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The Dow's Great Descent; How Bankers Are Cutting Back

Published: Oct 09, 2008

 Finance       

The Dow took a big hit today during the last two hours of trading, falling nearly 700 points or about 7 percent to finish below the 8,600 mark. This, of course, is not a good sign, especially since the sharp decline came on the same day as a slew of government announcements here and abroad (such as Hank Paulson’s plan to buy stakes in banks) that were supposed to improve investor confidence, not hammer it away.

Yet again, several big banks' stock prices took dives today, particularly Morgan Stanley, whose shares fell drastically on rumors that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group may not pony up $9 billion to invest in the bank after all (as it did yesterday, Morgan denied the rumors, saying the deal is on track, which investors apparently weren’t buying). Speaking of rumors, looks like National City might be on the auction block, so yet another large bank could soon change hands.

Although the market plunge today means common perception here in the U.S. is perhaps even the staffs of state can't help us now, let's not start stock piling tap water just yet; time will tell whether the second coming of the Great Depression is for real, or just perception. That said, as we wait to see who’s holding the high card, it’s probably a good idea to be cautious with our cash.

To that end, below you’ll find some ideas on how to scale back your spending, inspired by the changes being made by a bunch of out-of-work employees who used to work for a handful of companies that, up until a few weeks ago, were widely known as the investment banking bulge bracket. Indeed, that was then, and this is now ...

Then: Black car to Luger's

Now: J train to White Castle

Then: Courtside seats at the Garden

Now: Bleacher seats at P.S. 46

Then: Lap dances at Scores

 

Now: Brushing up against rush-hour commuters

Then: Dining at Nobu

Now: Fishing in Red Hook

Then: Shopping at Dean & Deluca

Now: Joining the Park Slope Co-Op

Then: Range Rover to East Hampton

Now: The A to Rockaway

Then: Hair by Fred (Fekkai)

Now: Hair like Ted (Kaczynzki)

Then: Long weekends in the Cayman Islands

Now: Afternoons in Coney Island

Then: The Amex Black card

Now: The Starbucks gift card

Then: Liar's Poker

Now: Uno!

Then: Midtown

Now: Midwood



 

 

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