Interesting Article About Depression Comparisons

[Coach]

I found this article by Mark Hulbert in "Barron's" quite interesting. He looks for similiarities between now and the Great Depression, and finds some not-so-bad news. He writes, in part,

"After examining several aspects of the stock market's behavior during the 1930s, it would appear as though a replay of that decade might very well be less scary than assumed by many of those who superficially draw the analogy."

Who knows what will happen in the future, but I found the article thought-provoking.

Coach

[ratface]

Interesting read, thanks for posting the link. The doom and gloom is widely exagerated. Obviously the 1930's were a much worse time. Last night on Fox for the first time in months most of the economic news was upbeat and uplifting. One good day in the market dose not mean a turnaround but why is it that bad news always makes multiple headlines and positive news mostly goes unnoticed. I get the feeling that we have just entered the turn for a shortlived bull market.

[FinallyRetired]

Good article, Coach. Another difference was the drought and resulting dust bowl that accompanied the great depression and created a major problem for agriculture and a displacement of many small farmers. We may have droughts today, but not nearly to the extent of the 1930s, nor is our agriculture as dependent on small farmers and steady rain patterns. Then again, I'm not a farmer.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinallyRetired Good article, Coach. Another difference was the drought and resulting dust bowl that accompanied the great depression and created a major problem for agriculture and a displacement of many small farmers.

You mean like this?

Governor requests emergency aid for Texas drought | Reuters

"Parts of south and central Texas... are suffering from their most severe drought on record, exacerbating the woes of the state's cattle industry already been laid low by the country's deepening recession."

"Drought is also gripping much of the rest of the U.S. southwest, threatening farmers and water supplies in fast-growing cities.

In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last Friday declared a statewide drought emergency, urging the state's cities to impose mandatory conservation measures to cut urban consumption by 20 percent."

[W2R]

I thought it was interesting to read that the volatility is so much less now than it was during the Great Depression. It is mind-boggling to imagine what investors must have gone through back then.

Not that we don't have worse in store - - I have no idea.

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo You mean like this? Governor requests emergency aid for Texas drought | Reuters

Meanwhile, there's a lot of funny looking wet stuff coming down from the sky right now... I have no idea what it is...

[FinallyRetired]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo You mean like this? Governor requests emergency aid for Texas drought | Reuters "Parts of south and central Texas... are suffering from their most severe drought on record, exacerbating the woes of the state's cattle industry already been laid low by the country's deepening recession." "Drought is also gripping much of the rest of the U.S. southwest, threatening farmers and water supplies in fast-growing cities. In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last Friday declared a statewide drought emergency, urging the state's cities to impose mandatory conservation measures to cut urban consumption by 20 percent."

Like I said, I'm not a farmer
But I did live in south and central Texas when young. No offense, but how can you tell whether or not there's a drought?

[al_bundy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo You mean like this? Governor requests emergency aid for Texas drought | Reuters "Parts of south and central Texas... are suffering from their most severe drought on record, exacerbating the woes of the state's cattle industry already been laid low by the country's deepening recession." "Drought is also gripping much of the rest of the U.S. southwest, threatening farmers and water supplies in fast-growing cities. In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last Friday declared a statewide drought emergency, urging the state's cities to impose mandatory conservation measures to cut urban consumption by 20 percent."

you must have missed the dust bowl show on History Channel a few months ago. the dust clouds were so big that they reached NYC

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FinallyRetired But I did live in south and central Texas when young. No offense, but how can you tell whether or not there's a drought?

When this doesn't happen:

June 2007 Texas flooding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marble Falls is about 30 miles away from me. (We got "only" 5 inches of rain that night when they got 18.)