Top analyst Whitney sees crunch deepening

The people need to learn a lesson

We haven’t seen the worst of it yet! 2008/9 signals the high point for land/housing. We won’t see increases again until 2024. 2010 will find the DJIA at its high point and will lose value through a depression lasting from 2010 to 2022/23.

Harry S. Dent is right on target!

I wish she were wrong, but I fear that
she is right-on!!! Denying it wount help, it’s even layed out in the Fed’d last minutes, as they try to gentley tell us that we are in deep sxxt, and why folks are moving to commodities

Whitney is now officially a hack, though. Th eproblem is that she made one lucky and largely self-fulfilling call at the start of this and now she is stuck putiting out more and more dire calls of impending doom to try and cling to her 15 minutes. I don’t know whwree the credit markets will be next year, but I would bet money on Whitney standing on a street corner with a sandwich board proclaiming that the apocalypse is nigh.

My take on this is that Ms. Whitney has opened the door and let the fresh air into the room!
How could we not expect the politicians to try and pacify the consumer with rosy predictions during a campaign year?
Pay down debt,keep cash handy but don’t be afraid of the market if the right opportunity arises!
Remember what the man from Omaha has said - buy into fear!
I live just west of Toronto Ontario and gas is $1.25 per liter!For us that is 1.25×4.54=$5.68 per gallon imp.
It would translate into $4.54 per us gal.
The sad part is that we are a petroleum exporting nation!

The American people will decide when the credit crunch is over, not the analysts.
http://www.squeezingbucks.com

The excuse for high oil prices are always the same. We can’t control the price of a world commodity. But, the question to those who would respond with this comment is, what is the price of oil in the middle eastern countries.

Somehow we don’t understand that we live in a small planet from which humans are multiplying to a point where resources, like oil, food and even water, have become the battleground. China and India are more capable of producing items that we used to produce at home. We continue as Americans continue to consume as if these resources will never end. We have always made adjustments and that is the key. Let’s use wind power, solar power, nuclear power and progress lead the world into a better and more intelligent future. The economic indicators are just a sign that we must adjust now! And we will…

Live fast and loose and let the future fall to others. Politicians, international bankers and big business are not concerned with what happens to America as long as their wallets get fatter. Americans are willing to allow irresponsible people to destroy the nation in hopes that they can play more with less accountability.

How smart was the money when they were chasing loans booked with credit scores < 550 and stated income for a fat yield that everyone knew would implode sooner or later?

Of course the worst is yet to come. And why are we so worried about homeowners getting foreclosed? They didn’t lose money. The investors who bought their CMO’s are the ones getting killed. The homeowner got to live in a house they otherwise couldn’t have afforded and maybe they should have been renters. Now they become renters again. What’s the big deal?

The amazing thing is the smart money are the ones who lost money while the dumb money/debtors got the great deal.

The biggest problem now is that with the lower interest rates, savers and retirees are getting less income which reduces their spending power. It’s a big transition from savers to debtors. Such is life that we reward those who are most irresponsible.

I think we have to say Thank you to Ms. Whitney for giving a real opinion, all the economists they don’t that their friends in the banks, in the housing markets to lose more money, so they lie to people and become speculators, but Ms. Whitney is being honest, the INFLATION is not going to stop no matter what, and we are not ready for that.

This briefing is incorrect, Whitney actually slighly raised the profit outlook for C and WB.

We don’t have to blame anybody but the CAPITALISTS, the capitalism, that they want more and more and much more profits, giving all those big loans to people who can not afford that, living a ilussion on credit cards, thinking that they will be able to do it, and nothing can stop them because they are free to spend their money as they want, so this is the price,ALL THESE PEOPLE HAVE CLEARLY FORGOTTEN WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION, so we might not be far from another one. GOD bless and help us.

another year of recession? does that mean we get another check from the government? we have a long road to recovery, and our government needs serious reform to even get to the on ramp. next summer we’ll get rioting in the streets if things don’t improve.

As expected this will go into mid 2009. Anyone who is downplaying the effect is either a banker or holds shares of any of these rotten financial institutions.

Charles who is going to buy your worthless CDOs now?

Oil prices won’t balance the amount of money was and will be lost by oil producing countries thru their equity investments in US.

To Ms. Whitney’s comments let me simply add, Amen. Consider one American family. Two trips north this summer cancelled. Two guided fishing trips gone. 14 to 21 days of hotels and rental cars, finito. Dozens of restaraunt meals not purchased. No summer camp for the kids. And, oh ya, I’ve got a fifteen year conforming mortgage and my portfolio is up for the year, barely. Any questions on the ramifications for the economy as we go forward.

I think she’s right. And at the end of the crisis the next one looming is 80M boomers trying to cash out of their big houses so they can retire…good luck!

BAC exited sub-prime lending long ago.

And we have yet to encounter the credit card crisis.

He with the gold makes the rules, and if there is no consequences then who cares?

This would all have never happened if the banks Citi, Bank of America, Countrywide would have never made these wreckless loans and why should they care they weren’t being held accountable. No credit verification, no job, nothing down, who cares we are selling these to Wall Street and then they will peddle them onto the suckers. If the laws were set up that if these bankers such as Chuck Prince, ANgelo Mozillo etc. were penalized with the loss of 100% of their PERSONAL WEALTH and MANDATORY PRISON time, an amazing thing would have happened - none of this would have happened. Instead you have the whole system threatened. Do something people and call your congress man and demand that they implement these two things I mentioned and this will never happen again. If you think congress is worthless its because we don’t hold them accountable and so they aren’t much better than the bankers. You brush your teeth and take a shower daily don’t you? If we all make a habit of calling Congress EVERY DAY then they will actually do something for the people.

To Bill D in California: I don’t think this has anything to do with panic. The truth seems pretty evident that this credit crunch is probably going deeper. Meredith is just being honest, something we could all use more of. These banks and financial houses are sitting on lots and lots of junk they probably will never collect. Just look back to 1991 and you will see a very familiar site. Fasten your seat belt, the ride is about to get even more bumpy.

The writedowns will continue until the hosing market comes back into equilibrium. Ms. Whitney is correct since prices will not stop falling until 2009.

Why do American’s wake up to trying to save only during bad times. There should be a fundamental shift in their free wheeled spending habits to saving at all times. Only then are they going to be able to better withstand economic catastrophies as the current one.

The Big Three are a perfect example of feeding America with gas guzzlers that perpetuate spending by american consumers. Now they are paying the price. Its time to learn and move forward !

To Bill D, California, Maryland:
I am guessing that you are either a strongly associated with the Republican party OR strongly associated with lots of money. Your response is interesting in that you lash out against an intellect with profound knowledge on the topic, yet provide no information to counter her opinion. Is she a “liar, liar, pants on fire!” as well?

Boy I tell you what… I’d sure like to bend her over a boardroom table.

I agree. The high price of oil is like a huge tax increase, affecting the consumer and transferring wealth from America to the oil producing nations. It cannot continue without disastrous consequences for the USA.

Nothing wrong with hearing reality Bill.

It’s already baked in the cake. The big financial stocks, with their terrible managements, are dead money and will be for several year. Fallen angels, but the effect on the overall economy in the future will be minimal.

Mrs or Miss Meredith needs to find a life… Panic in America is not free speech..

very true–but wall street cannot see beyond its nose the abyss looming ahead !!

Ms. Whitney is correct, there is more to come. It was a “lending free for all-COME AND GET IT”. The write down estimate is conservative. These euphoric loans were made over a 5-6 year time span. To have the public believe that the worst is behind us after a 10 month financial shake down is dismissive.

We have waves of mortages adjusting over the next couple of years. People are in worse credit situations than they want to admit…it’s called denial….Take your rebates and pay down those credit cards, people. Save, Save, save…Businesses, figure out whether your selling fluff or something that is REALLY value add to people’s lives. It’s the value add businesses that are going to survive this period.