Financial markets implode

On Tuesday morning I awoke to discover that HBOS (my bank) was struggling and forced into merger talks with Lloyds TSB.

On Monday night (just 12 hours earlier) a spokesperson for HBOS had appeared on TV stating that HBOS were one of the largest banks in the UK, they had raised £4bn extra security and were doing very well thank you!

Not only did the UK Government not do anything to step in and rescue HBOS, they have wavered any kind of idea that Lloyds should rescue HBOS on the grounds of it being anti-competitive. Lloyds TSB must be smiling from one ear to the other - this is a massive triumph for them!

The problem was that HBOS stock slumped (crashed really) because of people trading on the back of them actually going DOWN in value. I like to see that the USA has called for action against this unethical practice, but the UK still seems to think it's groovy!

Meanwhile 17,000 Scottish jobs are hanging on the balance of this decision.

When is this going to fucking end?

 

Incorrect.

The goverment informally (read formally) requested Lloyds to talk with HBOS, several days ago, before the collapse. They didn't want another Northern Rock scenario (quite rightly)

The goverment waivered the AC clause purely to facilitate the merger, thank fuck for common sense in this particular case, saving millions of customers from a fate worse than death.

 

I think these two links can clarify the entire situation at least a little bit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2008_South_Ossetia_war
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_South_Ossetia_war

The situation is a little more complex than Russia comparing dick sizes with the world, but that is definitely part of the issue. Note that Russian forces had been building up on theSouth Ossetian border for months (Russia claimed it was a training base... How convenient). It should also be noted that Georgia was the one that broke the terms of the 1992 cease-fire.

In my opinion, I think that both nations are in the wrong, and Russia took advantage of a perfect situation to show that they are not happy with NATO (Which the US unfairly barred Russia from becoming a member).

I just hope Russia doesn't contune attacking bordering nations. If so, I would assume that would be the start of World War 3. Then again, I'm a pessimist.

Edit: Also, I feel I should mention that we shouldn't forget that Russia and Georgia have had shitty relations even before Georgia broke from the USSR. Russia had dominated the peacekeeping in South Ossetia and Abkhazia for years, and the neutrality of the missions has been criticized by not only Georgia, but the rest of the world. And Georgia conveniently overlooked Chechen rebels taking refuge in Pankiski Gorge until 2002. AND there's a shitload of even more terrible events between the two nations since, especially in recent years.

After thinking and reading about it more, it just seems to make sence that eventually one of the two nations would wage war against the other, but Georgia was idiotic to think that anyone would support them. Maybe Russia won't be thinking of attacking more nations; maybe they just got fed up with all the problems they get involved in with Georgia.

But who knows at this moment? In time we'll likely find out most of the answers, but right now the only ones who know exactly what is going on is Georgia and Russia, and they both love to put their own spin on the truth.

 

Georgia isn't totally blameless in the situation. They are the ones who started killing Russian peacekeepers in the region, a move that mostly played right into Russian hands. The Russians have been building up forces and supplying the insurgents in the area as a way to bait Georgia but in the end Georgia really shouldn't have started a shooting match with Russia which is basically what it did.

Russia is flexing its muscles a bit but let's be real....if Georgia had killed American or NATO troops the government wouldn't be there anymore, period. Russia wants to move south to control the natural resource pipelines in the region which is why the US and NATO are going to do whatever it takes to keep Georgia out of Russian hands. It's also why you're going to see Georgia in NATO as well as a lot of other former Soviet block countries.

 

On Tuesday a buddy of mine cleaned up on AIG. We spent the morning watching it...going down to two dollars...up to four. Later in the day, he bought low, sold at 4 something...made a few hundred dollars. (I wish I had money.)

Hundreds of dollars for doing absolutely nothing at all.

 

I say turn Iran to glass. If we don't do it first, we'll be fucked in the end.

Pakistan is no threat directly. We just need to convince them to either allow the allied forces into the mountains or push their leaders to gear up their military presence on the area. Of course, the India/Pakistan/Kashmir situation is more concerning, but if that ends up turning nuclear then there is little to nothing we can do. Chances are slim to none though, unless there is a revolution in Pakistan and some extremists get into power.

I have to agree about Georgia. The news on Russia is one sided. I do not doubt that Russia used this as a chance for some world political games, but at the same time Georgia is not some happy skipping land of little piggies that the big bad wolf is coming to eat. There is never one side to a story. Russia pushing their influence into some neighbouring countries is not the start of WW3 though. It is the start of a new cold war. And the USA is antagonising the situation with their missile defence system in Poland.

What we will likely see in the coming decade are more small scale proxy wars in the middle east, just like the past. Maybe Eastern Europe too.

 

He took the risk. That's definitely not nothing at all. I traded a large sum of dollars at 104 just in case it really did tank below 100 again. Last time it dropped down to some stupid number on the weekend, it opened up in Japan a further 3-4 yen. Now it's back to 106. :|