Cargo Business News

12 BennettCommentary By David BENNETT, Director (USA) Sales, Geodis Global Solutions A "double dip For most of us watching the financial markets, the first of August had a scary start in terms of watching the "experts" start selling off stocks, creating a situation that felt like the sharp downturn of late 2008 and early 2009. I am quite confident that most of you had somewhat of a sick feeling in your stomach on your way home after work, wondering if we were headed towards the same type of market that resulted in the loss of tremendous personal wealth. From a personal standpoint, I had a mid-life crisis, because I'd just had my 48th birthday and was wondering if my children's education funds were about to get raided again because these "experts" decided overnight that the market was overvalued. Reading through the tons of available market data and watching the news made me realize that the market reaction was clearly unjust and these "experts" were actually part of the problem, not the solution. Think about that for just a minute. First, the markets reacted negatively to news that the debt ceiling was raised. Then Standard & Poor did exactly what it said it was going to do: Downgraded our standing in the bond market because they were seeking considerably more in spending cuts. Then, we react to "rumors" in Europe and the next thing you know, overnight we see everyone heading out to put their cash in a tin can buried in their backyard. I am being a tad sarcastic, but in reality, we have no choice but to ask the question: Does anyone really know what is going on in the financial markets? Here is what we know. Unemployment in the U.S. is just over 9 percent, GDP growth — adjusted on an annual basis — will not rise above 2 percent, and in spite of record-low interest rates, the housing market continues to slide in the wrong direction. I AM NOT AN ECONOMIST, therefore, this is not an economic report; but a column designed to create September 2011 www.cargobusinessnews.com C

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