Monday, January 21, 2008

Bush Stimulus Package a Thin Gruel [updated]

The first people to analyze and digest the Bush economic stimulus package have gotten sick. Monday's global stock markets sunk faster than the Titanic. For perspective, a 5% drop in the Dow Jones average would be 600 points, were today not a holiday.

Europe
United Kingdom (FTSE 100) - down 323 points (5.5%)
Germany (DAX 100) - down 524 points (7.2%)
France (CAC 40) - down 348 points (6.8%)

Asia
Japan (Nikkei 225) - down 535 points (3.9%)
~Nikkei 225 down another 714 points (5.4%) on Tuesday
China/Hong Kong (Hang Seng 40) - down 1,383 points (5.5%)
~Hang Seng 40 down another 1914 points (8.0%) on Tuesday
India (NSE 50) - down 496 points (8.7%)
History never repeats itself exactly. The combination of massive federal deficits, the wholesale shift of assets from the middle-class to an extremely wealthy few, the evaporation of billions (perhaps trillions) of dollars with the collapse of mortgage finances, an unproductive war, and and the weight of $100/barrel oil is too much for any stable economy. Batten down, a hard rain is going to fall.

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