Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The Second Great Depression is Closer Than You Think

From HedgeFund.net:
Mark Patterson, co-founder and chairman of distressed investor MatlinPatterson Global Advisors, sounded the alarm on Tuesday morning as a panelist at the Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst Conference 2008. Patterson was part of a discussion titled “Here Comes Trouble: Making Distressed Investments Pay Off.”

Sitting comfortably on the stage with two other panelists and a moderator from Dow Jones in the posh Grand Ballroom in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria, Patterson got the crowd riled up by saying the current economic times, and what is in store for the markets, will be more challenging to investors than anytime since 1929. He said the aftershocks will be felt for the next three years. In fact, he increased his estimate for the chances of there being another Great Depression this year to between 20% and 25%. That is a significant up-tick from what he said is his typical 5% stance....MORE