Trends? Is US Economy affecting your practice?

Asian shares follow Wall Street down
Asian stock markets dropped broadly on Monday, following heavy losses on Wall Street last week linked to a surge in oil prices. Energy companies rose as crude oil neared $138 a barrel. MarketWatch (09 Jun.)

Wall Street slumps on increase in oil, jobless rate
U.S. stock markets suffered one of their worst days of the year Friday after oil prices skyrocketed by about $11 a barrel and May unemployment surged more than expected. The Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite each lost about 3%. All 30 companies in the Dow Jones industrial average fell. CNNMoney.com (06 Jun.)

World leaders focus on inflation
Inflation is the main economic threat to the world, corporate executives and government officials concluded during a meeting in Russia. "We are facing a very dangerous situation caused by these tremendously increasing prices for commodities, food and oil," German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck told the gathering. ClipSyndicate/Bloomberg (09 Jun.) , Bloomberg (09 Jun.)

Medvedev blames U.S. policies for financial crisis: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow's growing economic influence could help resolve the global financial crisis, which he blamed on "aggressive" U.S. policies. "Failure by the biggest financial firms in the world to adequately take risk into account, coupled with the aggressive financial policies of the biggest economy in the world, have led not only to corporate losses," Medvedev said. "Most people on the planet have become poorer." Reuters (08 Jun.) , Deutsche Welle (07 Jun.)

Global financial crisis to help BRICs grow
Jim O'Neill, the Goldman Sachs economist who coined the term BRIC, said that the ongoing financial crisis would help Brazil, Russia, India and China take a larger share of the global gross domestic product. "On a relative basis it definitely allows the BRICs to develop faster as they are going to take an even bigger share of GDP sooner," O'Neill said. "This is a financial crisis of the West and we must not forget that of the world's 6 billion people most of them are not affected by this." Reuters (08 Jun.)

Worldwide consumer generation to keep prices high
"Generation A" -- the 400 million people aged 30 to 40 -- may become the world's most important economic force. They earn only about £2,000 a year on average, but they have a refrigerator and want much more, analysts at Macquarie Group say. These consumers represent a looming explosion in demand, suggesting that the soaring prices of food, metals, energy and transport are unlikely to fade. The Times (London) (09 Jun.)

SEC rules may target ratings agencies
The SEC this week may bar ratings agencies from advising investment banks on how to earn top rankings for asset-backed securities. "They basically sold ratings to the highest bidder without any regard to the performance of the rated securities," said Joseph Mason, chairman of the banking department at Louisiana State University's business school. Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings also could be forced to disclose all the data used for a rating so competitors can grade bonds even if they weren't paid. Bloomberg (09 Jun.)

Shanghai, Hong Kong lead decline in Asian markets
On the first day of trading since China's central bank announced that it would increase the reserve ratios of most commercial banks, Shanghai's Composite Index dropped 4.6%. Most other Asian markets were down as well. The Shenzhen stock market's benchmark index plunged 5%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 3.3% and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index declined 4.7%. MarketWatch (09 Jun.)

Paulson refuses to rule out intervening to stabilize dollar
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who is going to Japan this week to the Group of Seven meeting of financial chiefs, said he would not rule out an intervention in the currency markets to help stabilize the dollar. "I would never take intervention off the table, or any policy tool off the table," Paulson said. "I just can't speculate about what we will or won't do." Paulson said the White House is "focused" on the dollar and soaring oil prices. Reuters (09 Jun.)

Saudis call for global oil summit
Saudi Arabia has called for an oil summit so that oil-producing countries, consuming countries and petroleum companies can grapple with record prices for crude. "Current oil prices are unjustifiable in terms of petroleum facts and market fundamentals," the Saudi cabinet said in a statement. Consuming countries want OPEC to increase its output to drive down oil prices. OPEC blames the weak dollar, speculation and political tension for the price spiral. Arab News (Saudi Arabia) (10 Jun.)

Trends? Is US Economy affecting your practice?

Of course it is…
In my opinion, when there's an economic shift, it's a huge OPPORTUNITY – it just depends upon how you choose to see it.

Times like we're experiencing now are a huge advantage to anyone in a position to assist and leverage change! The real question is, “Where do you want to “go” with your practice?”

We have seen quite a few economic and political gyrations. Remember all the hype about Y2K, and the possibility of the world's power grid coming unglued. In the wake of 9/11 there was unprecedented levels of fear and uncertainty.

The thing to remember is that everything is always changing.

While currently there is a lot of concern in various parts of the world regarding noticeable economic slow down, we still live in huge economies. (The US GDP is over $13 trillion, the EU GDP is now over $16 trillion.) Even in times of slow down or recession, the vast majority of people (over 95% in most developed economies) have jobs and continue to buy what they need. Life and business go on.

It is a very big and ever changing world. With any change there are short-term winners and losers. If you are affected by changes in your market, simply step back, reassess, and find out where the new opportunities are. If you are finding your usual patients a little harder to come by, look at it as an opportunity to go after better markets. Times of change always bring an invitation to step out of your comfort zone, let go of the old ways, grow, become better at marketing yourself, and generally play a much bigger game in the world.

While some fear the great apocalypse with every patient departure, others are out there simply looking to see where the world needs them now. And the world still needs lots of great dentists.

Yet Fear has raised its ugly head and opened its ugly mouth…
“The gods of Greed - they promised economic stability, order and prosperity but instead the world's bankers have delivered chaos, debt and uncertainty - and then blamed the feeble governments that surrendered control of the global economy to them....”

Some say speculation has left the global economy more vulnerable to a financial collapse than at any time since 1929. They said the same, however, about the stock market crash of 1987, the collapse of the hedge fund Long Term Capital Management in 1998 and now the subprime crisis. The obvious conclusion is that these models are flawed. Even so, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently described this current crisis that erupted last August as "the largest financial shock since the Great Depression". George Soros, the billionaire speculator who knows a thing or two about financial upsets, says the world is facing the "most serious crisis of our lifetime", hmmm.

At any time, you can look at the world and find many reasons to get very afraid, some reasons are real, most are imagined. Einstein once said that the most important decision you will ever make is deciding whether or not you live in a friendly universe. Don't let fear make you small or avoid social realities. Instead, recognize the need for significant change in society, lobby for social justice and "be the change you want to see in the world". Another one of Einstein's quotes I like is, "problems are never solved at the same level of thinking that gave rise to them."

Well, I don’t know where you live, but my world is far from perfect. I have doubts, fears and disappointments in my life too. I also need sources of inspiration to keep me on the right track, and remind me about what matters most in my life, and that is finding joy. Click Here To Watch a 3 minute movie and remember, “even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there” – Will Rogers.