Financial Crisis?

I watch the financial news pretty closely because a few years ago, I came to the conclusion that America, and the world economy that was so tightly bound to it, was headed for a crash. I'm not really smart about markets and the economy, but I've lived through a couple recessions, and I've seen times when I thought I could spend to my hearts content and never worry that my income might dry up overnight. I was never one of those people who thought that money didn't matter, I grew up poor, and never felt comfortable thinking taking money for granted. I've worked hard for everything I have, but I realize that the things you can buy with your Mastercard are not the things that will sustain you when you fall on hard times.

There are a few things I've read in some of the business sections of the major newspapers today that make me think that this era of easy money is coming to an end.

HOW MUCH: Will the Federal Reserve's $38 billion injection into the U.S. financial system be enough, or will it have to dig deeper into its arsenal?

PARIS: Moving to quell fears of a burgeoning financial crisis, the world's major central banks injected billions of dollars into the global banking system Friday, helping Wall Street recover from steep losses after panic trading drove European and Asian markets sharply lower.

London's FTSE stock market closed a whopping 3.71 percent lower and European and Asian shares slumped after losses tied to US sub-prime mortgages -- high-risk home loans to people with poor credit histories -- spread.

The European Central Bank moved quickly to head off a potential financial crisis on Thursday by injecting billions of dollars in emergency funds into the region's banks.

The U.S. subprime mortgage mess escalated into a full-blown global financial crisis Thursday - making credit harder to get from Paris to San Francisco.

The Chinese market remained relatively calm yesterday as the US subprime contagion spread to other markets in what could be the most serious crisis since the Asian financial turmoil in 1997.

I've been worried about a pending economic disaster for a while, and I've got about 10 bucks in my pocket right now. I wish I had taken my own advice, and stashed some money under my mattress.

Is that sound I'm hearing now the sound of the shit hitting the fan?

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