After the disappointing discovery that Cold Stone Creamery has closed, I decided to look a little deeper into the AIG concerns of today.
I've been following the recent Wall Street turmoil with a sickening fascination, like watching a slow-motion building implosion. Did you know that there are only TWO independant investment banks left in the US? Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The others (Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Bros.) are all gone. Bought out, bankrupt. Goldman Sachs just posted the worst earnings since going public.
How much worse is it going to get? AIG (largest industrial and technical insurance company in the US) is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. That's $441 billion in assets. Stocks are plummeting. Is my 401k going to be there when Indi and I leave the country in March?
I'm not really concerned with "who to blame" right now. It's more "what can we do?" to turn things around. This kind of thing always trickles down. How long before I start to see personal, meaningful changes? Sure, an ice cream parlor went into foreclosure. These things happen. But is this a sign for the future?
We're already seeing a downturn in business at the store. How long before AT&T starts to trim things to keep moving forward?
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