Stock markets, Oil prices and misc doom and gloom

Just a few thoughts on the machinations of the wise and crafty wizards of the world of finance and related things.

My morning tour of usual haunts reveals the stock market ebbing again, gold down considerably from past weeks and oil prices tumbling. Financials are getting a bit of a drubbing as well. So what else is new eh?

Well, remember that little company called Zenn Motors? They are up, and actually have been up ever since Ontario's gov announced a plan to allow the LSV's on Ontario roads. Just thought I would give them a plug.

Besides that, Nortel stock has bounced 33% and trading heavily as of this a.m. Interestingly, the upward swing for both of these stocks is related to government actions. Given that at a quick glance, I couldn't find much else that was positive, I thought I would mention that small consideration. Anyone tinkering in or considering tinkering with stocks at the moment might want to be watchful for such things, and as evidenced recently, the effects of world events on certain commodities such as the price of oil. These are about the only avenues I have been able to identify which could actually show some short term profits in an ugly market. Zenn's stock went from about $2.00 a share to approx. $2.70 within a few days of the announcement.

I'm not advocating that anyone invest in the stock market, but for those with high risk tolerance, make of it what you will.

Then there is the more conventional and longer term safe route, which could encompass preying on the lower real estate prices. I wouldn't be in any hurry to jump into that though. Timing will be very important there. I drafted an Okie's survival plan some months ago while involved in the swirl of Garth's reports on the economy and didn't post it because I thought it might be a bit difficult for many to associate with. Particularly Garth's target audience. That being the households earning a minimum of $80,000 per annum. I had the sense that Garth had trouble associating with folks whose income levels were less than that. That could be a result of a number of things, but I would only be speculating.

I will dig up the draft and give it some fine tuning before posting it. Garth did address some of the suggestions I had in mind over time, but a number of them he didn't. Which brings me to my next consideration. That being how negative should we allow ourselves to be?

No reasonable thinking person, or person with significant business background could or should ignore what is going on around us, and especially in the US, but constantly dwelling on the negativity can't be good for a persons state of mind. Can it? Having kicked the can around for a while, and in a number of industries, past experience tells me that when the effects of the job losses in the US hit us full tilt, there is going to be a lot of impact. But on the upside, based on previous downturns, this one has sent out a letter of intent, and gives those paying attention a step up and time to make some preparations.

No one is hiding the truth now and even the Group of One has publicly acknowledged that the soup is going to thicken. Ok, they have had their coming out, and we hear the message. So for the geezers with the tweezers (PTDBD), it takes on considerations relative to them, and to the other age groups the same.

The main point I am trying to make here, is what should people do to prepare psychologically? There is only so much one can do to prepare financially, depending on ones circumstances, but what people do about how to address this in ones own mind is very important as well. We can succumb to the doom and gloom, and go a hunting for the nearest rabbit hole (Charesius), or we can give ourselves a not so gentle boot in rear and go in search of some positive thinking and considerations of how we might make a positive difference some how. I read something yesterday; somewhere in cyber land, I forget where, but it was a story about fear in the big city and exploding demand at food banks from the recently unemployed. Kind of a downer, until you read the whole story. It went on to say how a significant number of off duty fireman and police officers were donating their time and helping out at the all volunteer facility and by virtue of their efforts, the food bank was able to keep up with the heavy increase in demand.

That's just an example, as there are lot's of ways to help out. From creating credit counseling services, to working to organize co-oping for daycare. Services to help people with need for short term and occasional labor connect with those who are willing is another service that people could organize. There are many many ways that people can use their individual talents to help each other out, and to support their communities. Never know, people might even get a sense of community again, and actually come to know who their neighbors are and something about them. Some might even break through the carefully crafted barriers of mistrust that are associated with speaking in funny tongues, having a different colored skin or wearing funny clothes.

Imagine!