Somewhere up this thread I mentioned credit card contraction.
Now it's official with American Express: they want thousands of their clients to close out their accounts pronto. If this is done, the lucky ex-debtor will receive a $300 spiff.
Their reasoning is very straight forward: credit card defaults are exploding upward -- it's time to shut down Amex's exposure.
This is also going on within every bank in the nation. All credit cards are being reviewed. Obviously, any client whose income flows from construction or real estate, generally is very high on the list.
If you have your loans at the same institution that holds your checking account be very afraid. My own uncle had the misfortune of discovering just how quickly you can go from being a 'great account' to 'collections' when business conditions changed. In his case, Boeing lost the TFX contract and overnight the real estate market imploded. With the stroke of a pen, his bank grabbed all of his deposits to kill off his loans. No notice was given. All he got was overdraft fee notices.
With the banks still on their backs and the shadow banking system destroyed...
Construction in the following states has been nuked: Arizona, California, Nevada, Florida, Michigan.
If you are outside the blast radius you may survive.
However, do not get caught up in 'magical thinking'.
Don't overrate your ability to out ski the avalanche.
When Paul Volcker and George Soros both agree that we're in for some serious...
Then beware.
I say again: energy savings is where you ought to focus. Lighting, Lighting Controls, VFD...
You want to be a primary contractor: the GC's are going to fail to pay so often that they'll take you under.
