Go, Economy!

[Opaque]

He rides a bike. The gas goes into a camel pack because he's a robot.

Believe.

[MarsKitten]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/21/markets/oil/index.htm

My records show I paid $1.91 for gas on May 23, 2005 and only $1.14 in Jan '02, so it hasn't been 16 years. I'm pretty sure it was <$1 in the late '90s during the Asian economic recession. <- Edit: beaten to it

My theory: paring down on the iraq war (less military use, somewhat), bush has stopped filling the national stratitigic reservices (which the gov't gets all the "cheap" gas at bulk contract rates, effecting supply) the economic crash means less building (alternative oil uses/plastics, construction site, shipping) means there is more oil on the market and the big bulk buyers are taking it down a notch. Keep in mind this effect is echoed throughout the world.

Also market problems have taken some speculators off the market via removing them entirely (AIG: think large institutional investors) or scaring them off (think: futures market people who bought at 120 thinking oil would goto 200/b).

[haohmaru]

So, I have two Citibank Mastercard's (one for the business one for personal) and bought my windows (20 new for my old house) @$6000.00 and I hear that they are raising all interest rates on all credit cards across the board to 17.99%. Nice payback for the bailout, eh? This is regardless of your creditworthyness.

[burgundy]

So, I have two Citibank Mastercard's (one for the business one for personal) and bought my windows (20 new for my old house) @$6000.00 and I hear that they are raising all interest rates on all credit cards across the board to 17.99%. Nice payback for the bailout, eh? This is regardless of your creditworthyness.

time to take your business elsewhere if you carry balances. especially if you're getting zero interest balance transfer offers.

[kingoffighters]

Burg, are you familiar with the law firm Thelen Reid something something.... I just found out a few weeks ago that they dissolved, that's pretty crazy since they seemed to be doing pretty well and lease out almost 10 floors in our building. I guess they lost alot of partners this year and the bank took over the expenditure and blah blah blah now they are gone.

[burgundy]

yeah, thelen is based out on the west coast but everybody has an office here. a lot of nyc-based firms are having trouble because securitization and banking have fallen off a cliff but i think they were having problems independent of the financial markets. plus thelen was pretty rinky-dink as far as nyc practices go.

[kingoffighters]

That's what everyone say too, I still hate to see a big firm dissolved like that, so many people are unemployed in the worst possible time of the year. But I guess that's a spit in the ocean compared to something like Citibank.

[Drewbacca]

I say to the author of that: "That's a cop-out."

You know what wasn't a cop-out though? The multi-paragraphed article above it explaining in common terms how things work. If you can't understand that simple explanation then, for you, no explanation is possible.

Also, Chrysler and Ford are two of my companies clients. Chrysler is hurting big time. Ford is hurting, too, but in better shape than either GM or Chrysler. In the industry Ford is using the strategy right now of trying to "outlast" the others, with the theory being that once Chrysler and GM are belly-up all initial domestic car sales will transfer over to Ford. (which, maybe not, especially if consumers are burned on buying a 5 year warranty with GM or Chrysler that no longer exists) But GM and Chrysler and Ford are so poorly structured it's hard to feel sorry for anybody -- even the workers, whose unions have been bleeding the company dry for decades.

There are people in GM plants who are making 70 dollars an hour to do nothing. I don't mean like, screwing in a bolt as nothing (most of that is done by machine anyway, the people just certify that it looks right). I mean people were hired, and injured, and while they were out GM hired a replacement. And they can't fire either of them because of the union, so some people are just sitting on a chair reading a magazine or book they brought in and making 60 bucks an hour doing it.

[TODE]

You know what wasn't a cop-out though? The multi-paragraphed article above it explaining in common terms how things work. If you can't understand that simple explanation then, for you, no explanation is possible.

I understand the thinking behind it just fine, my issue is with the mathematics. It doesn't explain why the rates were adjusted to those values, no explaination of formulae, etc.

And the overall article assumes people WILL be jerks to people richer than they are, too.

[kingoffighters]

oh god