Praise be to the Federal Reserve

[BlasterBates]

Our Bernanke which art in the Federal reserve
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thine will be done
In none-US countries as in the US.
Give us this day a reasonable discount rate
Forgive us for our defaults, as we forgive those who default against us.
and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from falsely rated mortgage backed securities
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for the duration of a 30 year mortgage agreement.

Amen

[milanbenes]

bravo !!

Milan.

[wendigo100]

Their central bank seems to have done something that has got us out of the sh1t, but I don't understand all that high finance stuff so I don't know what. So bravo indeed!

[milanbenes]

wendigo,

it doesn't hurt to have a little understanding of what they do

fingers crossed they can keep the ship afloat

Milan.

[ElectricChair]

wendigo,

it doesn't hurt to have a little understanding of what they do

fingers crossed they can keep the ship afloat

Milan.

Well they kept ship afloat in 2001 by cutting interest rates - causing the current issues. I guess they will do the same this time and we will survive. One day interest rates will go to zero and nothing will happen - it will be depression.

You cant just abolish the normal ewconomic cycle and we cant just keep borrowing without repaying.

[Spartacus]

You cant just abolish the normal ewconomic cycle and we cant just keep borrowing without repaying.

Yes we can, it's different this time. House price increases in perpetuity will keep everything revving along nicely. Best get that BTL property while they're still cheap.

[ElectricChair]

Yes we can, it's different this time. House price increases in perpetuity will keep everything revving along nicely. Best get that BTL property while they're still cheap.

Most of those buying now are criminals. Banks will lose all their money. Then there will be a real credit crunch. depression.

I hope that cheered you all up.

[GreenerGrass]

Its not so much the level of the interest rates themselves thats led to the market problems, its a combination of ridiculously lax lending requirements, and the packaging of all these CDO thingies as being far safer investments than they actually are. And no one knowing the full exposure to them.
Fingers crossed a balancing act of tightening up lending rules, regrading debt instruments and cutting rates in the US will eventully sort things.

The lenders see the central banks as being like rich parents who bale out their spoilt kids when their attempts at playing "business owner" in West London go tits up.
"There, there, we'll cut interest rates this time, but don't do it again".

Being an optimist I reckon the FTSE will be over 6300 by Christmas, but it could go down to 5700 or lower in the next month or two.

[milanbenes]

the Fed kept things going in Sept '98 when there was the last big financial problems, Russian devaluation and LTCM going under.

fingers crossed they keep things afloat until I'm 40 :-)

All the best,

Milan.

[Spartacus]

As far as CDOs go, it seems there's always someone prepared to believe that high return does not signify increased risk. 'Twas always thus, 'twill always be so.