This is a query from another writer (I hope you dont mind Brad) on another page I visit. It brings up a few things that I have been wondering about too. Something just does not feel right about this whole economy.

I read your pages often, just wanted to know what indications you have regarding the following situation:

The world financial system, the US stock market in particular, has now reached a mania which surpasses anything in history(at least conventional history). This mania has now become so blatant and distorted that the hand of manipulation is evident. The federal reserve policy is to throw more gasoline on the fire as evidenced by today's decision to hold interest rates unchanged and assume a neutral bias regarding future rate increase, while at the same time injecting massive amounts of money into the financial system.

The stock market mania reached a new high today and this has all the appearance of some type of orchestrated scenario to shear the sheep(investors). To add to the scenario, the obvious manipulation of the gold market is being done with the blessing of the federal reserve and central banks.

This gross misconduct of monetary policy and manipulation of the financial markets may all be a case of incompetence but I don't think so. There is more going on here than appears on the surface. This mania will end badly for millions of people who are invested in this "Ponzi scheme." The world financial system may very well collapse and a depression looms ahead. And none of this has anything to do with Y2K.

Something smells here and it is showing signs of being deliberately done to bring about a collapse. The world will change dramatically when this bubble bursts, and all manias like this have historically ended badly. This is the mother of all manias we are living in right now. Any thoughts, comments, insights?

-- Laurie (laurelayn@yahoo.net), January 08, 2000

Answers

Do you like to mudwrestle?

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), January 08, 2000.

I thought the FED didn't meet until early February. What's this about maintaining the interest rates. In fact 10 out of 10 economists polled by a major media predicted a .25% increase at the next meeting. That's also the reason the 30 year bond is up past 6.5% because it also has the next interest rate increase built in.

-- Guy Daley (guydaley@bwn.net), January 08, 2000.

Laurie:

For my perspective, read my posts in:

OT?IF Y2k is such a threat why is gold/silver so cheap

A simple question for the conspiracy-minded

OT, "The Donald's" Y2K Plan

I may have been off on the relation between these and y2k since y2k turned out to be a non-event. But that does not change that the game is still afoot and I still believe that with the right trigger and enough sheeple hypnotizing by the media to accept anything from TPTB, the game will come to its conclusion the way I think.

-- Interested Spectator (is@the_ring.side), January 08, 2000.

Laurie

I fullheartedly agree with you that the situation looks bad.

I think that it is not some type of evil conspiracy of the rich to rob the poor....the rich of the world today realize that they are much safer and have many more opportunities when the "poor" and "middle class" have a good life.

I think that what you have is that we live in a time when the rules that America has used to grow wealthy are being used all over the world....and American's have been benefiting disproportionatly in comparison to our fellow world citizens.

I am not an economist, but I have heard of a fellow named Kondratiew (not sure of spelling) who predicted the last great depression based on the overexpansion of money supply and credit....we are in that situation today. Alan Greenspan knows this theory well, before he became FED Res Chairman, he said if he ever got the job he now has, he would not let the wave collapse on his watch. The last months have seen massive new dollar liquidity...primarily to manage y2k but Greenspan certainly knows that the economy is vulnerable on its own.

I do not think that Alan Greenspan is evil, or that he and Warren Buffet and Goldman Sachs are part of a plot. I do believe that the FED has the attitude that they are allowed to act in the gold market in order to "stabilize" or defend the dollar...possibly people with friends at the FED are able to use the info to make some money.

I prepared for y2k, I have some of my assets in precious metals, I think that there could be some type of collapse. On the other hand, I realize that humanity is in an unprecedented time in their evolution. The dramatic rate and extent of global communications and progress in science and technology which we have seen only in the last 100 years dwarfs any former century EVER. History is always a valuable teacher, but I believe that there are so many new influences (like instant global communication)that are new here and that this crash when it comes will unfold like no other.

I think it will be dramatic but we will sew things back together quickly. There will be personal financial tragedies...and there will massive new forces unleashed.

Be not a doomer or a polly, be insightful and resourceful.

Blessings to all on this forum

-- Thom (thomgill@eznet.net), January 08, 2000.

Laurie,

In 1996, I reads dozens of books on economics and finance to educate myself about the stock markets. At that time, we had our IRAs in mutual funds, like most Americans.

I went through several phases of understanding. Believing in this go- go stratospheric stock market is like looking at the universe with pinhole glasses on. As I educated myself more and more and took a much longer view of history, I realized how precarious the world economic situation was.

No one educated me. I educated myself. Husband and I got out of the market and have been on the sidelines as our friends and relatives continued to make unimaginable gains. As someone once said, in the 1990s stock market, you could be a blindfolded monkey picking stocks by throwing darts at the newspaper -- and you couldn't lose!

Those few friends/relatives who listened to us are FURIOUS with us at the opportunity cost since they weren't fully invested. No doubt most of them are back in it now.

My husband and I, on the other hand, have no regrets. We sleep well at night (something we couldn't do if our funds were still tied in bubble.com, as Infomagic calls it). We don't care if Klinton, Greenspan and the others keep the pyramid scheme going for another year! Won't sucker us back in.

I don't know why most people don't see what we do. First, I think, people haven't educated themselves. Second, as I said, they are looking at the universe with pinhole glasses and think they are seeing all there is to see. Third, personality and belief systems dictate what new information you are willing to assimilate and believe.

It won't be any fun saying I told you see when TSHTF, especially when these impoverished relatives are camping out in the living room.

Just a dumb, naive housewife,

-- J Wheel (motherof5@wellprepared.noregrets), January 08, 2000.

This is the same thing as 1929 same word same news up up and away. Next day crash crash and dump. Watch out for banks behind the curtain.

-- ET (bneville@zebra.net), January 09, 2000.

My husband and I took our 401K out when he was layed off during a company downsizing 18 months ago because we did not want to be part of the system anymore and wanted more control over our assets. It took us 3 months to get our money out, which seemed like an eternity. As we have looked back over the gains in the market since then, it could appear that we made a mistake as we've lost some increase. Neither of us, though, are concerned with it....we are much more comfortable with our current investments and feel very free not having any indebtedness at all. We are definitely not wealthy, but what we have no one can take away....and it's not all on paper.

Americans are too soft, have lived too high for too long, and would have a tremendously difficult time surviving a collapse. Our emotions are too fragile, witnessed by all the mood altering, anti- anxiety drugs we are taking. I think there would be an unprecedented number of suicides if the economy collapsed....similar to the day trader who recently killed his wife, children and then himself.

-- Kenin Marble (kenin17@yahoo.com), January 09, 2000.

This week's homework assignment::

Look up :

The Day the Bubble Burst : A Social History of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 Gordon Thomas, Max Morgan Witts

and readit until the goosebumps drive you nuts.

Chuck

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), January 09, 2000.

Chuck,

no one ever has..... and no one ever will, goosebumps aren't the "in thing"

KoS,

Mud ain't where it's at :-)

-- Netghost (ng@no.yr), January 09, 2000.

Im not an economist or a scholar, but I have been around awhile and read a lot. Re this market, I am reminded of two quotes attributed to financiers of the 1929 era; I dont recollect their names but am sure most anyone would have recognized them. "When the guy that runs the elevator started giving me hot tips I knew it was time to get out." And when asked how he made so much money (believe this was a Rothschild) he said "I got in too soon and I got out too soon."

-- JB (noway@jose.com), January 09, 2000.

"being deliberately done to bring about a collapse."

I take the opposite view. They are probably trying to keep the boat afloat. Or are conspiring to keep the boat afloat. Not "bring about a collapse.

-- Mark Hillyard (foster@inreach.com), January 09, 2000.

FWIW, I believe the statistics show that the stock market has *never* gone down (i.e. had a correction) during an election year.

Read into this what you will.

-- Interested Spectator (is@the_the_ring.side), January 09, 2000.