FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Housing prices falling back to their lowest level since 2002, before the Great Recession began, back-to-back discouraging jobs reports, a slowdown in consumer spending. Take your pick: There's not a lot of rosy news on the economy this week. So much for that whole recovery thing.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/06/02/art.nyse.jpg caption="Traders work on the floor on the New York Stock Exchange."]
Stocks plummeted yesterday on all this news. The Dow Jones Industrials were off more than 2 percent. And the Dow and S&P 500 were down again today.
The big employment report for the month of May comes out tomorrow. Economists are hoping to see 185,000 jobs added. If not, it could be another wild day for the markets.
Talk of a possible double-dip recession is now heating up among economists. And earlier this week, fund manager Mark Mobius told a Foreign Correspondents' Club in Tokyo that another financial crisis is just around the corner because little has changed to regulate what largely caused the first collapse - the derivatives market. New rules to regulate derivatives are scheduled to roll out later this year and others are in the pipeline… but Wall Street-friendly lawmakers are putting up a fight.
This all comes at a time when Washington is trying to figure out how to cut spending in order to lower the deficit... all while playing chicken with the debt ceiling. Moody's Investor Service is threatening to slash the U.S. credit rating if lawmakers do not make significant progress on budget talks by July, out of fear the U.S. could default on its loans. It's going to be a long, hot summer.
Here’s my question to you: Do you believe another financial crisis is around the corner?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Alex in Bremerton, Washington:
All bets are off, Jack, if the debt ceiling isn't raised and America goes bankrupt! While the private sector is still showing slow but sustainable job growth, the lack of stimulus money is forcing layoffs by state and local governments so it looks like we are heading towards a double dip recession.
Randy:
With the middle class shrinking and the rich benefitting from that, I say the financial crisis never ended. In fact, the financial crisis started for minorities and poor whites back in the 80's with Ronny Reagan’s trickle down nonsense.
Chris:
How can we worry about the next one if we are still not out of this one by a long shot?
Terry in Virginia:
Another? I don't believe we're out of the current financial crisis. It seems never-ending. Our elected representatives get an A+ in subjects like blaming the other party, increasing corporate welfare, and showing favoritism to the rich, and an "F" in every subject designed to help Main Street. We don't need Medicare or Social Security reform - we need to reform Congress. Let's keep tossing them out every election until they finally listen to the majority of the voters - the middle class and poor.
Donna in Wisconsin:
Only if the Republicans continue to tie the debt ceiling issue with the deficit. If the debt ceiling is not raised we will see a catastrophic recession like Greece. The two issues are separate and should be addressed separately. I hope the Democrats hold them at bay.
Bob in St. Thomas, Pennsylvania:
Could be, Jack, I don't know for sure. But here's one thing I do know - If there is, Ron Paul will have new-found credibility as a 2012 candidate.
Danny:
Around the corner, around the block, around the world - Yes! Borrowing from Peter to pay Paul only works if you're Paul. It doesn’t work if you're a government bailing out banks or a country bailing out other countries, at least not in the long term. The Band-Aids are about to come unstuck. Peter is all but kaput.