Is the doom just beginning?

[Doggy Styles]

You have a point, but I really wonder how many people have borrowed to extremes. I used to borrow when I was a poorly paid permie, simply because I couldn’t afford to buy stuff like furniture for the house on my salary, but I never maxed out the credit cards. Once I started contracting and earning good money I immediately started paying it all off, and now only have a relatively small mortgage that doesn’t keep me awake at night. I know one contractor who bought a huge old house, renovated it and now has a 850k mortgage and no contract, but he’s an extreme case. Most people I know are not, as far as I know, big borrowers.

I agree, but most people are not earning what we are.

Also, I don't necessarily mean maxing out, just borrowing more than might be prudent (I've used that word again). For someone on the average wages of around 25K a year, it is not so easy to pay off (say) 2K on a credit card and a 100K mortgage.

[SantaClaus]

Looks like a good time to buy!

Or an even better time to sell!

There is no such thing as too cheap!!!

[sappatz]

Uk

everyhing is going well in UK according to comrade Brown.
do not worry unnecessarily !

[suityou01]

In Japan, analysts said talk of a fresh government stimulus plan was unlikely to help revive the stock market.

"Unless markets overseas stop falling, there's nothing we can do, no matter how hard we try," said Yutaka Miura, an analyst at Shinko Securities.

From

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7920253.stm

So all we need to do is stop the markets overseas from falling. Some sort of trillion dollar stimulus package or something. Scratches head.

[suityou01]

everyhing is going well in UK according to comrade Brown.do not worry unnecessarily !

Crash Gordon

[TimberWolf]

WHS

(for further details see my .sig - saves having to keep retyping the same thing)

We're all fliped. I'm fliped. You're fliped. The whole country is fliped. It's the biggest flip-up ever. We're all completely fliped.
-- Sir Richard Mottram

Is this the biggest flip-up ever? Are we terminally flipped and if not how long will we remain completely flipped? Is the UK more flipped than any other country?

Other questions include whether those holding cash, stocks or commodities/minerals are more flipped than those letting out properties that are also falling in value.

Ah, another one. How the flip did Japan survive an 80% drop in property prices (if my memory serves). This doesn't seem possible without major flippness of doom proportions occurring, such as the majority of people becoming repossessed or bankrupted.

[Bagpuss]

If you look at the bbc doom, you will see the Dow only fell by just over half of 1 percentage point. Maybe this is a turning point (for now)

[backlight]

Looks like a good time to buy!

Hmm - I thought 3900 was about the floor and went in, now that it has broke 3500 there is no support and I'm not sure what to do - could stay in or cut my losses.

Tough call.

[threaded]

15 days ...

[d000hg]

15 days ...

Self-fulfilling prophecy?