Eye on the US Economy.

[optimusprime]

Originally Posted by Crazyjeeper

Well, the Dow went up 11% today, up to 9387.

http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sto...index_dow.html

"I" made $21k today. Thanks, RBS.

[teeb]

Originally Posted by optimusprime

"I" made $21k today. Thanks, RBS.

They're my bank...not going bust means they will presumably remember to ask for my overdraft back at some point

On the plus side, it means my RBS card is once again the most valuable thing in my wallet, as opposed to the 12-day-old Marks and Spencers receipt.

[smib]

Wait, it's over nine thousand?

[Crazyjeeper]

Originally Posted by smib

Wait, it's over nine thousand?

+ YouTube Video

[BerserkerCatSplat]

Originally Posted by BerserkerCatSplat

It's official, the economy is no longer over 9000.

Originally Posted by smib

Wait, it's over nine thousand?

We'll be here all night. Don't forget to tip your waitress.

[vegasrebel29]

Well, I made $1500$1200 in the last 7 days, and it's possible I could end up with another $1000 at the end of trading today. Unfortunately, my math skills aren't nearly as well off.

[smib]

I made some cookies last night, some of which I'm eating right now. So there.

[BlaRo]

I found a dime on the street, so I made more money than the Big Three combined.

[bry789123]

I made 31% on ultrashort power and oil (DUG) the day it fell 733points

[vegasrebel29]

Originally Posted by bry789123

I made 31% on ultrashort power and oil (DUG) the day it fell 733points

I'm staying away from the Ultrashorts at the moment because I haven't the slightest inkling as to what they're going to do. In fact, until major banks started dumping gold into the market I was a big fan of gold ETFs. Still am if you can figure out a bottom...

[Hidden_Hunter]

If I had a bit of cash i'd be buying shares in companies like Cisco atm, some good money to be made off them imo.

[MacGuffin]

How about borrowing money from a bank for that?

However, there's another aspect of that whole crisis and I guess we all tend to forget that no matter how bad it gets for us, we won't end up starving:

As Banks Are Rescued, Will the World's Hungry Be Overlooked?

A dramatic increase in food prices over the last year has pushed nearly a billion people to the brink of starvation. The international aid organization Oxfam warns in a new report that the global financial crisis could exacerbate the situation.

As markets plunge around the world and rich countries become increasingly preoccupied with the global financial crisis, 923 million around the world are going hungry waiting for their own multibillion dollar rescue plan.

According to a new study released on Thursday by the international aid organization Oxfam, the world hunger crisis threatens to slip entirely under the radar as developed countries grow more and more obsessed with the turmoil in financial markets. "At the same time when billions of dollars are being allocated to address the financial crisis, it seems as if the world hunger crisis has been totally forgotten," said Marita Wiggerthale, an expert with Oxfam Germany told SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Last May, the prospects for fighting world hunger looked much brighter. At a conference held in Rome, industrialized nations pledged $12.3 billion to help combat the problem. So far, though, only $1 billion has been paid out. To put these figures in perspective, German Chancellor Angela Merkel would commit up to €500 billion ($669 billion) to help bailout German banks and financial institutions.

A stark increase in food prices over the last year is putting an ever larger portion of the globe at risk for starvation. Over the last 14 months, for example, the price of rice has gone up 66 percent in Bangladesh while the price of wheat has doubled in Senegal and quadrupled in Somalia.

"Since families in developing countries spend almost two-thirds of their income on food, even a small increase in prices can push the poorest of the poor toward starvation," said Wiggerthale. And while "one might think that millions of farmers in poor countries would be benefiting from the recent climb in prices, but that's not happening." The reason, said Wiggerthale, is that farmers are consumers as well as producers of commodities. At the same time that food prices have risen, the cost of seed and fertilizer has also nearly tripled. That's why in countries such as Zambia and Malawi, the poverty rate is rising twice as fast in the countryside as in cities.

The United Nations estimates it would require between $25 billion and $40 billion to effectively respond to the world hunger crisis. The measures taken so far, according to Oxfam, are "totally inadequate."

Still, not everyone is feeling the squeeze from soaring food prices. Several big multinational corporations linked to agriculture are having banner years. Nestle's revenues were up nine percent in the first half of 2008, while sales at British supermarket giant Tesco climbed 10 percent. The biggest winner of all might be agribusiness giant Monsanto: Its profits for the first quarter amounted to $3.6 billion, a 26 percent spike over last year.

Source: http://www.spiegel.de/international/...584512,00.html

[vegasrebel29]

As it happens MacGuffin, that was my very first concern over a year ago when all the cards started falling. In fact, I was concerned when ethanol became an American staple...

/selfriteousness 0

[bry789123]

just randomly took off today up 889.35? points 10.88%

[Blind_Io]

On word that the interest rate may be dropped to 1.5%.

Eeeek, that's a scary thought.

[Hidden_Hunter]

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

On word that the interest rate may be dropped to 1.5%.

Eeeek, that's a scary thought.

Interesting what the reserve banks around the world do, here they seem to do the opposite to the US and raise them more often.

[teeb]

Originally Posted by Blind_Io

On word that the interest rate may be dropped to 1.5%.

Eeeek, that's a scary thought.

And Iceland's is at 18% at the moment!

What does that mean, though?

I know that if I have £100 in the bank, and a 4% interest rate, I get £4 back each year.

What do countries' interest rates mean?

[AiR]

I dont know but we had 500% at one time and things didnt go well then so I assume it's bad.

[bry789123]

Its what interest rate that business pay when they borrow from the federal reserve. lower for companies = lower interest for people = more people borrow and spend. They are hoping to spur spending like this.