Faubourg

Outside the hotel - me looking a bit eccentric but I don't mind. The world opens with a bang! following Congress's inability to sign the Paulson bail-out. I think things better than we all think, but still bad. Here is my snap-shot understanding: following the Internet Bubble, Greenspan made money cheap to stimulate our economy - interest rates fell from 6% to 1%. The "free cash" had to go somewhere and it did: property. Thus the 30 year housing bubble grew beyond historical value measurements like rental rates. To spread the risk and fuel the ponzy, an unregulated parallel credit market grew to perhaps $60 trillion (more than the world's assets). The inevitable property value decline has brought the re-marking of balance sheet assets forcing many (all) financial institutions to take write-offs and call in outstandings to remain capitalised. The 'deleveraging' has caused a downward spiral. There is much more to it than this, for sure, but the bottom line is a government bail-out inevitable (a fearful question being: will it be enough?) And so our banks become nationalised. Who would have thought Bush & Co. would done what the commies never could?

Katie is in Paris with her fella Mark and we meet for lunch at a new restaurant Huitrerie Regis which serves oysters, cheese and wine. Fabulous. We consume an enormous spread and I swallow 20 crustaceans at least. Not sure what that does to my cholesterol levels but so what? (Unfortunately I forgot my camera so no pictures). Katie's birthday Monday so a special occasion. Any rendezvous with your little sis in a capital city a special occasion. I am sure we will look back on yesterday 20 years from now and think... life was good. We were young. Ah yes.