November 10, 2008 at 07:35:36

Globalization is Not a Dirty Word

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By Margaret Bassett (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Margaret Bassett - Writer

"Wall Street needs it, Obama brings it" is how David Weidner of MarketWatch--part of the Wall Street Journal, which is part of Rupert Murdoch's empire--wrote hours after President-elect Obama's acceptance speech:

If you think Wall Street didn't want Barack Obama to win Tuesday, you've probably been listening to the business media too much. You've probably heard that Republicans are the real friends of business, and that the market was building in a discount because a tax-and-spend Democrat was ahead in the polls.

He wrote further:

During the past 18 months of deep economic tumult, the ultimate cause of failures and losses in the financial world was confidence.

Here are the sad numbers he cites (the Standard and Poor's index involves 500 of most important corporations on the New York Stock Exchange):

As the dominos of doubt kept falling we began to question one another. It was a recipe for panic. On Aug. 11, the S&P 500 Index (SPX closed at 1,305.32. Less than 10 weeks later, on Oct. 27, it stood at 848.92 - a decline of 34%.

Before markets opened in the US on Monday, the 10th, I found what MarketWatch was saying about markets already open:

China's $586 billion economic stimulus package sparked a rally in Asian markets Monday, raising hopes that Beijing's efforts to boost a slowing domestic economy will support commodity prices amid fears of a prolonged recession in the developed world.

Why I give these numbers is because "globalization" takes them into account. As readers here know, Saturday the 15th brings leaders from major countries to a "summit" to discuss what can be done. So I thought it appropriate to address "globalization." It's not such a dirty word, once discussed. What has to be done is find ways for worldwide commerce to play by rules which gives the players a more transparent playing field.

Margaret Bassett--OEN editor--is an 87-year old, currently living in senior housing, with a lifelong interest in political conumbra. Bachelors from State University of Iowa (1944) and Masters from Roosevelt University (1975) help to unravel (more...)

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