Global Economies in trouble.

[Bonam]

Sorry, gotta disagree with you here, at the rate the US has been printing money with no backing for it any other country would have an almost worthless currency... Actually so would the states, but the US's creditors, in particular China, don't want to "pull the plug" and lose their hold on the US economy... When you spend 4 Trillion and only take in 2 Trillion it's just a matter of time before the collapse happens... You might want to start learning Mandarin, eh... Incidently, the US banks know this, that's why they're converting credit into hard assets like property - to cash on hand even if it's only pennies on the dollar... Foreclosing on property that's only worth 10% of what's owed on it, and not even trying to collect what you can only makes sense if you are divesting credit into cash on hand... America, ergo the world, is in financial trouble, it'll be worse, probably by a lot, than the '08 downfall...

The supposed influence of China on US debt is small: a far greater amount is held by US private individuals and corporations than by any foreign country. A deficit does not mean a collapse. I already know 4 languages and adding Mandarin to that would not be a big problem. Prophesying doom has been done to death.

[dre]

The supposed influence of China on US debt is small: a far greater amount is held by US private individuals and corporations than by any foreign country. A deficit does not mean a collapse. I already know 4 languages and adding Mandarin to that would not be a big problem. Prophesying doom has been done to death.

The supposed influence of China on US debt is small

Not small at all. Its surpassed Japan as the larger foreign holder of US treasuries instruments. At any time they hold around a trillion dollars in US debt, and are easily a big enough player to cause havoc in US bond markets.

A deficit does not mean a collapse.

Tell that to Equador, Zimbabwe, or Greece, or Argentina.

Running a defecit is ok for a while but the US defecit position puts it on course for another bankruptcy within the next 15 or 20 years.

Edited January 29, 2011 by dre

[GWiz]

The supposed influence of China on US debt is small: a far greater amount is held by US private individuals and corporations than by any foreign country. A deficit does not mean a collapse. I already know 4 languages and adding Mandarin to that would not be a big problem. Prophesying doom has been done to death.

True dat... As I said, the big banks are divesting themselves of that debt by converting it to cash by foreclosures and selling the properties to generate cash to invest outside the US... 2012 is next year... Glad you saw my point...

[GostHacked]

Right, but I don't see how any of those changes will fundamentally effect the fact that technological progress will continue or that it is the main driver of economic growth. Big numbers will get thrown around and media will hype about recessions and financial problems meanwhile real people will keep on working, innovating, and making the world a richer place.

Actually, it could be more of the opposite. A happy society is when you have people that are happy with what they are doing, because they love what they do and the money is more or less of an afterthought. I did not get into computers and networking because I knew there was money in it. I do it because it is a lot of fun.

When you have a happy and productive society who are not hungry or in need of shelter or worried about money, think of what can be accomplished. Money becomes almost irrelevant when investing in new technologies.

Ideas are bought and sold. But when those ideas benefit human kind on the whole, who cares what the cost really is, I mean it's just money, even though it's worthless.

[maple_leafs182]

Right, but I don't see how any of those changes will fundamentally effect the fact that technological progress will continue or that it is the main driver of economic growth. Big numbers will get thrown around and media will hype about recessions and financial problems meanwhile real people will keep on working, innovating, and making the world a richer place.

Advances in technology isn't always a good thing in our current economic system. Advances in technology may lead to improvements in productivity but new technologies also replace human labour which leaves some jobless.

Also, advances in technology does not mean that we are all of a sudden immune to depressions. I don't know if you haven't noticed but countries are going bankrupt, expect more of the same in the coming years.

[GWiz]

Not small at all. Its surpassed Japan as the larger foreign holder of US treasuries instruments. At any time they hold around a trillion dollars in US debt, and are easily a big enough player to cause havoc in US bond markets.

Tell that to Equador, Zimbabwe, or Greece, or Argentina.

Running a defecit is ok for a while but the US defecit position puts it on course for another bankruptcy within the next 15 or 20 years.

Or 2012, doomsday you know, whichever comes first...

[pfezziwig]

THE BRICK countries are booming, no troubles there. Their idea of bad economic times is 4% growth, that would be a boomtime here in north america.

You need to stop looking at Canada and the USA as an indicator of global economic health, they're going nowheres for the next 50 years with their deficit spending attitudes.

[pinko]

The sky isn't falling. These types of events have happened many times throughout history.

[GWiz]

The sky isn't falling. These types of events have happened many times throughout history.

You could be wrong; get ready to duck, or better yet hide, or better yet - oh nevermind there's nothing you can do about it anyway...

[GostHacked]

The sky isn't falling. These types of events have happened many times throughout history.

But you have not seen what is presently going on now. The TSX and the LSE are joined, the German stock exchange and the NYSE are combined. The house of cards is going to fall very soon, and only idiots, fools with their heads in the sand can't see the problem on the horizon, actually it's already here.

National debts are constantly going up, and are not going away. The nations on the whole are borrowing money fro future generations that have not even been born yet.

Where do you think all this 'money' comes from?

[pinko]

But you have not seen what is presently going on now. The TSX and the LSE are joined, the German stock exchange and the NYSE are combined. The house of cards is going to fall very soon, and only idiots, fools with their heads in the sand can't see the problem on the horizon, actually it's already here.

National debts are constantly going up, and are not going away. The nations on the whole are borrowing money fro future generations that have not even been born yet.

Where do you think all this 'money' comes from?

I don't know but I am not going to waste my time worrying about events I have no control over.

[maple_leafs182]

Why did protests start in Egypt.

As you all know Egypt has a large desert, there is not much land for agriculture to take place so Egypt relies heavily on importing food, Egypt is the number one nation for wheat imports in the world. These imports are bought using US dollars. Right now America is devaluing the dollar by printing money which is driving up food and energy prices. The people of Egypt already spend a lot of their personal income on food and energy and they can't afford the rising costs so they are protesting.

These protest will come to Canada and America too.

Right now oil prices are going up, look what happened prior to the collapse in 2008 and what oil prices were then. If oil prices continue to go up, we will be heading for another devastating economic collapse.

[GostHacked]

I don't know but I am not going to waste my time worrying about events I have no control over.

That's just it though. You do have control. And it wont be a waste of time. That attitude only allows the powers that be to do this kind of thing, we lay down and take it and say 'well that's just the way it is'... It does not have to be this way,

[GostHacked]

Why did protests start in Egypt.

As you all know Egypt has a large desert, there is not much land for agriculture to take place so Egypt relies heavily on importing food, Egypt is the number one nation for wheat imports in the world. These imports are bought using US dollars. Right now America is devaluing the dollar by printing money which is driving up food and energy prices. The people of Egypt already spend a lot of their personal income on food and energy and they can't afford the rising costs so they are protesting.

The greenback has been devalued to the point where there is no recovery to it's glory days. The US is hanging by a very thin economic thread (and that will affect us here in Canada as well, with the US being out biggest and closest trading partner).

These protest will come to Canada and America too.

I believe you are correct and I am the same line of thinking. The domino effect has started, when it hits here, not sure, but prepare yourself at the least, because if it does not happen, then we can all breathe a sigh of relief.

Right now oil prices are going up, look what happened prior to the collapse in 2008 and what oil prices were then. If oil prices continue to go up, we will be heading for another devastating economic collapse.

We never really got out of the last economic collapse.

[Pliny]

Thats historical true! There has been an unpresidented period of economic growth, technological progress, and human development under the fractional reserve / financial market system. But things are changing now, and that may not be the case for much longer.

That should read.... "despite" the fractional reserve/financial market system. Who knows where we would be if technology had not been at the direction and discretion of the government. I doubt we would have had any costly wars after WWII. As it is, they don't even have to try and sell war bonds now.