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Financial tsunami

The Lehman Brother's collapse has been likened in Asia as a tsunami. Like the great wave that washes out seaside villages, this one threatens to wipe out pension funds of people. The blurbs report that the state pension fund organizations, SSS (for private sector employees) and the GSIS (for public servants) have invested in the billions of dollars with these sunk banks. Also the big local banks also have significant exposure too.

The politicians are now demanding that the banks and pension fund organizations declare their exposure. I don't think that is a good idea for people may just go on a bank run of nightmare proportions. This is something that our Glorious Queen won't even contemplate about.

Commentators have said that the recent Wall Street disaster is the worse since the 1929 stock market crash. The 1987 crash pales in comparison.

Since even the ordinary person has some savings exposed in stocks or as mutual funds and other mid term relatively low risk investments, Wall Street troubles are now part of lunchroom conversations.

Before, people who invested in the market were those with some cash to spare. Now many have played their luck and lifetime savings.

One of the banks that is expected to be the next to fall like a "bottle on the wall" is an insurance company that holds much of the mutual funds placements in the country. The Bangko Sentral has told investors not to be overly concerned since some local banks according to the central bankers, have limited exposure to the sunk banks. But this apparently did not give confidence to investors since the blurbs have reported the big banks have estimated how much money they lost!

The President's economic managers will brief the press this week. We have an interesting last quarter (that includes the US Presidential elections).

That's why I think investors have need for more SNL's lampoons.

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