From the Wall Street Journal:
"You know things are bad when the good news in markets is that the financial system seems to be working well enough that people can dump their stocks in a reasonably orderly way. . . .
Here’s where we get what passes for good news: Banks are in decent shape, especially in the U.S., and the plumbing of the markets has been functioning pretty well so far. There’s more stress, but crisis measures such as spreads in foreign-exchange swaps, the onshore versus offshore dollar markets and bank creditworthiness suggest this is nothing like 2008—so far. Markets are harder to trade than they were, but even junk bond trading hasn’t dried up entirely. . . .
In the post-Lehman financial crisis, the credit crunch froze even the money markets, leading to a global shortage of dollars and accelerating bank failures. There is no sign of such problems today. . . .
It is far too early to say that financial failures won’t multiply the troubles investors face, and the market plumbing requires close monitoring. But for now its continued functioning is one of the few bright spots in the gloom. "
I was about to start partying like it's 2008, but I guess I'll have to hold off for now.
You know things are bad when the good news in markets is that the financial system seems to be working well enough that people can dump their stocks in a reasonably orderly way.
www.wsj.com