This is probably not good.

[MtnT4R]

Not sure how many of you keep up with the financial markets, but I just ran across this article; finance pros offing themselves in record numbers is a bad sign...

Rash of finance pro suicides baffles experts


And this one, for a general frame of reference:

This is no recovery, this is a bubble – and it will burst


...Thoughts?

 

[BrianSD_42]

my thoughts are ... do you work in Finance?

 

[MtnT4R]

No, but the recent doom and gloom stock predictions paired with this string of public suicides is an interesting coincidence

 

[okma]

i don't know what i want to say, maybe is a coincidence.

 

[02SE]

My first thought: I wonder if they all had some dirt on the Clinton's, and just very conveniently committed suicide.

 

[bofa]

I hate to sound indifferent on the topic, but suicides happen. There are roughly 40k per year in the US alone. Rattling off a few in an article and trying to link them by industry seems like they are making something out of nothing. This can just as easily be attributable to the stress and competitiveness in this field, which is even higher than in years past as there are more people fighting for fewer positions and putting more pressure on themselves to stand out.

Now if the big names (like Buffet, Icahn, Ackman, etc) start jumping at once, then we have something to worry about, financially speaking.

 

[slapdappy]

This is no recovery, this is a bubble – and it will burst

I agree.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Props to you for reading news outside the US although I'd give the Guardian mixed reviews.

It can be refreshing at times although so far left on many issues that it borders on the ridiculous.



I agree there is a bubble in tech ... or at least certain parts of tech. Anytime a chat startup app (WhatsApp) is worth more than small countries you know there is a problem.

These are all the companies technically worth less than what Facebook just paid for a startup with < 500 employees.

Activison-Blizzard – $13.9B

Alcoa AA +0.84% – $12.2B

American Airlines – $12.3B

Akamai – $10.9B

AmerisourceBergen ABC -0.34% – $15.9

Blackstone Group – $17.8B

Campbell Soup CPB +1.09% – $13.6

Chesapeake Energy CHK +1.05% – $17.2B

Chipotle – $17.1B

Citrix Systems – $10.7B


Coach – $13.5B

Consolidated Edison (ConEd) – $16.2B

Discovery Communicatons – $19.1B

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group – $10.2B

Expedia -$10.2B

The Gap – $19B

Fidelity – $15.8B

Harley-Davidson – $14.1B

Hertz – $11.5B

Icahn Enterprises -$13.1B

The J.M. Smucker Company – $10B

Kohl’s – $11.1B

Kroger – $19.4

Loews – $17B

Macy’s – $19.6B

Marriott International – $15.4B

Mattel – $12B

MGM Resorts – $12.7

Monster Beverage – $12B


Moody’s – $17.08B

News Corp – $10.27B

Nielsen – $17.6B

Nordstrom – $11.4B

Progressive – $14.3B

Ralph Lauren – $14.2B

Red Hat – $11.1B

Royal Caribbean Cruises – $11.4B

Ryanair – $15.5B

Sherwin-Williams – $19.4B

Southwest Airlines – $14.7B

Starwood Hotels & Resorts – $14.9B

Symantec – $14.4B

TD Ameritrade – $184B

The Carlyle Group – $11.1B

Tiffany & Co. – $11.4B

Tyson Foods – $13.1B

Under Armour – $11.4B

Whole Foods Market – $19.3B


Workday – $17B

Xerox – $13.2B

So yes ..... Houston We Have A Problem.


:bat:

 

[MtnT4R]

I hate to sound indifferent on the topic, but suicides happen. There are roughly 40k per year in the US alone. Rattling off a few in an article and trying to link them by industry seems like they are making something out of nothing. This can just as easily be attributable to the stress and competitiveness in this field, which is even higher than in years past as there are more people fighting for fewer positions and putting more pressure on themselves to stand out.

Now if the big names (like Buffet, Icahn, Ackman, etc) start jumping at once, then we have something to worry about, financially speaking.

You bring up a good point, although the names listed aren't exactly regular joes either. I would expect them to be privy to a lot more sensitive information than the general public, which was the first thought when I read that first article. Might be interesting to see a more comprehensive list of suicide rates to see if this isnt something thats just more commonplace in the finance world. sort of morbid but oh well
[MENTION=65101]BrianSD_42[/MENTION]
I think your opinion of the Guardian is spot on. I try to read more of a broad range of news outlets to get a better idea of whats actually going on. Drudge makes me want to hole up in a bomb shelter, msnbc and fox are both clearly biased, the Guardian makes me paranoid, and so on. The problem for journalists is that its so easy to put even a subtle spin on a story, its nearly impossible to get an unbiased reporting of anything.

 

[bofa]

Props to you for reading news outside the US although I'd give the Guardian mixed reviews.

It can be refreshing at times although so far left on many issues that it borders on the ridiculous.



I agree there is a bubble in tech ... or at least certain parts of tech. Anytime a chat startup app (WhatsApp) is worth more than small countries you know there is a problem.

These are all the companies technically worth less than what Facebook just paid for a startup with < 500 employees.







So yes ..... Houston We Have A Problem.


:bat:

I have a hard time understanding these too. More often than not these acquisitions are bets on future revenue from advertising, simply to corner a market, or lay claim proprietary tech. These bubbles are okay imo, because they affect individual risk and not the broad market or entire segments. Also, cash transactions are okay imo. It's those acquisitions purchased with stock that make me twitch.

 

[KidVermicious]

Not sure how many of you keep up with the financial markets, but I just ran across this article; finance pros offing themselves in record numbers is very good news

Fixed that for ya. Can we do lawyers next?

Our entire economy is based on debt and fake money, and will never last. Our reliance on inflation and borrowing to fund basic government services is a recipe for disaster. Our entire economy will collapse eventually, and the longer our "finance pros" keep propping it up and fighting the inevitable, the farther it's going to fall when it does go. If we wait too long, we'll end up paying the dentist with plucked chickens.

 

[RunninInGA]

Props to you for reading news outside the US although I'd give the Guardian mixed reviews.

It can be refreshing at times although so far left on many issues that it borders on the ridiculous.



I agree there is a bubble in tech ... or at least certain parts of tech. Anytime a chat startup app (WhatsApp) is worth more than small countries you know there is a problem.

These are all the companies technically worth less than what Facebook just paid for a startup with < 500 employees.







So yes ..... Houston We Have A Problem.


:bat:

Reminds me of the dotcom bubble that splattered across the fan in the early 2000s, only this is kinda in reverse if memory serves me correctly.

 

[zopperman]

Fixed that for ya. Can we do lawyers next?

Our entire economy is based on debt and fake money, and will never last. Our reliance on inflation and borrowing to fund basic government services is a recipe for disaster. Our entire economy will collapse eventually, and the longer our "finance pros" keep propping it up and fighting the inevitable, the farther it's going to fall when it does go. If we wait too long, we'll end up paying the dentist with plucked chickens.

I'm going into financial litigation as of july, worst of both worlds for me :wow:

 

[RunninInGA]

I'm going into financial litigation as of july, worst of both worlds for me :wow:

M&A or banking focus?

 

[zopperman]

M&A or banking focus?

We'll find out when I start the job lol.