Sex and the Economy...

March was a very interesting month....

A good link...

Jeremy Clarkson is covering for me whilst I am having the birthday hangovers.  He is not funny at all but it is a good link...

from the BBC...

The price of things...

This evening, Miss Marketcrash is off to a holiday drinks party with the posh parents from that school that we pay for child number two to attend.  As some of you may remember, child number one has recently been pulled from his lovely sweet school and placed in the state school due to ummm....circumstances.  This week, a letter from the school arrived asking us if we would be so kind as to pay half the terms fees as a compromise from January until Easter whilst our child is not there and attending the free state school.   Well - a glance at the markets tells me I could propose a compromise of my own. Perhaps I could propose trading shares to cover my debt - a scheme modeled on the goings on in America?  Yes...I could volunteer to give them 285 shares of Citigroup.  Alas, I think they would rather take back my child for free than be burdened with Citigroup shares.

And that is what the market thinks of the burden as well.  The cost of buying a CDS - the price one is willing to pay to insure against the U.S. Government defaulting on its debt is sky-high these days.  If you are new to all this - I'll try to explain without spinning your head around -very simply -  the rising cost of a cds reflects the idea that default is a realistic proposition.    In fact, the cost of these little bullies are almost three times higher than on the Dawn-of -Doom in September when Lehman collapsed.  Indeed, the cost has risen astronomically in past few days as the world has digested the terms of the Citigroup bailout...

I must admit I kind of love the sheer folly of the idea that there exists such a thing as a U.S. Gov't CDS.   But what is really astonishing is that one share of Citigroup won't even buy you a pint of beer these days...never mind a G&T...

Not that I drink of course.

Wake up to Opportunity

Missmarketcrash is honoring the Thanksgiving holiday here in London with some shopping suggestions.  I shall bring you to one of my favorite American shops - the Bankofamericastore.com.  Did you know they are having a sale?  Up to 70% off on many items. Let's head straight to the sales.  How about:

One of my favorites - 

A glass mug engraved with the phrase "Wake up to Opportunity"...on sale for $3.99

or, the comical speedy robber - 

A Bank of America Mug on Wheels is discounted to $2.99

or, for the nostalgic and sentimental - 

A  Bank of America Charm Bracelet is discounted to 24.99

and last but not least, the useful self-explanatory -

100 U.S. Trust cocktail napkins for $5.25

All amazing gifts at very good prices.

Happy Thanksgiving, 

Missmarketcrash

Optimism?

Missmarketcrash has a fan letter this morning.  A friend who is still employed at an Investment bank writes...

"Dear Missmarketcrash;

I want optimism!  Innocent naivete has a lot going for it, dish yourself up a spoonful on me this morning if there is any laying about.  "

Deep Breath....

It was a magnificent pie-in-the-sky all-sun-shining day yesterday for the European markets.  Up around 9/10% in most spots.  Across the glistening waters on American shores of freshly cut grass, the markets swooned upward and forward in a happy-go-lucky fashion.  Speaking of happy-go-lucky --  have you seen that Mike Leigh film?  It gave a bad name to innocent naivete - the character was so daft and kept falling into dangerous situations without realizing it.  Insert your thoughts here - but do extrapolate a bit and go beyond yourself....

It is a difficult thing to have innocent naivete and a bit of intelligence at the same time.  But, that is precisely what the world is demanding of us at this fast-forwarding moment. That might just help see us through.  Perhaps we need something along the lines of a Japanese anime girl character with fluttery eyelashes to sit in the spot on the television where the deaf interpreter is usually featured.  She could have magic powers from catching falling cartoon dollars which she could on occasion, giddily throw up in the air, and then shyly wink at you with a nice innocent flirt...