Will You Survive The Coming Financial Crash 15
© 2005 Kent Daniel Bentkowski
government also bought into the collapsed stock market, holdings that never appear on
their yearly budget spreadsheets.
General Motors for example, saw their stock price drop 60% from its' high. This was quite
serious, because the financial size of GM is equal to the gross national product of the sixth
largest country on the planet! If it had not been for the 0% interest loans through the GM
finance division, the General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), this company might
have already gone bankrupt. In the past five years, it has been the GMAC division that
has kept General Motors solvent, posting record profits besides!
In the post-9/11 world, it has been energy and commodities stocks that have led the
stock market higher. This should come as no surprise, as the geopolitical arena has
focused squarely upon oil, gasoline, and natural gas. The scam that was known as Enron
manipulated the energy markets in much the same way as I describe above. The sad part
of the whole affair is that there never was any energy shortage! It was just another scam
played upon people who should know better, because the same techniques are used time
and time again.
Here are some examples of companies that suffered big losses in the 2000 stock market
crash (per each share of common stock). Each of these companies is the largest in their
respective sectors of the total U.S. economy:
· AIG
(insurance sector)
­ In 2000, this stock traded for $100.00. By 2005, it had fallen
to $53.00
(
47% loss
)
.
· General Motors
(automotive sector)
­ Down 60% from its' all-time high. Also, in the
past 52 weeks, GM went from a high of $49.50, to a low of $24.67
(
50% loss
)
.
· Microsoft
(technology sector)
­ In 1999, this stock was trading at $54.00. By 2005, it
had fallen to $25.00
(
54% loss
)
.
· Pfizer
(pharmaceutical sector)
­ In 1999, this stock traded for $40.00. By 2005, it had
fallen to $26.00
(
35% loss
)
.
· Time-Life Publishing
(printing and publishing sector)
­ In 1999, this stock traded at
$95.00 per share. By the spring of 2005, this stock had fallen to under $18.00
(
81%
loss
)
!!
· Wal-Mart
(retail sector)
­ In December 1999, this stock was trading at $70.00. By
2005, it had fallen to $48.00
(
32% loss
)
.
The significance of this list happens to be that each one of these stocks reflect the largest
company in each of the above-named sectors. In each one of the six examples above,
anyone who held these stocks would go on to lose a significant amount of money if they
continued to hold them to this very day. In each case, the money lost by the middle class
was scooped up by the elite 5% at a steep discount, which is always at pennies on the
dollar. Remember that the elite 5% always sell high, and buy back low. Thus, profits are
made no matter what direction the market is headed!