Clogged Economic Arteries

As the recession takes us deeper into an economic turmoil the likes of which has never before been seen, we approach the next stage of crisis. The arteries of our global financial systems have become clogged by all these toxic assets and crooked insurance deals.

Have you noticed that the ATM machine takes a little bit longer to hand out your hard earned cash? If you don't believe me, check for yourself and you will see. Take a stopwatch and measure how long it takes for an ATM to cough up your money. The banking systems are slowed down under the burdens of the financial transactions. It makes you wonder if there will come a day when your interact terminal or ATM will choke under the strain.

The government bailout packages around the world have resulted in many large transactions, all happening within a short period of time. This has resulted in a lot of cheques with a lot of zeroes on them. The financial system is over taxed, and the strain is causing the financial equivalent of burst pipes. Evidence of this is seen with such things as the AIG Executive bonuses, money that was meant to help fix problems has actually become the center of a new problem. Very soon the pipes could break altogether and we will be faced with a financial gusher of a problem.

As we reach the next stage of the recession, there are many formerly good companies ready for takeover. Big companies will be swallowing the little companies, taking advantage of their weakened positions in the marketplace. Huge amounts of money will change hands. Each transaction is like a large hiccup, and brings the financial system one step closer to the digital equivalent of a coronary. When that happens, your previous portfolio losses will look like nothing compared to the financial devastation.

But what can you do to protect yourself? Can we wrap the pipes to reduce the chance that they will burst? Can we give the financial system the equivalent of aspirin? Not really, the transactions are too big and even governments are powerless to act.

Keep an eye on the time it takes to withdraw funds from your ATM. We predict that many people across the world will be monitoring ATMs as a kind of early warning system. We will continue to monitor from our secret base in the Frozen North. The final meltdown could start in one part of the world and quickly spread to engulf the whole world. When that happens, put a paper bag on your head and lie down.