It's Official: Wall Street Enters Bear Market

It's official. As of the U.S. market's close today the Bears have taken over Wall St. Read the BBC report here. As one Wall St. financial analyst put it: ...this is just validation that all Hell has broken lose... in case anyone had any doubt left at all. The shit has hit the fan. Yup, we're melting down. Not a Bull in sight. Read Bloomberg's Financial News Service report.

Investors are justifiably concerned about the condition of the U.S. economy; the ripple effects of the sub-prime mortgage meltdown; increasing unemployment and stagflation. The Author has posted about all of these crises, and their causes, in previous rants (see sidebar).

Of special concern is the perfect storm that is brewing in the financial and banking world. One hears that phrase a lot these days, evidence of the sorry state of affairs in the Bush treasury and mis-management by the Fed. Those of us who own small businesses know that there is a steep price to be paid for incompetence. Consumers are now getting the bill for years of official incompetence and dereliction of duty. Where were the regulators who stood as our last bastion of protection against the hazards of speculation, avarice and greed? Oh, that's right. They were all replaced by political appointees. Just like the Justice Department, the FDA, the EPA, the Forest Service and the BLM.
Wall Street
Bear Market

Nikkei Loses 200 at Opening in Tokyo

Will tomorrow be "Black Tuesday" on Wall Street? We'll know in just a few hours. An early indicator is not good. The Tokyo Stock Exchange, open now, dropped 200 points in a heart beat. It seems that the international meltdown, driven by the economic policies and runaway spending of George Bush and the Republican Party, has caused the Bank of Japan to reduce estimates of national growth. Other central banks in other developed nations will find themselves in similar straits in short order. We're in uncharted territory here. Like our 401k plans haven't tanked enough already!