RSS FeedStrike! What Have We Got To Lose
Posted by Senan
Market Decline
Wow, what a difference a day makes. The primary European markets, including the ISEQ, were way down today. Presumably, had it not been for the U.S. thanksgiving holiday, the NASDAQ and co. would have plunged also. Stocks that I have previously expressed an interest in were hit hard. For example, Aviva was off over 6% at 370p. Speymill Deutsche was very volatile and finished at 0.275p, down 12.7%. Across the board, banks were hit hard.
So what happened? All of a sudden the severity of the global recession has been thrust to the forefront again. Some major debt noises coming out of Dubai - rumours of multi-billions of Euro of indebtedness to investors and banks - have spooked the markets. The Arab states are supposed to be immune from monetary problems! Looks like this current squeeze is all pervasive. Closer to home, flagship travel agent Budget Travel has shut down. And news of several other companies losing jobs (Aviva Investors, Talk Talk, Option Wireless).
Tomorrow is dubbed Black Friday in the U.S. and it is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. When the dust settles next week and we know how many Yanks actually went out shopping, we'll have a much clearer picture of consumer confidence, an extremely important economic indicator.
Public Sector Strike Action
Tuesday this week saw over 200,000 workers take to the streets to protest at possible public sectors cuts. As I sailed into work on the bus - due to the lack of traffic - I spotted several small groups. And my god they were the best dressed protesters I've seen in a long time. What made my blood really boil though was the announcement that there would be a follow up strike. As if this country doesn't have enough to be dealing with than floods, empty government coffers, economic contraction, and now striking masses.
More than another individual group these people seem hell bent on blaming everyone but themselves for their own financial circumstances. "I took out a big mortgage therefore I can't take a pay cut" just riles me. I did the exact same thing, but I am willing to live with the consequences of my own decisions. Nobody but nobody put a gun to my head.
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