Serious words from Robert Rubin:
"Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said that the world economy still faces "extended difficulties” from the fallout of the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis and rising energy and food costs.
"It’s possible that it could get better during the course of this year, but it’s far more likely that we will have extended difficulties for quite some time yet if you consider what is happening with housing prices, the price of oil and so much else,” Rubin said today in an interview in Rome.
Record oil and food prices are fueling inflation and choking growth at a time when the fallout from the U.S. subprime mortgage market meltdown has already taken a toll on the global expansion. The Organization for Economic on June 4 cuts the growth forecast for its 30 members to 1.8 percent for this year, the slowest since 2002."
click for video
Source:
Rubin Says Economy Facing `Extended Difficulties’
Alessandra Migliaccio and Flavia Rotondi
Bloomberg, July 1 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aJWQydwyeAzI
I have a follow-up question Mr. Rubin. Citigroup’s stock is now less one-third of its price from a year ago. For the fourth quarter, you lost nearly $10 billion. The company has already laid-off thousands of employees and many more are certain to follow. Next week, Citi will announce earnings and no one has any idea what to expect except that it will be horrible. Actually, I forgot my question.
We love and respect Secty Rubin, but as one who drawn serious money from Citibank over the past decade, why has it taken him so long to share this financial wisdom? Those of us who owned Citi shares feel ill served by this most revered of former Treasury Secretaries.
I think the possibility of things getting better are pretty remote. When house prices fall this much, it makes an official recession pretty likely
Bob, People with faces like that have made saying one thing and thinking another a lifetime occupation. They love and respect only their Mothers and Themselves.
I can tell all that just from his face?? pretty cool huh?
Guys like Rubin, Paulson, Bush, Rove, Chuck Prince, and Cheney make me wish I were a bible-thumping christian.
That way I would at least have the satisfaction of believing they would all burn in Hell for eternity.
I guess I will have to just make some voodoo dolls or something instead.
Actually as a Bible-thumping Christian you would have the joy of knowing that no matter what happens to this economy (and it doesn’t look good) that all things work together for your good because you love God and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Also, you would pray for those individuals that they would hear God’s plan and fulfill His purposes. No man knows who will be in heaven or hell and no Christian should be believing (and hoping) an individual will burn in hell.
Give me problems like we have today in order to make existence interesting. Please, enough with the pie-in-the-sky theocracy!
Think it’s just a coincidence that the new FASB rules for CDS marking is set to take effect Nov 15.
Convenient if you want to spin the resulting market chaos as election related.
Still fooling some of the people most of the time.
Talk about autistic economics!!
The body language in the recent interviews is stunning. Simply speaking of the situation sends the speaker into self-soothing/rocking. …and these are all interviewees who are well schooled in presentation.
There are no serious words from Citiboy, none.