Just as we thought the storm had blown over in the financial markets, the tenacles of the bad assets (I wondered if I could still call them assets when they caused the financial institutions to write-off as losses and be laden with debts) extended across the Atlantic Ocean to the Europeans. Panic gripped the markets worldwide with stock markt plunging and government rushing to put in emergency funds to rescue these stricken organisations.
With some of the familiar financial institutions going under, the question is no longer whether this is the last to be hurt but rather who will be next. Retail investors like you and me start wondering if our miniscule savings stash in the bank are safe. Despite them being miniscule, they can represent our life-time wealth. For the extremely cautious people, they contemplated if not already act on their decision, to withdraw from the banks. In spite of progressing, we seem to be regressing to the times when people hide their savings in tin cans and hang on their roof or place below their bags or maybe even sew them into their pillows.
Therein lies the greatest dilemmas. When you have savings, you worry about where to put these savings and how to make money work for you instead of vice versa. When you have no savings, you worry about your future, your retirement and keep praying hard that you keep your job and no one in your family falls sick. Regardless of which side of the 'grass' you are on, it seems like we will still be burdened with worries. Different worries plague different people.
Which side would you prefer?
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