recession and no credit crunch. The fundamental economic indicators point to a recovery to this shallow recession by the end of 2009. People still have access to tons of credit and liquidity though credit cards, home loans, and small business loans.
Ben 'the beagle' is right. We need to look beyond the doom and gloom. The 4th quarter GDP plunge was a statistical outlier or an anomaly.
If Ben "Helicopter" Bernanke is right, then you, too, will be proven right. However, I find that I cannot agree with you or your real life persona Ben Bernanke. You see, I am compelled to believe that this recession is anything but shallow; we are essentially falling into a dark abyss. The stock market is not going up but down. There is no free $$$ except if you're short. Then again, I could never figure out how stocks work in a bear market.
The real outlier was the median house price in California tripling from 2000 to 2006. Can't you feel the shift? In a few short months we have changed from being a nation of spenders to a nation of savers. Spending habits will never go back to where they were even when things improve.
Your views and opinions and theories have so been vindicated: http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=129067&perpage=6&pagenumber=1