The mortgage market in the United States has in almost every
way disintegrated. It appears that even
such Economic Geniuses such as Allen Greenspan, just didn't understand that the
Housing Boom was Financed with Funny Money Bonds, and sold to unsuspecting Bond
Buyers, including the Pension Plans and Retirement Funds of Ordinary Citizens,
who relied upon their Financial Advisors.
Reportedly, approximately 1/5th of current Real
Estate Closings are for Short Sales or Foreclosures !
The Federal Reserve has stepped in, in a number of cases -
but it looks as though Countrywide will be forced to declare Bankruptcy, and
Fannie May and Freddie Mac are close to the same, unless the Fed Props them Up.
In a recent Bloomberg News article, by Caroline Salas and
Pierre Paulden the repercussions of the Credit Crisis has hit Wall Street Hard
!
"Wall Street professionals are trying new careers and
fetching smaller salaries amid the elimination of 76,670 investment jobs in the
Americas,
stemming from the global credit crunch that started a year ago, according to
data compiled by Bloomberg".
"Half of the people working in debt sales, trading or
research in New York
at the beginning of 2007 will have been fired by the end of this year"
"Traders and bankers who leave finance can expect to earn a
fraction of what they used to make.
Compensation for employees on Wall Street averaged $399,360 in 2007,
compared with $62, 390 for New York
City jobs outside the securities industry, according
to the state comptroller's office.:
"Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which has cut 1,500 jobs, paid its
employees an average of $661,490 last year, company filings show"/
WOW --- those are some Big Number$ that were paid to the New York Financial Brain
Trust Workers !!!
Maybe many of you assumed that these were the Best and
Brightest in the Financial World to earn that kind of money. And of course, these were the very people who
Made the Markets, Analyzed the Markets, did the Research, and Very Importantly
--- advised all of us Financial Illiterates how to Spend and Invest our Hard
Earned Money !!
That is what I thought --- those folks with the Big
Paychecks, the Two Lexus Households, the MBA Degrees from Harvard and the other
Ivory Covered Institutions of Higher Learning .........
They Must Know What They are Doing ----
Only the Big Salaries
from the Financial Institutions Induced Them to Lower Themselves to Working on
Wall Street --- other than using all that Knowledge and Financial Astuteness to
go out on their own and Build their Own Financial Empires.
Alas, all such Illusions I had about Wall Streets'
Intelligentsia were Shattered when I read in the same article about the
decisions some of them are now making for themselves --- now that their 6
Figure Safety Nets are Kaput.
"Jessica Walter didn't go to Harvard University
to study cupcakes, but they're what she does since losing her job as a vice
president in credit strategy at Bear Stearns Co."
" "I want to teach
kids to cook", said Walter, 27, who found Cupcake Kids! in New
York to provide birthday parties and cooking classes
for children. "The goal is to have this
be my full-time job and make enough to live" "
OK - so Who Knew that VP's for Bear Stearns were 27 year old
kids (albeit with a Harvard Pedigree) ? Bear Stearns, a Silk Stocking
Investment Bank collapsed this past March.
I wonder how many Cupcakes Ms Walter will have to bake to
get back to her former 6 Figure Earnings ?
Another Wall Street casualty the article highlighted was
Jeff Salmon, who use to "Swap investing in asset-backed securities at Bank of
New York Mellon Corp".
Mr Salmon is now "keeping the books at a hair salon. He and his wife ... opened a Great Clips
franchise in Mercerville, N.J. that offers $12 haircuts for men and
women."
I guess I have to tell Joe the barber (Joe's Northshore
Barbershop at 4417 N Oakland) who rents space from me that he was way ahead of
the game when he decided to do barbering --- and not get a job on Wall Street
!!
By the way --- in a shameless plug for Joe --- where else
can you get a good haircut at a reasonable price from a true Sicilian barber
(he learned from his father in Sicily) - while enjoying the fine Italian Opera
music Joe plays for his customers - along with a good strong cup of coffee
?
And just maybe --- Joe can give you some Financial Advice ....
WHAT DO YOU THINK ?
YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME !
