Syedyshev Oleg
Syedyshev Oleg

Humorous Essays Based on students' memories

"All have died
except for those who are alive, and those whom we remember"Confucius

Essay 39. A brick on the top of the head

Somehow I am driven to the wrong aside. For instance, I, as if pestered, can't help writing about the stock exchange downfall, which has taken place this week. And again it was on Wednesday. Maybe I was impressed by the amount of the withdrawn investments - more than a trillion of dollars.

Of course, the sum is hard to grasp for me as well as for the majority of average people. Please, do not judge me severely, if you find my arguments funny or primitive. And what else can you expect, as this is my first try, before that I talked about the crisis mostly with my wife in the kitchen. I studied financial basics through TV news, and improved my qualification in economics via the internet. Loaded with such a baggage of financial and economic knowledge, I, like everybody in the world, was waiting for "will approve or not approve?" all July long. I had a gut feeling that, of course, they would approve; they were not kamikaze. They have a long way to go compared to the Japanese in that respect. And what was significant, my wife, my deputy for the home front, too, thought that they would approve. We followed our desire not to lose anything in our business. Finally, the second of August was over, the U.S. nevertheless marked up the top level of the state debt (who would doubt that), everything was supposed to be good, but in a day - BANG! And for a trillion and something we fell deep in a hole. Together with my deputy for the home front I was in shock. There has been nothing like that since 2008, when that crisis started. And where did the investors dash, I wonder?

It just cannot be so that money was withdrawn from one place and not invested anywhere. My teachers and consultants (TV news and the internet) clearly stated - dollars left to be turned into gold and other currencies: Swiss franks and Japanese yen. And what the investors got scared of? As for me and my deputy for the home front, everything is clear, we are concerned about the deterioration of our fortune, and as for them, what are they afraid of? I do not believe, that the investors are afraid of recession in America, they know precisely that, if there is a need there, they will negotiate, and if necessary will not just raise the limit, but double or even triple the threshold of the state debt. And what should they be scared of? They broke all possible economic taboos long ago, and now they have nowhere to step back anyway. It seems to me that the investors fear that, it bursts in Italy, where default is maturing, like a furuncle; and if this happens simultaneously with Spain, then the bang will be nothing to compare with August the fourth.

Though, as far as I am an optimist, I would like to say that there will be no crisis now. The benefits of the passed stock downfall will be used by those, who brought the situation to that state, as it is a sin not to make any use; and so far there will be no big crisis, I mean the world one. This is what I told my deputy for the home front: "Relax, my dear, this won't touch us". And she did relaxed. My deputy for the home front did not ask me about why I thought so. Otherwise I would have expounded my thoughts about the world crisis in general
and it's influence on welfare of a singled out family, which, of course, up to some grade will suffer because of the crisis. I would have told my deputy for the home front that not every "financial and economic bang" results in the world crisis. For instance, last year the indexes dropped by ten per cent!!! And so what, we live. In my mind, and I would have also told my deputy for the home front about this, the world crisis is like a brick on one's top of the head, if a person does not expect that. If a man assumes that there is a brick, he would go to the other side of a street. And if he is walking, lightheartedly whistling, then, here you are, get all of it. It seems to me that Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy was exactly the brick on one's top of the head. And happened what happened.
Anyway, my deputy for the home front and I had some nice tea and a good conversation, and concluded, that we will not rush and transfer our capital into yen or francs, luckily we have nothing to transfer anyway.

And what will happen to the franc, if everybody darts to exchange dollars for francs? Where is America with its' economy and where is Switzerland? There is a beautiful lake and mountains there, but they are for the tourists to spend their money, and the lake will not be enough for the transfer of dollars of the world into Swiss francs. Thus, Natasha and I agreed to live quietly and interpret everything philosophically, and, of course, continue discussing everything in the kitchen while having nice tea with gooseberry jam. Otherwise, what for did we receive education and consultations on TV.

august 6, 2011

© Copyright: Oleg Syedyshev, 2012
Publishing licence #21202110326

Translated by Viktoria Potykinato content