Year 2008 started promisingly, reaching its peak with the successful completion of the Beijing 2008 in August 2008 with the host nation China emerging as the overall champion in terms gold medals haul. Then things started to go wrong dramatically. First to go wrong was Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. These 2 national home loan institutions contacted US Congress for help. Deviating from the past, the US government lend its helping hand. Then, AIG sounded out its distress signal and followed by Lehman Brothers and many... many more ....
Being the advocates for world free market, the US Government decided to forego Lehman Brothers, created the first tsunami waves into the financial sector. As we know today, Lehman Brothers was already in the history book. That did not stop there but the force continue its destructive approach towards the European continent. Then, Iceland went bankrupt! There was even comparison between 24 Oct 2008 to 24 Oct 1929 (the Great Depression).
The hero was of course the UK Premier Gordon Brown. Flexing his power on government treasuries war chest, he invested into troubled institutions to stem the bleeding. That temporarily restore some level of confidence but not for long .... as nobody know how deep or extensive this sub prime will prevail.
Then, in November 2008, the turbulence hit home in Singapore with the announcement of DBS Banking group axing 900 staff. Other corporates soon followed. Fresh hiring was almost non-existence.
What will happen in December 2008 and beyond? Could it be worse? Or could it be the turning points?
We crossed our fingers and prayed. For there shall be rainbows after rain pour be the prelude for good times to come.
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