Pain from Spain

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Will the situation in Spain cause the markets to go substantially lower before the end of the year?

Yes
45
63%
No
26
37%
 
Total votes: 71

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Jahbulon
Posts: 3901
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 1:22 pm

Pain from Spain

Post by Jahbulon »

Will the situation in Spain cause the markets to go substantially lower before the end of the year?

Yes
No

User avatar
Jahbulon
Posts: 3901
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 1:22 pm

Re: Pain from Spain

Post by Jahbulon »

I have a feeling the debt auction will go well tomorrow. The ECB won't let this one be bad. BUT.....this story we are hearing about Spain being okay is the exact same story, almost word for word, they said about Greece. But Spain is a whole lot bigger than Greece.

How many Lehman's would it take to equal Spain? Hmmmmmm........

Oh, and don't forget their good buddy Italy. They won't go solo. They will go down together.

Just my humble opinion.

BodhiDrool
Posts: 121
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 1:12 pm

Re: Pain from Spain

Post by BodhiDrool »

Jahb, what happens if/when Germany leaves EU?

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Jahbulon
Posts: 3901
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 1:22 pm

Re: Pain from Spain

Post by Jahbulon »

Not sure. Its gonna be ugly either way. They have passed the point of no return - IMHO.

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flight23
Posts: 1342
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:47 am

Re: Pain from Spain

Post by flight23 »

Germany cant "leave the EU." If they do, the EU dissolves and everyone goes their own way. Either the EU breaks into two parts, decides to subsidize the poorly performing countries, or ejects the poorly performing countries.
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Reese99
Posts: 142
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2010 3:26 pm

Re: Pain from Spain

Post by Reese99 »

Given how freely the fiat currency is flowing these days, I'd have to bet on Germany continuing to subsidize the poorly performing countries. Seems to me that the central banks can print their money, buying their own bonds (writing an IOU to themselves) with no repercussions (since all the other central banks are doing it too, and the relative positions seem to be keeping abreast of one another). They then use their newly printed fiat currency to buy real assets, seize assets through foreclosures, etc. and then, when people finally lose all faith in the fiat currency, they'll own everything of any worth. From that basis, they can establish a new currency backed by whatever assets they happened to amass.

Of course, in the meantime, the little guys get crushed under inflation and see all their savings turned into so much worthless paper. Even if things collapse into anarchy and rioting (and I certainly hope it never does), it's the little guys who will suffer and die from it all. The central bankers/planners will sit in their ivory towers, safe from all the plebeian noise on the streets below.

So, in the short to medium term, I see the financial giants of the world playing stupid fiat games to perpetuate the 'norm', with the risk-free bullish markets that come with that. In the long term, buy physical metals, and anything else you think might make good bartering material. Whiskey and cigarettes seem like good ideas to me.

And remember, the best hedge against inflation (or currency being devalued into nothingness) is debt.

(Disclaimer: I make no claims that anyone following my words will prosper or end up any better off than they would if they spent all their money on iPad apps and Little Debby oatmeal cookies. Please do your own research, make your own predictions, and brazenly share them somewhere online so your future employers can wonder what the hell you were thinking when you put that on the web.)

BodhiDrool
Posts: 121
Joined: Mon Aug 01, 2011 1:12 pm

Re: Pain from Spain

Post by BodhiDrool »

Reese, very good point about debt, just a bit scary for a mostly debt free person to get themselves into.

skiehawk11
Posts: 2116
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 2:32 pm

Re: Pain from Spain

Post by skiehawk11 »

Reese,

Your statement that debt is the best hedge against inflation is brilliant. You might as well use inflation to your advantage if you have to.

Of course, there is good debt management and bad debt management. If someone is seriously thinking of doing this they need to be able to revert to savings quickly when interest rates increases (aka - lower inflation).

User avatar
flight23
Posts: 1342
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 10:47 am

Re: Pain from Spain

Post by flight23 »

Yep... as long as your job is secure and you wont have a problem making payments, NOW is the time to get the biggest most ridiculous house you can afford with a big fat 15 year mortgage at 2.875% or 30 year at 3.5%.

Im looking at refinancing right now for the freaking 4th time in 4 years (2 for our old house, now a rental). For those in VA I learned something interesting today.. you can refinance with the same lender as your original loan in VA and avoid paying transfer taxes. If another lender has a better rate then you have to weigh which is better, but it is nice to know.
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Fund Prices2024-03-27

FundPriceDayYTD
G $18.14 0.01% 1.00%
F $19.09 0.26% -0.68%
C $82.11 0.87% 10.42%
S $82.19 1.48% 6.61%
I $42.68 0.56% 6.21%
L2065 $16.38 0.84% 8.36%
L2060 $16.38 0.84% 8.36%
L2055 $16.39 0.84% 8.36%
L2050 $32.73 0.71% 6.94%
L2045 $14.91 0.67% 6.56%
L2040 $54.37 0.63% 6.20%
L2035 $14.34 0.58% 5.77%
L2030 $47.66 0.53% 5.35%
L2025 $13.14 0.31% 3.40%
Linc $25.60 0.24% 2.79%

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