billvon 3,107 #51 December 11, 2007 >People with oil reserves have fewer options than people with cash. Yet they didn't need to exercise those options. Even though the government can mess with private businesses in that way (to "fix" things during emergencies) oil companies remain a good investment. So will loans, no matter what nonsense the government comes up with. People will need houses and will want to borrow money no matter what Bush proposes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #52 December 11, 2007 Quote>People with oil reserves have fewer options than people with cash. Yet they didn't need to exercise those options. Even though the government can mess with private businesses in that way (to "fix" things during emergencies) oil companies remain a good investment. So will loans, no matter what nonsense the government comes up with. People will need houses and will want to borrow money no matter what Bush proposes. Oil companies have billions in debt. They can't turn off the spigot. The debt is low enough they could (financially) do it with the US, but the resulting legislation would poison the well forever. Meanwhile, people with a billion dollars to invest have trillions of dollars in choices besides the home real estate market. It wouldn't dry up, of course, it just would require a suitable risk premium - say a couple hundred basis points. Since the current boom was fueled in large part by the drop in rates from 8 to 6%, probably not desirable - it would be as disruptive as not 'fixing' the current situation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Krip 2 #53 December 11, 2007 Newsflash: Fed reserve dropped prime rate by another 25 basis points for a total of 100 pts over the last 3 month's. One of the reasons it's being done is to reduce the the adjusted interest rate in ARMS, credit card interest etc. The debtors are being helped out by the savers and it's not voluntary. For anyone who is a saver and relying on interest income this is a bad thing Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #54 December 11, 2007 Quote Newsflash: Fed reserve dropped prime rate by another 25 basis points for a total of 100 pts over the last 3 month's. One of the reasons it's being done is to reduce the the adjusted interest rate in ARMS, credit card interest etc. The debtors are being helped out by the savers and it's not voluntary. unless their ARM is based on the libor, which isn't changing as much. Me personally, I'd prefer the better rate on savings, though this might boost dividend stocks a little now that the best savings rate is on par with stocks like Altria. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
