I think it's quite funny to see this on our webpage this evening, very ominous no? Is it really the end of the financial world as we know it? No. Not really. On the one hand we are all literally sitting with baited breath to see what happens next? Not only in our world economic system (loads going to happen... UBS & Credit Suisse apparently about to do some more multi-billion mark downs!), but in our jobs (my company is almost at a standstill as motivation has been sucked out of the air like a pierced jet liner... everyone is waiting for the inevitable job cuts, but eerily no one in management is talking... it's that kind of leadership that got us here!). However... it's not the end of the world, not even the financial world. It may feel like it... but it's not. It's supposed to feel like it, that's how many of the wealthy make money off this situation- scare you until it hurts and you drop your assets for a song. Don't be fooled.

I know the traditional scapegoat is the shorters and the cartel, but I see a much more ominous beastie, and it's one that is simply not co-ordinated, not a conspiracy of many- it's just an unfortunate offshoot of the capitalist system. Now I'm not going off on some left wing nut job rant here, simply pointing out one of the nastier bits of capitalism. Rich folks stay rich. Well for the most part anyhow (there is always a counter point example for everything, like the 135 year old lady who does crack every day, and yet keeps on living! So Crack must help you live longer!) The rich, the really rich, still have loads of liquid assets. So when the time is right, when everything settles and looks comfortably low enough, in they swoop and take up loads of undervalued assets. We as humans have a tendency to overreact and panic, thus what we perceive as the price of a good (or a share) is always influenced by our emotions. Right now people are scared sh$tless, and many are parting with their hard earned shares after 80% a drop in fear that the end is nigh. The more the media talks about it, the more the chat around the water cooler goes crazy, the more the executives try to curb the panic among investors by announcing 'efficiency reviews' and firing loads of people... more panic etc. Round and round for a while until it gets boring.

This my friends is the reality, there is such a thing as a mental recession... no not in the sense that the moron neo-con meant, as there are obvious reasons why we are where we are (messages like... hey you middle class... go spend our way out! Here's some more just printed money!) BUT... there is an aspect which is mental. I think we are approaching that phase. There are ludicrously low prices on assets all over the place and folks are obviously so nervous or tapped out that there is little take up. There will be. We just need to get bored by the panic. Like SARS, 9-11, Millennium Bug, Aviatic Flu, Communists and Terrorists, the news will get old and people will re-invest. Hell if the world recuperated like it did after the Depression, who are we to second guess that we will come back from this. Barclays announced a 6 billion plus profit today... er in the worst possible time in the worst possible industry? Yup... there will always be someone making money.

So for now, as we sit on a pathetic .60 CAD and watch days go buy with not even a nudge... we have to realise that it is an opportunity for those with liquid assets, the knowledge and due diligence, with shares already in hand and the patience and "balls of steel" to simply hold put and stay calm. How many people do you know who are really rich and never took a chance? Never stood in front of the freight train of disaster and simply closed their eyes? Not very many I suppose (maybe the lucky Crack dealer for the 135 year old... talk about reliable customers). Some of s are really hurting and others 'think' we're hurting. Our stock is in the "red"... what does that mean if you don't sell it? Nothing. Nothing at all. When you bought it, you knew the price, you believed in the price and the company... what changed? The company? Nope... more discoveries, a new mill, financial security... so what then? Our collective mentality and the message of panic. Don't give in. Calm realization that the paper you bought is still worth what you say it is worth and no less. Look at the papers, feel them and remember that you own a part of a remarkable company with a great story. Not everyone agrees right now, but by the time they do- you'll be reaping the rewards of courage and knowledge.

The end of the world... as Public Enemy famously said... DONT BELIEVE THE HYPE