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The Ghost Fleet of the Recession (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1212013/Revealed-The-ghost-fleet-recession.html)

Thoughts?

interesting considering Bernanke said today the recession is "likely over." However, I think that topic is probably off limits.


that is a shit ton of boats!

but again........

that came out of the dailymail.co.uk; I don't trust that news source.

Much like that bullshit article about the H1N1 vaccine causing some rare nerve disease.

Let's hear about the bullshit Dr Jud....

Are you an immunization expert? [evil]

 [laugh] [laugh]

Nah, not worth it at all. That article, though, was silly.

Fair enough...

and your post was....? ;D [laugh] [clap]

Doesn't surprise me 1 bit.  There are 100's if not 1000's of train freight cars doing the same things on under used tracks around here.

mitt

Makes you wonder just how far people were consuming beyond their means for there to be such a massive stoppage of freight.

This is going to be a case where the economy technically is growing slowly and we're out of recession, but the unemployment rate is going to stay high as companies push for greater productivity from their current work force before investing in anyone else.

+1 - first, we will consume more than last year, but still far below 2006 figures.  Then, each year it will gradually approach the peak and pass it.  The question, how long until we are at the 2006ish type numbers.  And, is that level of consumption healthy.

Personally, I like seeing the conservation (both fiscally and raw materials).

mitt

No! You must spend spend spend!

(Sorry, just toeing the party line... [roll])

What recession? My wife and I have made more money in the last three years then ever. And everyhting is on sale. :)

Same here. Only thing that the recession has hurt me on is some investments and the fact that I can't sell my house in AZ. But, I have renters in it and am only losing a few hundred a month on it...

 :-\

I feel the same way and hate agreeing with you  [thumbsup]

The recession has not changed my life. I keep making more money, getting promotions, etc.


My spending has not decreased, it has increased, along with, most importantly, more money to save.

thats because..... you


are


evil




profits are evil

I don't remember where I read this, it stuck with me because it rings true.

Recessions are to the economy what fire is to the forest. Don't want to be around while it's happening, kinda ugly for a few years after, but it's a good and necessary thing. Clears out the deadwood, gets rid of the weak, and fertilizes the soil. A few years afterward when everything is lush and green, you forget it even happened.



So far ( knock on wood ) we're doing OK. Being more conservative and always asking can we afford this, do we need that. Should have been doing that all along. Sometimes you need a good slap upside the head to wake you up.

I feel this is true to a certain extent. The really irresponsible people and businesses are the ones that are hurting the most. Hopefully they will learn a lesson.

that analogy was used in a thread here a few weeks ago.

Really?
The business I've run for over ten years(Residential builder) hit a brick wall last year, and this year has been worse. Business is down 50-65% from before.
Please explain to me what I did that was so irresponsible that caused my loss of business so that I can fix it.

Dude, I have been running my own business ( Signage & Graphic design, with custom bike painting ) for close on 5 years now and I do not live the high life, this reccession has hit me hard and I try my best to not layoff staff and save as much money as possible, I have even kept the useless deadwood that hangs around my shop, because they have families as well.
So I guess that I will start to be responsible and fire the whole bunch so that I can go out and buy a new Streetfighter. [roll]

I think that was a gross over generalization.

mitt

Good on you.  To better times [beer]

The most important player in the crisis looks like Fed Reserve Ben Bernanke. Thank god he almost literally has a PhD in the 1930s depression.

Whether we individually agreed or like the decisions, the Fed's policies averted a second Great Depression.

The Fed's response was without precedent . Flooding the financial system with liquidity slowly rebuilt confidence in the banking system.  It was close.

Once Lehman went, there was nowhere to go but down, the question was how far down and we would have taken the whole world with us.  Lehman taking a dive scared the shit out of everybody.  It was nip and tuck and of course it still ain't over.  

I work for a University in a state with a Governor who doesn't think poor people need an education even in good times and doesn't understand that ignorance is more expensive than education.  make the beast with two backs we're poor.  Maybe you heard of Gov. Sanford?

We're all in it together and if misery loves company we've all got plenty of that.  

Recession over?  Maybe.  But, jobs coming back will take a long time.  Years.

LA

Thoughts? - I think the shipping companies are making a business decision.  Choice 1 is to park it in a harbor and pay who knows what in fees and choice 2 is to park it off the coast for free.

This recession was caused by too much debt and too little savings.  aka. "The really irresponsible"  The really irresponsible went bankrupt already.  Those still standing today have done it right.  The old adages of the borrower is slave to the lender and cash is king never waiver.  It is just that we stupid monkeys tend to forget them every so often.

One good typhoon and Singapore will be the wreck diving destination resort of the 21st century.


And LLoyd's of London goes bankrupt triggering another global economic contraction which will extend the recession another 2-3 years.

I guess, you win some, you lose some.

I'd assume they'd fly a skeleton crew out to move the ship before that happend.

you ever read about how lloyd's is structured? it's pretty interesting. it's not your "normal" insurance company.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd%27s_of_London (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd%27s_of_London)

+1

Ive been a remodeling contractor for 20+ years and I have a custom cabinet shop.  In previous years we have done 6-8 kitchens by this time.  This year we have done 2 so far.  

Ive increased my marketing by 100% over previous years just noone is biting for custom cabinetry.  Three cabinet shops have closed down within 1/2 a mile of me (that I know of.....).  Seems like the only people willing to bite are the ones that want to beat me up to the point where I'm working for free.  Anyone want to buy a cabinet shop?

My friend that owns an HVAC company hasn't felt any downturn......Dammit, I should have gone to HVAC school!  He's making bank!

I guess I was irresponsible in that I paid cash for all my machinery and tried to keep debt to a minimum as the business grew.  Shoulda used the banks dollars and leveraged!

they teach you that in business school...  ;D

That was
Business was my minor actually.....

I agree I should have been more specific. The individuals here for example who are in businesses affected by the crap realestate market are caught in the wake of others bad decisions. Yes you may be hurting, but when things turn around your previous good decisions will hopefully keep you afloat.

What's a discussion on the economy without a few controversial opinions. Flame away.  [bacon]

I don't think that option would work in the event of a typhoon.

typhoon (Pacific) = hurricane (Atlantic)  You know if one is heading in your general direction at least 7 days in advance.

I need custom cabinets. How much can I get for free?