Boo! Halloween makes for scary times....

So, Halloween is fast approaching - scary times! We really are living in scary economic times. I can't help but be shocked by the continued steep declines in the worlds stock markets. What does this all mean for us?

In some ways it presents opportunities I think. Much like in any crisis, there is room for creative responses at the local, national and international level. People who are laid off from work can move to start their own business serving their local communities. Internationally, we will probably see a higher level of regulation over global financial markets. We might even see a move towards more regional integration as smaller countries (think Iceland, and Canada???) realize the benefits of being hitched up in a larger political economic entity.

For Canada, does this mean greater integration with the U.S.? That thought rightly scares a lot of people. What would that mean for our distinct northern, social welfare, etc, culture? Would we still be able to maintain our Canadianess - what ever one defines that to be?

In some ways, regional integration makes a lot of sense. By facilitating trade in geographically close regions, we may avoid the wasteful importation of products from half-way around the world. Take for example an apple. If you are someone living in Ottawa, it makes a lot more sense to import that apple from New York than it does to import it from B.C. even though it is in the same country. Maybe we should break North America into regional conglomerations - East Coast, mid-west, West Coast.....I'm talking nonesense here....

Anyways, I've started investing again in the hopes that I can take advantage of some eventual upturn in the markets. Hopefully they decide to start cooperating!!