US SubPrime Crisis - Asian Twist

An Asian twist to explain the financial crisis....

One day, a plain-looking man came with a pretty-looking OL
(Office Lady) to the LV store in Causeway Bay (Hong Kong
Island). He chose an LV bag worth HKD 65,000 for the
OL. When it came time to pay, the man took out a chequebook
and wrote out a cheque. The salesperson was hesitant
because the couple hadn't shopped there before.

The man discerned what the salesperson was thinking and he
said calmly: "I sense that you are concerned that this
cheque may bounce, right? Today is Saturday and the banks
are closed. Let me suggest that I leave the cheque and the
handbag here. When the cheque clears on Monday, you can
deliver the handbag to this lady. How about that? The
salesperson was reassured and gladly accepted the
suggestion. In addition, he waived the delivery charges.
He promised that he would personally make sure that this
gets done.

On Monday, the salesperson took the cheque to the bank.
The cheque bounced! The irate salesperson called up the
client, who told him: "What is the big deal? Neither
you nor I have suffered any loss. Last Saturday night, I
went to bed with that girl already! Oh, by the way, I
thank you for your cooperation."

This story reveals the nature of the sub-prime mortgage
crisis. When people have high hopes for huge future
returns, they lower their guard about the potential risks.
This pretty girl thought that the HKD 65,000 LV bag was
going to come home on Monday, and so she lowered her
guard. Therefore, she believed that her investment in the
ONS (one night stand) was worth it even though it was based
upon huge and highly uncertain risks.

Investment companies are great with packaging high return
(but high risk) deals. The Chinese stock speculators are
like this pretty woman. As such, they deserve to lose
money. Without people like these, how are people going to
make money from the stock market? As for the media and the
stock analysts, they often play the role of the LV
salesperson.