Friday, September 18, 2009

Debt Bomb Fuse Is Lit

So, did the stimulus end the recession? If you think so, read this:

The Federal Housing Administration said Friday that its financial cushion will sink below mandatory levels for the first time in its history, but officials insisted the agency won't need to be rescued.


They may be denying the need for a bailout now, but their tune will probably change in a few months. Speaking of bailouts, read this:

The chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says she is "considering all options, including borrowing from Treasury," to replenish the dwindling fund that insures bank deposits.


Just as I had predicted last month! The next leg of the downturn is a little behind schedule due to the stimulus but it cannot be delayed indefinitely. The more debt we run up to delay its onset, the more we worry our foreign creditors:

Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday said other currencies besides the dollar should be used as global reserves to reduce the risks posed by swelling U.S. debt.

Putin, who spoke at an international investment forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, chided the United States for "an uncontrolled issue of dollars" and said the American currency's dominance had been "one of the triggers" of the global crisis.



The nightmare for the U.S. economy should come around the middle of the Christmas shopping season as retailers and their landlords start to panic. I am preparing to raise cash for the next couple of months in anticipation of some major bargains in the stock market.