The Swinging Pendulums of the Economy

Spend more money

Stimulates consumer economy, usually at the expense of savings, and too often with a rise in credit card debt. Banks lack capital when consumers spend instead of save.

Save more money

Provides capital for the banks; banks can lend more money; depositors can lose value of banked money via inflation; best current rate of interest on saving acct is ~4%, while real rate of inflation is more than 10%.

Weak US dollar

More foreigners buy U.S. goods or travel to the U.S. More exports as U.S. goods become relative bargains elsewhere. Balance of foreign trade evens out.

Strong US dollar

Foreign countries bid for business with U.S. to capture strong U.S. currency; less exports from U.S. to foreign countries; increase in foreign trade imbalance; currently, foreign countries are propping up value of US dollar to stimulate export of their goods to U.S.

Inflation

Rising costs for manufacturers results in higher retail prices and lower demand via lack of affordability of goods; bank depositors experience erosion of the value of their savings accounts if inflation rate exceeds saving deposit interest rate.

Deflation

Bargains for consumers, possibly emanating from lower cost of production, with increasing profit margins as well; or could represent "fire sales" and falling profit margins for manufacturers in a collapsing economy and bankruptcy of companies and widespread unemployment.

Bailout

Move debt off of bank, insurance and investment company ledgers onto the public; companies avoid bankruptcy. (Technically, this should be illegal. Some bailout money reportedly used for bank executive bonuses, stockholder dividends, asset strength and to buy out competitors.)

Bankruptcy

Renders a portion or all debt owed to creditors as a loss; in the case of corporate bankruptcy, workers lose jobs unless company is acquired after bankruptcy

Reserves

Provides banks operating cash for daily demands of commerce; reserve requirements for banks were relaxed prior to recent financial crisis; banks generally have no more than 10% of depositors money held in reserve.

Insolvency

Lack of cash for banks to conduct daily business; forces banks to fail and FDIC to insure depositor accounts to $100k ($250k till end of 2009); any bank run threatens survival of a bank because it only holds a small portion of depositors’ money in reserve. Most U.S. banks today only have reserves they borrowed from the Federal Reserve.

Home prices fall below purchase price

Bargains for home buyers; owner cannot re-sell without a loss; owners unable to obtain equity for loans; if unable to make mortgage payment, home loan is foreclosed and full ownership reverts back to the lender; excessive loan foreclosures can cause insolvency of lending institutions.

Home prices rise above purchase price

Owners can sell home at a profit, or use equity to borrow; some American homeowners chose to use 2^nd mortgage as a piggy bank in lieu of an income.

Stock prices fall

Bargain stocks to buy, but maybe debt-laden companies that will become insolvent soon and last holder of stock will suffer complete loss.

Stock prices rise

Dividends delivered or stock sold via profit taking; some stock holders may elect to sell stock, called profit taking.

Gold prices fall

Generally, demand for gold declines in sour economy times. However, supply and demand of gold is being manipulated (for decades) so as not to give investors an option to invest in the stock market.

Gold prices rise

Generally, gold prices rise as currency appears weak or nation approaches insolvency. Recent shortage of gold coins did not result in gold price rise; gold price may rise if currency is going to be officially devalued (currency is unofficially devalued every day due to inflation).

Oil prices fall

Adds billions of dollars to consumer economy that was going for gasoline.

Oil prices rise

Takes away billions of dollars from consumer economy; cost of air travel, parcel delivery, most trucked goods rise; miles driven fall; use of public transportation rises; Pres. Bush's tax cuts coincided with gasoline price increases to indirectly ensure there was enough money in the consumer economy to pay for the increases.