Excellent article today from Mike Shedlock on S&L Crisis vs. Current Crisis.

While we will not know the final damage and economic cost of the 2000's credit crisis until a few years hence, it is helpful to be mindful of other incidents that were similar in history and try to compare their relative scope and magnitude to our present facts:

"Add it all up and the upcoming bank crisis is going to be far greater than what happened in the 1980's even though the number of failures will be far smaller."

Interesting data. Worth the read.   more »

Canada is likely about to learn once again that we are in fact still heavily tied to the fate of our southern neighbour. And with commodities and energy now accounting for more than 50% of our stock market composite, the ongoing aggregate demand correction, coupled with recently announced regulatory crackdowns on speculative loop-holes in commodity markets now threatens to hit us harder than many have so far dreamed possible.

It is true we have hard assets and resources that the world wants to consume, but even strong secular demand cycles can and do correct as a normal part of the economic cycle. Just a casual glance at an Andex chart since 1950 shows any that will see it that Canada and our stock markets have never been immune to a downturn in the US and the rest of the world.

Even where Canada has escaped following the US into outright recession as we did in 1953, 1960, 1974, and 2001, our market corrections have always been nothing short of stunning. We can hope that this time will be different. The odds do not, however, favour such hopes...   more »