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Its starting to hurt

The crisis that is prevalent world over now, is not a very unexpected one. Being a gold bug for a long time, something of this kind was expected by every columnist on Kitco / Daily Reckoning / Financial Sense. What I did not know, however, was its prefix of "credit".

The magnitude of the crisis somehow is much less than total calamitous financial and social Armageddon that was imprinted in my mind. Thankfully, I have lived these nightmares before. Again, it is very different to read about Dracula and a different experience meeting one! People may have anticipated these nightmares, now the wish is fulfilled; we got to live through it now. The crisis does not look 'economic' anymore. We knew it would affect lives, every body's, and to a much deeper extent than ever thought, but nothing prepared us to its actual existence. Its like being proved that ghosts do exist or that we are not alone and ETs are cannibals. Proving something, or being right about something, does not alleviate any fears or console us or anybody.

Till date, this thing has been very interesting. Being an analyst, it gave me a new glimpse and perspective of finance. Being a trader, I very well know how important the experiences of bear-markets are. And hence, yes, this has been very interesting and illuminating.

We are finally seeing the stuff of legends, that several prophet economists had prophesied in past. We knew the problem, but we dint know how-to live through the problem. The real problem is, prophets foretold the problem, no body ever gave a solution. So, now we have a massive problem and not a hint of solution.

So the problem is to now live with this. All these days there was excitement in the air. A kind of fiendish glee. Lehman Brothers going bust was a talk that was always accompanied with a Cheshire grin.

Not any more.

It was exciting to see bullets flying past you. Its very exciting because it is rare sight, a rare experience. You know one of them is bound to hit you, but as long as it zips past, the thrill-seeking adventurer enjoyed. Not anymore. Bullets are starting to scrape the skin. Bullets are flying too close for comfort. They are starting to hurt; the guys next to me are wounded and getting hurt. This crisis is not fun anymore.

Frankenstein is not funny anymore, he is becoming a liability. I finally wish, out of unknowns, that nobody had opened Pandora's Box, just to prove what was in it.

Crisis, has hurt and is going to hurt a lot of people. It’s not going to be fun anymore. War had turned bloody. This Quake and Doom episode, is getting played out in real life.

As an analyst, I can no longer enjoy. As a person, friend and colleague, I no longer feel happy and unconcerned. Yes, I am wiser off by learning some lessons, which will save the skin when the bigger-badder-worse-armageddonish “War 2” begins. But if there is one thing that this event has thought us, it is this: you can run, you can hide but there is a bullet for you.

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