the beginning of it. And it could snowball fast.

:thumb:

I think it will snowball real fast. Look at fast the Soviet Union fell. It stunned everyone.

 

[Lady Bug(ging)]

I just spent $250 at the grocery store today. Spent $200 at BJs on Friday. Will pack up the Hubby's BOB tonight to make sure that he has it for tomorrow. I wish he would take a vaca day tomorrow just in case but so much for that. I will be staying at home with the kids and watching the news and scanning the internet.

I had quite a strange dream last night. I haven't been having dreams lately so this was strange indeed. My whole dream consisted of a prepping deadline. I was rushing around trying to get things that I felt short of, knowing that it was the absolute last chance. It seemed be nighttime in this dream so whatever was about to happen was between 8pm est and 12am est. I have no idea what the event was supposed to be and I woke up as I was buying the largest bag of cat food I could find!

Here's hoping we pull through!

 

[arisinwind]

DOW is down over 700 points. People at work don't seem to care. I may get some cash and convert it to food after work.

 

[Watcher]

BBC NEWS Commentator: 'If this only turns into a deep recession i will be relieved'. 'We could be facing something much more serious'

That's on prime time BBC News right now.

 

[test]

It looks like I am off to COSTCO.

I have a terrible diet, but I 'live small' and inexpensively. I am accustomed to living this way, thank God.

Given that the gas prices are increasing significantly I will apparently be converting over to electric heat and heating only certain portions of the house, which is paid for, thankfully.

What a bloody mess.

 

[AncientBrit]

we in the UK have seen Banks become part nationalized,are government want a £95 billon bail out fund to help the banks which will come out of tax payers pockets.

I don't see why the people should pay are taxes to save private banks that have ripped us all off over the years,i say FCUK em .

 

[tnrick55]

tighten up mate tshtf see the rich dont want to give up being rich.

 

[Ezra]

I don't know why but all of this stuff just doesn't suprise me,I feel as if I have been expecting something like this for a few years now,hence my preparations.:I am also glad that I have never bought into this materialistic society and have always sought a more simple way of life.I have also bought more food reserves recently,the more I have,the safer I feel.

 

[Herd Sniper]

This is just a guess on my part but I think that we have about 4 to 8 weeks of chaos ahead of us so taking vacation time right now, immediately, may NOT be a good idea. I think that this mess has got to roll along for awhile until it picks up speed and lethality. I would say that from the 1st of December to the end of December is when things will gradually become dicey. If Christmas sales are way, way off, it'll show and then accelerate the panic and chaos. So my present hunch is that we all have just a little bit more time but not a lot of it left. I don't look for things to level out until the fall of '09 at the earliest either. Maybe even the summer or fall of '10 at the quickest...

 

[overlordsshadow]

Even if they do fix this, we should still all be vigilant, as it will happen again and again if we don't change these systems.

 

[Nomad 2nd]

Naw, this is the time to make sure you have a couple months of cash on hand, plenty of food, Gas cans full, go over your lists to see if there are any holes etc.

Fill your car up at 3/4 insted of 1/2 etc...

And watch the Financial people pull their hair out.

 

[Dwind]

where in the bloody blue blazes does all this money go anyway?
picture somewhat related.