u mean dale? but yeah im looking at the same thing however getting a house will be more difficult even though they are cheaper. Due to the fact that the bank will be very reluctant to give you a mortgage without a good cosigner.

We won't, because Canadian banks didnt overextend themselves with subprime and ARMs to unqualified borrowers, and as a whole they have much more reasonable and sustainable loaning policies. The Canadian banking industry is doing fairly well and will easily weather this.

methinks you think i'm someone i'm not
I havent been looking particularly seriously or anything like that, I'm still young and have lots of time, but i've got the cash/disposable income that i should be investing it somehow, just havent decided whats the best route for me to go right now

i hear the best return on investment nowadays is hookers and blow.

With the volatility these days, I'm sure you could make a killing with a half decent option strategy.

Holy shit. Dow 8600.

I checked out the Dow a year ago and it was a 14096.xx

Nuttyy

..........annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Iceland is bankrupt.

well, not completely, but http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27097780/

Canada just announced 21 billion dollars for banks that are almost out of liquidity....

All they said is that its available, not that they are gonna use it.

And it was to increase our banks liquidity so people can still get loans. The jobs numbers both here and down south weren't that bad and we're starting to see more bullish economic forecasts now.... unless you listen to the crackpot Jack Layton.

or Alex Jones

I just ran across a story about GM and Chrysler merging. Near the bottom of the story they then mentioned the hard times automotive companies are facing right now because of the world markets. I was floored when I saw what Ford and GM shares closed at this Friday:

GM: $4.89 (lost half last week)
Ford: $1.99 (almost lost half last week)

They didn't say what Chrysler was at. But wow... wasn't GM years ago at like $70 or something? That's totally ridiculous.

Chrysler is owned by a private equity group... so it doesn't have to report earnings, etc. GM is damn near cheap enough these days that it could be purchased by such a group.

Especially when you just lost your full-time job.

Anyone else here get laid off today? I hope there's still some money left in EI...

i didnt, but another guy at work did :(

Apparently we're at the lowest consumer confidence level since 81 or 82. It's gonna be rough for a few years, at best.

Get rid of your debt, if able. Don't make any major purchases for the next few months.

He's right, don't buy anything and shut up in your homes. It is the best thing to get the economy back on track!!

Buying a home or car will not save the economy, but if it makes you feel better go for it.

What you have to note is that the Canadian Banks are federally legislated by the Bank Act. That is the main difference between Canadian banks, and Joe Bob's Credit Shack down south.

The Bank of Canada is allowed, through drawdowns and redeposits, to drain and replace the deposited money from the Canadian Banks. This is a main component of Canada's monetary policy. The banks liquidity comes from our deposits, investments, etc.

So in short, our banks won't just fail, or declare bankruptcy. What will happen however, will be a complete slowdown in all industries, which will reduce our savings, which will reduce bank profits and liquidity.

wait. so like i shouldn't buy a new tv?i thought that was helping the economy by supporting teh stores or?

Oh sorry, I totally forgot you were an economist.

Yes, you should definitely rely on economists to guide you on your big purchases. Like Benjamin Tal, or Cameron Muir, who were both about as wrong as can be in their predictions for the last year or so.

In any case, you don't need to be an economist to know you shouldn't get into debt when we're on the brink of a major recession. Our economy didn't stop working because you didn't buy a big enough SUV last year.

So if you have a stable job and want to buy a house with a relativity low interest rate that is locked in for a house (say 5 years), how is this different than a year ago? Yes there is a slight chance prices could drop, which would be counteracted by higher interest rates which will make owning a house about the same cost wise. If someone has a job that is risky during a recession, then yes, be smart about your money. For everyone else, I would love to see it as business as usual as the worst thing in a recession is to stop spending. Switching to a saver from a spender isn't great for putting the economy back on track.

Yes, it sucks the americans screwed the world, but that doesn't mean we have to follow them into the ground.

#1) Housing prices are dropping because they were too high, and the average person couldn't afford them. If interest rates go up, prices will have to come down all that much more for people to be able to afford the payments. High interest rates, low prices. Low prices, high interest rates. It's always been like that.

#2) Why would you buy a house now? Houses in Victoria have come down about 2% every month since April. Every month a prospective buyer waits, the typical house comes down by $10,000 or so. It's very hard to argue with a number like that. Maybe Victoria will buck the trend, and we'll be the one city in the world where housing prices go up instead of down this year? :confused:

Recessions aren't terrible things anyways. Strongest businesses survive, yada yada.

If you're interested in housing related news in BC, vancouvercondo.info posts a variety of local stories pretty regularly.