There wasn't a thread dedicated to the impact of the global crisis on Indonesia so here we go.

The rupiah just hit 10,000 to the dollar, the stock market remains closed but is only prolonging the inevitable and Lambert is due to give his assessment on global cable television. Has the world gone mad?

Warning. I will be asking for and getting full moderator rights this afternoon so you have a couple of hours in which to post silly photos and inane comments. Serious, considered and boring postings only please. If you have no idea what a serious, considered and boring posting is, please view Chewwie’s history.

Lamb wasn't here in January 1998 when the rupiah hit 17,000 to the dollar in response to Suharto dithering on IMF austerity measures and floating Habibie as VP. Does Lamb see the rupiah breaching the 17,000 level this time around?

I hate to break this to you, but you've had edit/delete privileges in this forum for nearly 2 years.

I told him we would consider it!

like kenyeung, piss salon is an informed, fair, well-balanced and responsible person, which is why he was made a moderator of this forum by The Administrators.

.

.

Are our Roops going to be wiped out next week? This is a large crisis Baldrick. On the plus side though I see that Mr. Bakrie has taken a shafting and is in some "sticky mud".

Nevermind all that. On the subject of mud, you would do well to remember what Winston Churchill had to say about mud, politics and fluctuating currencies: "He who slings mud generally loses ground. Whereas I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expense, and my expense is equal to my wishes. To improve is to change. To be perfect is to change often."

Perhaps you could learn more by watching the fascinating documentary series Churchill's Bodyguard, co-narrated by Dennis Waterman.

I don't think anybody knows what will happen next other than the stock market crashing as soon as it opens. That will drag down the rupiah "sharply" apparently.

Economists three weeks ago were saying the rupiah wouldn't go higher than 9,7 but that prediction appears out the window.

The Lamb's opinion? First thing Monday morning, he is converting his savings to the greenback. Think I'll join him. My NZ savings also took a hit. Biggest drops in the Aussie and NZ dollars in 25 years yesterday.

Wads of US$ here mate....but I'm keeping them

Can I put a tent up in your garden when I finally get evicted from my apartment? I will manicure your lawn and service your wife by way of compensation.

Mr Salon. I, as the moderator of this forum, respectfully request that you stick to the thread. Abuse of fellow Jakchatters, particularly comments pertaining to the ability, or lack thereof, to pleasue their wife, will under no circumstances be tolerated. Consider this a friendly last warning. Enjoy living in a tent.

Stock market drops 107 points during Bush’s speech on the economy.

Today, President Bush gave an eight-minute speech on the economy, which was meant to reassure the markets. “This is an anxious time,” said Bush. “But the American people can be confident in our economic future.” However, ABC News notes that during those eight minutes, the Dow Jones dropped another 107 points. The Dow was down 78.70 at the beginning of Bush’s address, but at 185.66 by the end.

He does a magical way about him..........

Similar story in the UK with the financial minister's speech.

i'm definitely going to continue buying up rp.

Bingo, give that man a gold star.........

Roll those dice.

It will be a semi long term investment, I suspect 6 months or so but you will make money at it. But on the plus side banks (Permata) is giving 13% interest rates for 1 month time deposits. Lot more than anyone is making on their USD today.

No thanks. I don't gamble. I do, however, hedge my risk, & usd is looking a tad risky at the moment.

Over the long run yes the USD is looking like shit but for the near short term the rest of the world has no confidence nor idea about where else to put their assets in to except the USD, just look at the falls in the SGD, the Euro and even our beloved IDR. the only thing that has appreciated besides the USD in the last 10 days is GOLD but even that is up and down.

JKSE Jakarta Composite 1,407.75 12:25AM ET Down 43.92 (3.03%)

Seems to be holding. For now.

Live

http://finance.yahoo.com/intlindices?e=asia

Traders said sellers were being kept partly at bay a stock exchange's move to impose a 10 percent limit on stock price moves.

The introduction of the 10 percent limit, either up or down, will prevent investors from "selling too fast, too quick", said David Chang, head of research at UOB Kay Hian.

"Today is going to be more positive because of some measures taken in the stock market to prevent stocks to go down more than 10 percent," he added.

Chewwie gets in on the act with a few comments.

A state of financial crisis is no time for a state of denial


Lin Che Wei, CFA, Jakarta

The important question to ask at the moment is whether Indonesia is in a state of crisis. Fundamentally, the Indonesian economy is much stronger and more sound than when Indonesia suffered through the Asian economic crisis in 1998.

However, this fundamental comparison is of little use because the source of the current problem is not in the fundamentals but in the crises of liquidity and confidence.

I like to use the analogy of a strong ship in a small river that is part of a bigger network of rivers. When the water level falls, the journey will be problematic no matter how strong the ship is. That is exactly the situation that Indonesia is facing now.

As a relatively small stock market with limited liquidity, the Indonesian market was easily influenced by the bigger interrelated stock markets around the globe and prone to the liquidity rush. A concentration of trading volume on Bakrie's related companies, which were heavily geared and heavily speculated upon, triggered the whole market meltdown last week.

Although Indonesia's economic fundamentals are stronger now than at the beginning of the Asian crisis, this does not mean Indonesia will be insulated from the global liquidity crunch. There are three problems that underlie the current capital market meltdown.

The first and the most serious problem is the top decision makers' state of denial -- they are arguing that Indonesia is not in a state of crisis. This attitude obviously rattled market confidence. How is the government expected to take a proactive approach to solve the problem when everyone is still denying there even is a problem?

We claim we are not in crisis even though our stock market has dropped by almost 50 percent. We claim we are not in crisis even though neither investors nor issuers believe anymore in the capital market function. We claim we are not in crisis even though everyone is tightening up and running for cover by reconsidering their investments and capital expenditure. How very ironic.

This all reminds me of the government's attitude during the early stages of the financial crisis in 1997. The financial sector and real sector are closely related and the failure in the financial market will sooner or later pass through to the real sector.

Second, we are facing a dysfunctional capital market system. The capital market is supposed to be an efficient delivery mechanism for fund mobilization and allocation as well as for price discovery of assets and risks. When the share price no longer reflects the fair price of assets because of irrational behavior, the capital market can be called dysfunctional.

A dysfunctional capital market is a serious problem for a financial system because it is crucial for supporting economic growth. When it is much better to buy shares in plantation companies or to buy financial assets than to do the planting or increase the machine capacities, there will be no capital expenditure made. Economic growth cannot be expected.

Third, there is a too-big-to-fail syndrome in the capital market. We have to learn the hard way that the disproportionate concentration of wealth and leverage in certain counters in the Indonesia Stock Exchange is not healthy. We can also say that market discipline has failed to enforce prudent monitoring and failed to rule out excessive funds being concentrated in a few counters.

Indonesia suffered a too-big-to-fail syndrome in the market as the recent liquidity problem faced by the Bakrie Group of Companies led to the rush for the exit from other stocks on the Indonesia Stock Exchange.

Obviously the threat of the too-big-to-fail syndrome in the corporate sector directly affected investor confidence in the market. The capital market is an integral part of the financial system. It should provide efficient delivery mechanisms for savings mobilization and allocation, risk and liquidity management and corporate governance.

For sure we cannot ignore the improvement in areas of prudential supervision, the accounting and disclosure requirements, legal and judicial systems, proper sequencing of financial liberalization, good monetary policy and price stability, as well as healthy reserves and a strong banking system. However, these things are not enough to prevent a capital market meltdown when global liquidity dries up.

To prevent a further crisis we have to rectify the dysfunctional capital market and prevent the too-big-to-fail syndrome in the corporate sector. More importantly, we need to admit that we are facing a serious situation that requires a proactive solution.

I strongly believe that the overhang in the Bakrie Group due to margin trading pressure will find its own solution. Unfortunately, I also believe that the global uncertainty will stay with us for a long time. Indonesia needs to adopt a comprehensive, proactive program to address the issue of the too-big-to-fail syndrome and create a proper mechanism of market surveillance to keep the capital market functioning properly. In the current situation, regulatory intervention to ensure the market continues to function properly is crucial -- the regulator needs to stay ahead of the market and reacting alone is not adequate.

Lin Che Wei is founder of Independent Research & Advisory Indonesia. He can be reached at lin_chewei@pacific.net.sg

JakChat should go into the banking business. looks pretty easy.

Bank of JakChat

ATM;s with attitude!

Or it could be this type of banking we do. Enough on here to support it!!

^^^^ Do you lose interest after you withdraw?

Wonder how the Blok is doing, any reports from there, girls?


Prostitution has not suffered drop-off despite economic meltdown

It's still a good time to be morally bankrupt.

The plunging Dow Jones and panicky investors are hardly a problem for the world's oldest profession, where business is still brisk.

"The market is down, business is down, but we feel it less," said Dylan, 24, a promotional model-turned-Manhattan prostitute. "We're still busy."
EXCLUSIVE: OBAMA TELLS NEWS HOW HE'LL FIX THE ECONOMY

The long-haired, long-legged hooker then explained why the red-light district remains a blue-chip commodity: "If men are horny, they're going to come in here."

Take that, Ben Bernanke.

Dylan works for a Manhattan madam who runs a pair of prostitution dens north of Wall Street. Unlike the $4,000-an-hour girls of male fantasies or gubernatorial road trips, Madam Sadie's employees charge $260 for 60 minutes - or $160 for 30 minutes.
RELATED: NBC ACCIDENTALLY CUTS OFF BUSH ECON SPEECH

"The $1,000-an-hour girls are just not making it" with the economic downturn, the madam said. The faltering economy actually drove two of her newer employees to the madam's sex-peddling service from other careers.

Shana, 42, lost her $45,000-a-year job as a secretary last year. Sienna was laid off in July from her job as an executive assistant with a travel agency.

Shana, who worked briefly as a waitress before hooking up with her current gig, is putting her son through college.
RELATED: WALL STREET FINISHES WORST WEEK EVER

"He's trying to get an engineering degree," she explained. "With the economy the way it is, how is my son going to get a loan? And he's going to finish college."

Co-worker Sara, a 26-year-old former hairstylist, said her services provide businessmen with a break from the grim realities of their 9-to-5 jobs.

"Some of them seem depressed, and they just want a place to get away from it," said the petite, dark-haired woman.

Sadie admits her business has suffered a bit in the fiscal crisis. Some clients are cutting back on their spending, and some aren't returning, she said.

Sienna, who's earning a graduate degree in English literature, mentioned a Manhattan banker who's among her regulars. He now spends less time and money - although he doesn't miss his regular appointments.

"He used to spend at least an hour or two," she said. "Lately he's down to a half-hour, and he's no longer a big tipper."

But Dylan said business was steadier in her new position than when she was chasing down modeling jobs.

"The money is good in that field," she said, "but you don't always get the work."

Business is also booming at Jakarta's classiest nightspot, Papa Cafe on Jalan Jaksa, mainly because it has started featuring great live music:

I don't think many people would have got that one Ken (I did)

I did too. Ken's back and he means business.

'it 'im Terry. 'it 'im Jankis.

bastard never gave his wife the credit for that one did he! Mr "write the theme tune, sing the theme tune" never wrote that song.

All the hits, available for download on MP3

HERE

And now over to....

So who bought some IDR when it was over 10,000........

just missed out on 10000. settled for 9850. i think everyone was waiting for it to tip 10000 before buying, thus forcing the rate down again very quickly.

i should work on a tipping point of 9900 and not wait for 10000.

And now for a look at the volatile situation across the world markets: