This video is merely a compilation of knowledge from my graduate studies in Finance as well as from the news media on the condition of our economy.
This is the AudioSwap version (with Classical music) of my original video (that has somber or heavy metal / industrial genre music). Link to original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9N-jMfvftA
Certain Finance terms are explained below:
The subprime mortgage crisis is an ongoing real estate crisis and financial crisis triggered by a dramatic rise in mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures in the United States, with major adverse consequences for banks and financial markets around the globe. The crisis, which has its roots in the closing years of the 20th century, became apparent in 2007 and has exposed pervasive weaknesses in financial industry regulation and the global financial system.[1] (Wikipedia, Subprime Mortgage Crisis)
In finance, leverage (also known as gearing or levering) refers to the use of debt to supplement investment.[1] Companies usually leverage to increase returns to stock, as this practice can maximize gains (and losses). The easy but high-risk increases in stock prices due to levering at banks in the United States have been blamed for the unusually high rate of pay for top executives during the financial crisis of 20072010, since gains in stock are often rewarded regardless of method.[2] Deleveraging is the action of reducing borrowings.[1] In macroeconomics, a key measure of leverage is the debt to GDP ratio. (Wikipedia, Leverage (finance))
Predatory lending is a pejorative term used to describe unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices of some lenders during the loan origination process. While there are no legal definitions in the United States for predatory lending, an audit report on predatory lending from the office of inspector general of the FDIC broadly defines predatory lending as "imposing unfair and abusive loan terms on borrowers."[1] Though there are laws against many of the specific practices commonly identified as predatory, various federal agencies use the term as a catch-all term for many specific illegal activities in the loan industry. Predatory lending should not to be confused with predatory mortgage servicing (predatory servicing) which is used to describe the unfair, deceptive, or fraudulent practices of lenders and servicing agents during the loan or mortgage servicing process, post loan origination. (Wikipedia, Predatory Lending)
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity over a period of time.[1][2] (Wikipedia, Recession)
The gross domestic product (GDP) or gross domestic income (GDI) is a measure of a country's overall economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year. It is often positively correlated with the standard of living,[1] though its use as a stand-in for measuring the standard of living has come under increasing criticism and many countries are actively exploring alternative measures to GDP for that purpose.[2] (Wikipedia, Gross Domestic Product)
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.[1] When the price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, annual inflation is also an erosion in the purchasing power of money a loss of real value in the internal medium of exchange and unit of account in the economy.[2][3] A chief measure of price inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index (normally the Consumer Price Index) over time.[4] (Wikipedia, Inflation)
Unemployment occurs when a person is available and willing to work but currently without work.[1] The prevalence of unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the labor force who are unemployed. The unemployment rate is also used in economic studies and economic indices such as the United States' Conference Board's Index of Leading Indicators as a measure of the state of macroeconomics. (Wikipedia, Unemployment Rate)
Concerning unemployment horror stories in the United States (click on the below link to learn more):
http://hubpages.com/hub/Do_These_Things_To_Get_A_Job
Concerning an Economic Collapse (more so nationally but even contributing to a global one):
The economic forecasting community is of two minds on the likely outcome of the financial crisis that erupted in 2007. Some commentators consider it to herald an international economic collapse while the majority, including governments and international organisations, predict a sluggish economy or a recessionary trend. (Wikipedia, Economic Collapse)
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Meltupby InflationUS1,239,413 views
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