Ir à Falência

In my process of learning Portuguese, I am constantly finding new words and phrases every day. Typically, I find these through watching TV, conversations with others (I usually try to stop them to ask what they just said), and reading magazines or online news sites. The process never really stops. And just when you think you know every word and every phrase, something new will inevitably come along. At that point, I break out my English/Portuguese dictionary, make a note in my spreadsheet (those of you who know me know how much I love a spreadsheet!), and do my best to add that to my repertoire. At roughly 2:30AM last night I learned a new phrase: ir à falência. - to go bankrupt. Like I said, just when you think you know it all, you will come across a new situation and realize that there will always be more to learn.

After reading the financial news last night before going to bed, I was having a hard time sleeping. I was thinking about what I would have been doing right now if I was still working at Merrill Lynch (which, as of this moment, is sadly Bank of America). I knew one thing for sure. I would not have been sleeping. I probably would have been up all night thinking about the difficulties of the day ahead. Right on cue, the phone rang (it was like I had been transported back to my old life!). One of my friends had "gambled" and bought a sizeable position in Lehman Brothers on Friday. He was predicting a weekend bailout by a suitor over the weekend and upon hearing that those talks had halted late Sunday night, he was devastated. The stock would bound to open up well below Friday's closing price (possible at pennies). I tried my best to comfort him, and I reached back into the vault to attempt to give him the best advice I could. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot to do. As much as Wall Street has changed to provide more access to the average investor, there is no other place that can make a person feel so helpless and alone. This was one of those times. My only advice was to take the loss, understand that it could have been far worse, and try to have an extremely short memory.

I am feeling for those friends back home entrenched in this mess. This is a legitimate crisis that will effect the financial world for a long, long time. In my far removed opinion, even after the Bear Stearns debacle, I don't think believed that another bank, especially one of Lehman Brothers' caliber, would fall. I was reading a news story last night about a reporter who was standing outside the Lehman Brothers office in Manhattan and watching people funnel in and out with boxes to gather their personal stuff. Some of these people had yelled at the reporter because they didn't find it to be in good taste to be broadcasting what I'm sure these employees felt like was a very personal and difficult situation. I have several good friends working at the firm, and my heart goes out to them today. They are all very smart people so I have no doubt that they will land on their feet. But these are tough times and nobody wants to see someone lose a job.

It is going to be interesting to see what happens from here. Without a doubt, nobody knows for sure. I am certainly in no position to predict what that could be. All I can do is be thankful that I'm somewhat removed from the craziness. I had another friend tell me last night that life is full of smart and lucky choices. He told me that he had made a lucky one (he passed up a prestigious job at Lehman Brothers), and he told me that I made a smart one. I wouldn't go so far as to give myself that much credit but whatever the case may be, I'll take it. Instead of going to the office today to research what bank may be the next to fall, I'll be out researching which beach will have the best waves and the best eye candy. I could not be more grateful. Thank you, thank you, thank you...