Lehman Brothers shares are down 94 percent from their 52-week high, because Wall Street thinks the investment bank may not survive. Bear Stearns has already gone off a cliff. And the government is taking over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Yet the political news media focuses on colorful insults between the McCain and Obama camps. What’s wrong with this picture?
Whether you’re conservative, liberal or middle-of-the-road, you’ve got to wonder: When is this run for the Presidency going to get back to the issues? The economy. The war. Education. Health care. Energy. And so much more.
In the managed services industry alone, we need to know that lines of credit won’t dry up amid this financial turmoil. And as a small business owner focused on the Internet, I want to hear how the candidates’ policies are going to impact my business.
US lives are on the line, here and abroad. Families are losing their homes. Blue chip companies are imploding. Surely, we deserve more from our candidates (and our media) than attack ads, attack statements and colorful sound bites.
Read More About This Topic
Share This Post
Posted In: Finance
Tags: Bear Stearns | economy | Fannie Mae | Freddie Mac | Lehman Brothers | Managed Service Provider | Managed Services | McCain | MSP | Obama | US President
Interact: Add a Comment | Trackback Link | Permalink
Subscribe: RSS Feed
Get Started: Visit our new 
I think perhaps Senator Obama does, but as for the other camp not so sure. Here is a quote from Obama reacting to the latest lipstick smear campain..
“”Spare me the phony outrage,” Senator Obama said.
“Spare me the phony talk about change.
“We have real problems in this country right now.
“The American people are looking to us for answers, not distractions, not diversions, not manipulations.”
Appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman, Senator Obama said: “This is sort of silly season in politics — not that there’s a non-silly season – but it gets sillier.”
The real question is does the american media and population understand Finance?
Lane:
Regarding your closing line… I seem to recall a research study that showed many journalists flunking a basic math/finance/statistics test. So does the America media understand finance? In some cases, no. So they focus on lipstick smear. Sad.
I think all the mudslinging could be fixed if campaigning was limited to a few weeks and no advertising.
Several updated news stories: Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy protection, Bank of America moves to acquire Merrill Lynch. AIG, the world’s largest insurance company, races to restructure. Perhaps now the Presidential Nominees can focus aggressively on the issues at hand.
If we could somehow make it a requirement that Presidential Canidates could not be Stock Holders, Lawyers, or Insurance Agencies. That state laws or constitutional amendments have to be written in as few words as possible direct and to the point.
Then this country might have a chance.Then get rid of the big money lobbiest.
I know it doesnt surprise you guys to hear all financial markets are being affected by whats going on. This includes my market despite the fact that equipment financing and other asset based lending seem like they are very far away along the financial spectrum from the CDO (collateralized debt obligations, as in mortgage backed securities).
The problem as it affects my business, and all of yours, is a liquidity issue as the banks and brokerages have to set cash aside against their bad loans, known as loan loss provisions, which is essentially $$ taken out of lending circulation so there becomes a credit crunch as well. It’s not just a cash crunch anymore and its effects are more far reaching.
From CNBC this morning: “This is no longer a Wall Street issue. It’s a Main Street USA Issue.”
On the one hand: Let’s remain calm. Most MSPs I speak with say their businesses continue to grow and SMBs continue to increase their focus on outsource. But on the other hand, the credit crunch is real and will surely impact SMBs in some ways.
I am theoretically an optimist, so I tend to view things even like Lehman Brothers Crash as an opportunity. Yeah I know, this large Mountain size boulder just hit the middle of the pond and the ripples are coming. The real question everyone is asking is “how hard it will rock my boat?”
Here is the “Silver Lining” – The beauty about a free market under a Democracy is when one door closes another one opens. Even if you boat sinks, does not mean you can’t get up and start again. Investors and bankers will at some point have no choice but to push back into the market in order to create wealth again.
As it relates to Managed Services, we have a real opportunity to create a true value for clients. Your value should be no more and no less than the only three ways to increase their profitability. I call it business 101… Increase Revenue, Decrease Cost or a Combination of Both.
Managed Services addresses the Decrease Cost factor directly and if businesses plan to survive long term they, need to reduce expenses without reducing performance and revenue projections. You value proposition should emphasize the decrease in cost and the increase in cash flow and productivity.
I had a good friend once ask me what the difference between a good sales person and bad sales person was.
“A recession”
My vote is not to sit back and watch the world go by, and then wander what happened only to watch it on the History channel. We need to consistently look for the opportunity in things, take the chance and make it happen.
We will now be passing out the plates to take up our offering……..
Ramsey Dellinger