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Strategies & Market Trends : Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: orkrious who wrote (21089)	1/11/2005 10:18:11 PM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Ten problems for 2005 [very intesting list - most notably none of his ten is a bond blowup that everyone else seems to forecast - Mish] prudentbear.com

To: orkrious who wrote (21089)	1/11/2005 10:54:39 PM
From: RealMuLan	Respond to of 116555

They don't call them "prudentbear" for nothing<g>.

To: orkrious who wrote (21089)	1/12/2005 12:07:39 AM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Standard Federal Bank announces layoffs January 11, 2005, 6:01 PM TROY, Mich. (AP) -- The parent company of Standard Federal Bank announced Tuesday that it would lay off hundreds of people in Michigan and elsewhere. The changes are expected to affect 500 jobs at Troy-based Standard Federal and Chicago-based LaSalle Bank, although about half of those people likely will be offered new jobs, said Shawn Platt, a spokesman for LaSalle Bank Corp. Platt could not say how many of the layoffs would take place in Michigan. The jobs are being eliminated because some functions performed in branches are being reassigned to a new specialized sales group, he said. The company has 18,000 employees in North America, primarily in Chicago and Michigan. There are 273 Standard Federal branches in Michigan and Indiana, and 140 LaSalle branches in Chicago and the suburbs. freep.com

To: orkrious who wrote (21089)	1/12/2005 8:38:56 PM
From: Earlie	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116555

Ork: With respect to the Prudent bear's list, one could also add many additional sombre observations. As just one example, the first item....automobiles. I note that there was no mention of auto leases. I see this area as a gigantic "hit" coming due this year for all the financial entities that bankroll auto leases. This "hit" will be two-fold"..... their balance sheets will be decimated as the carried (end-of-lease) "residual balance" gets trashed. Worse, with used car prices in the tank, very few folk who have leased an auto will buy the car at the end of the lease this time around. Banks are already aware of this and are indicating that they will "negotiate" (read, "take a huge haircut", so as not to end up trying to find parking spots for zillions of used "beaters". Best, Earlie