1st November 2008

I was lying in bed this Saturday morning getting my daily dose of financial terror-news. Osama’s a pussy compared to derivatives.

I'm feeling dizzy

First the New York Times which had a lead piece about the risk of deflation, a-la 90s Japan. I cowered behind the duvet.

Then to the Washington Post - where I eyeballed a chilling piece about the carnage among American homeowners.

Back to the NYT and their useful graphic of house price fluctuations by city. I got vertigo just looking at some of those inverted skyscrapers. Surprise, surprise Vegas has the most severe tilt of any city depicted. If my Johannesburg house were in Vegas, it’d be worth 80-thousand rand (around 9-thousand dollars) below the amount I owe. Scary!!

Pity those ordinary Americans who own property in Vegas. Maybe one last throw of the dice? Double or quits …

Life in the dark age of post-casino capitalism.