The global wealth losses amounting to $20 trillion
By: Fudzail
I have my doubts when reading some not-so-good reports as well as feel-good reports on the current turmoil. Sometimes, too much information is more harmful to our plans. Rumours have been circulating with some basis to believe these rumours do have some truth and during last few months, rumours have been all but rumours.
There is a latest hot rumour about the impending merger of two big real estate developers in the UAE from Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The merger of the two giants will create a, well, big giant if not a monster, positively, I like that idea.
In today’s business paper, it is reported that top international investment banks have confirmed that the world is now experiencing the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression. Believe it or not, the global wealth losses amounting to $20 trillion (Dh73.4trn).
Morgan Stanley, HSBC and The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BNYM) unanimously say that the credit crisis has led to the biggest shock to world wealth since the Second World War.
The Great Depression was the largest and most important economic depression in modern history and is used in the 21st century as an example of how far the world's economy can fall. And like the current financial crisis, the Great Depression originated in the United States.
Historians most often use as a starting date the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. The depression had devastating effects in virtually every country, rich or poor. International trade plunged by half to two-thirds, as did personal income, tax revenue, prices and profits. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was halted in many countries.
But the current crisis is more than just a depression, says Richard Hoey, chief economist of BNYM. "We expect a severe global recession rather than a depression."
"The global economy was in freefall in the fourth quarter of 2008 and this should continue in the early months of 2009.We agree with the view this is the greatest global financial crisis since the Great Depression," he added.
According to Morgan Stanley's estimates, the result of the current financial crisis has been a destruction of world wealth, which since mid 2007 has amounted to approximately $20trn (or down 16 per cent from its peak, which has been estimated at $125trn by the United Nations).
"This is the largest absolute and percentage decline in world wealth since the physical destruction of the Second World War," said the New York-based bank holding company.
You can read the rest here.
Just imagine, $20 trillion worth of wealth disappeared into the thin air. If we had had used that amount to build a better world for everybody on the planet, we may not lose that much. Imagine, even some richest Muslims do not pay zakat and one Islamic scholar here mentioned that if even half of these Muslims had paid their zakats, there would be no poor Muslims in the world….
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Source : see http://1426.blogspot.com/2009/02/global-wealth-losses-amounting-to-20.html
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