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A conference of the "American Bankruptcy Institute" took place in Berlin on the 26th October 07. As the delegates were meeting and chatting, a more subdued mood than usual was palpable, as the general state of the economy had been going well enough to cause bankruptcy administrators some sleepless nights.
Then, came a lecture from a US investment advisor who explained that an early indicator of an approaching recession is the level to which consumers fill their trolleys at Wal-Mart, and this was slowly but surely dropping.
The US property crisis, as well as the prospect of a victory for a certain "democratic woman candidate" in the coming presidential elections is putting pressure on the ready money floating around, as this lady wants to introduce a health insurance program for everyone that will wring disposable income out of people's pockets. And this is not just a problem for people who have an annual income of US$50,000, but also for those with US$1,500,000 and above. The latter would settle for a 2nd-rate BMW instead of a Masarati, and instead of a 400sqm penthouse, they go for something more sensible and modest.
And this will obviously put pressure on domestic consumption as a whole. Thus, the gathered masses of insolvency administrators went home with a newly-found spring in their step.
