The rise and fall of 2008: A short review

So I am back from holiday and a bit late posting this review of 2008. I wrote this blog while I was on vacation, but forgot to post it. 2008 was like any year, it has seen its shares of highs and lows. To use a movie analogy we experienced an unprecedented presidential election which made Godfather II looks like jealous school girl. Terrorism is still a threat just like a M. Night Shyamalan films. (Overacting, lack of character development, predictable twists) Global economic recession originated in U.S. like those inflected monkeys in Outbreak, or any zombie outbreak. (Yes I’ve already referenced zombies and pirates in less than two weeks of blogging) Some argue that the recession started with the credit crunch, or public hysteria, or investment banking lack of prudence dealing with high risk investments, or just plain greed, or a combination of these factors. To alleviate the downfall, government economical assistance or bailouts was as predictable as any Harrison Ford film. First plan was direct infusion of liquidity into banks to spur lending between banks and business. When that didn’t work under the umbrella of Too Big to Fall (TBTF) motto, the public bought common stocks in investment banks. (AIG, Bear Sterns, Freddie and Fannie) Additional loans or line of credit was given out to “The Big Three” automotive industry, because they were TBTF. Now we have a Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) which figuratively is a tarp with 700 billion plus dollars on top with it when trying to keep the public dry beneath it. So what is there to look forward to in 2009? Yes we are still in a recession. Consumer confidence is on a all time low. Holiday sale have hit the lowest in recorded history. Home prices have dropped an additional 26% from last year. Threats of deflation still loom about. But hey at least American Idol is only a month away and we can truly toast to that. Have a great 2009 everybody!