short term pain

Thanks ECN for your viewpoint. I have to admit that the next little while is likely to be quite an uncomfortable period given that we are likely to see another bloodbath on Monday on the back of US woes.

Having said that, I am wondering whether this is really going to be a prolonged period of dislocation in global markets. It's interesting that when we went through similar things in March everyone was calling it the end of the world and all that kind of thing. Personally I think that markets have a nasty habit of overshooting the mark (be it FX, Interest Rates, Commodities or Equities). I think we may see a bit more of a pull back and then a period of consolidation. The comments being thrown around the market at the moment that things are reminicent of 1987 are possible a bit OTT?

When one takes a step back from all this CDO garbage and the relative basket case that is the US at the moment what has changed? Superannuation money is still flowing into funds which are mandated to maintain a significant asset allocation to equities (that is a global phenomenon) and China is not slowing down. I think that all the doom and gloom is a bit premature. Let me qualify this, however, with the fact that if the sub-prime problems start to flow significantly through to US comsumer sentiment and demand we could find ourselves up the creek without a paddle ....

AIM is a good stock, good projects and all that kind of thing. Reality is that it might just end up being crucified along with everything else ...

I should be an economist reading this all through ... the art of saying a lot and not a lot at the same time!