Weekend Open Thread

Some discussion starters:
-And why not begin with the favorite of both bulls and bears- the price of oil. Some in the deflation camp are talking of $40 oil, the price that was considered 'good' just 4 years ago.
-Some 'financial wizards', in their tradition of 'cash is trash', are arguing that if you keep money in bank account, you would have lost roughly 15 per cent of purchasing power in terms of US Dollar. That's true, assuming one did not convert to USD and used the ATB protection, but even if someone didn't convert to USD, those in straight cash have fared so much better than those in any other asset class over the last 15 month period. TSX is down by 35 per cent or so, Alberta real estate by 15 to 25 per cent, oil is almost half of its peak value...and cash is well, still the same, so long as you are within Canada.
-The Greater Fool as applied to the stock market bubbles.
-Edmonton SFHs and condos have erased all the gains made during 2007 (plus more). It took around 15 months (Aug 2007 to October 2007) to give up the gains of 7 months (Jan to July 2007). Does it mean that we can be back to 2005 prices in 2 years? Or could it be even sooner, given the commodity bust, credit crunch, potential job losess and otherwise tough economic climate? We'll find out....

And finally:
- While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am not too pleased with excessive usage of exclamation marks in my writings. Now some people do like their exclamation points, I'm not one of those. The imitator of 'Gloria White' on other blogs, should note that.

Have a great weekened everyone.