Aftershocks

So it's now been 72 hours since the Wachovia announcement, and for the most part everyone is still in the dark about what is going to happen. I'm sure there is a lot activity going on behind the scenes, but not a lot is being distributed to the general Wachovia population.

As a result, rumors have become news - sadly, this is freaking people out. Among the things that have been discussed:
- Everyone in one business unit has already been given notice (simply not possible and actually illegal)
- Citi plans on doing mass layoffs Dec 15th, when the deal may close (possible, but unlikely since they actually need many Wachovians well past that date)
- There have been cash runs on the bank since Monday due to account holder fear (this is possible given the current climate)
- The remaining Wachovia units are actively being shopped and soon there will be no Wachovia (quite possible, especially if you review the financial obligations Wachovia has to it's preferred shareholders)

What have I been doing? Trying to stay optimistic (but realistic), support the proactive efforts underway to assemble information for Citi to review as part of their due diligence, and spending as much time as I can networking! Obviously I don't know what will happen but I'm keeping an open mind, trying my best to have lots of options, and maintaining my connections as best possible. The atmosphere is pretty bleak right now because the job market is tight, there is a lot of uncertainty, and the local press is painting a pretty grim picture (got to love that!)

The bailout package has not been voted on yet, but I think our elected leaders now understand how precarious a situation we are in. The market drop on Monday erased $1.4 trillion dollars in retirement and equity. That is double what the bailout would be, and we have already lost it because of the House's inaction. Boggles the mind. . . This is now a global problem - we are seeing systematic bank failures in France, Great Britain, Belgium and Russia. As a result, the EU is also considering a bailout, more proactively than the US did.

If you are curious about how things have spiraled out of control so quickly, I urge you to read this article. Lets hope that Monday ended any debate about the need for this. . .