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The financial world is in turmoil and it is interesting to watch the news channel switch every so often between reporting on the Presidential election now just weeks away and the inability of the US government to stop the precipitous fall of Wall Street and the multiplier effect on the world's stock markets. The implications of the bank failures are more than just the housing bust, aka sub-prime housing crisis. Unless faith and liquidity in the financial market can be restored and soon, this could have ramifications on the whole credit industry when banks become ultra conservative as each restricts lines of credits to other banks and to end customers in an effort to protect its own financial health. If we all cannot get credit to run our small businesses, buy a car, a house, anything, the multiplier effect can lead to a downward spiral on just about every sector of the economy. If the US consumer cannot consume, the who would buy the goods from Asia? And so on and so forth. Consumption makes up a much larger percentage of the US GNP than for most other countries and the any contraction in US consumption will ripple through the world economy. Let's hope this doomsday scenario remains just that, a scenario. That it does not materialize. That the US government and other governments have enough sense to do something quick to prevent another great depression.

That's the grim picture.

But in suburbia, it has not really percolated down yet. Yes, you hear of foreclosures and fall in housing prices. Yet they are still seem out of reach for folks like us. Unless we are willing to move tens of miles away and put up with hour or more long commutes. I just heard on the evening news that Stockton is the foreclosure capital of the world with 1 in every 25 houses under foreclosure. But for people here, Stockton is almost a world away.

Well, let's hope all good things come to those who wait. And that time won't run out on us.

On a lighter note, we have cleaned up this house pretty well. It is a pity that it has not been taken care of as well as it should be. A house just two blocks away is going for $800K. Still way out of our league. The Man and I have scrubbed and wiped and scrubbed and wiped till the dust have mostly disappeared and even the heavily stained brass fittings of the wash basins now actually look like brass instead of some black rings and plates. Pity. Now the house is getting more comfortable because it is feels and look cleaner.

But there is so much more space than the previous house, it echoes because we have so little furniture. So today after tennis, we drop by Macy's furniture store on the way back and got ourselves a guess what? Natuzzi sofa that looks like the one we left behind in Singapore. So this is really going to feel like home :).