Wild & Crazy on Wall Street!

Having just come off of one of the most volatile weeks Wall Street has ever experienced, it’s difficult not to touch upon all the financial upheaval in our world right now.

With doom and gloom headlines splashed across the financial media, it's no wonder that everyone thinks we are headed for the next great depression. But among the negative press, there are definitely some positive economic signs out there; you just need to look a bit! Following are a few examples of recent positive economic developments that we can all benefit from now, and take as optimistic signs for the future.

Housing affordability at its highest levels. From 2000 through mid-2007, homes were almost unaffordable to the average American family. Buying a house in a good neighborhood and school district was hard to do without facing high debt obligations or having to take on exotic loans (creating the sub-prime mess). However, the silver lining from the housing crisis is that home prices have dropped all over the country. So for those who have lived within their means, enjoy stable jobs and have enough money saved for a 10 to 20% down payment, now is the time to find great housing deals.

Lower Oil and Gas Prices. Crude oil prices have dropped more than 25% in the last two months, and this is something we can all directly (transportation costs) or indirectly benefit from. While oil prices will probably go back up in the longer term (we’re currently experiencing higher prices at the pump due to Hurricane Ike), the current respite should help all our bottom lines.

Once-in-a-Lifetime Investment Opportunities. We have all read stories about investors who got in early and made millions from stock investments in companies like Microsoft, Apple and other well-known financials. However recently many once-high-flying companies have had their stock prices coming crashing back to earth. With across the board falls in stock markets, there are now lots of well known dividend paying stocks available at bargain-basement prices that offer the potential for you to become one of these storied investors. If you’re an investor with a long-term view, this could provide opportunities to get into some great brand name companies like Citibank, General Electric and even Microsoft at very attractive price points. When the economy does fully recover, as we know it will, these stocks will boom once again and so will the portfolios of those who got in on the ground floor.

So while it sounds like gloom and doom, once again there are a few “nuggets” of positive news.