Events in the last few weeks prove among other things that the world is indeed a global village. The headlines could not have been worse for the ruling party in the United States which is already battling an image problem. 

Frankly, quite a privileged number who studied Economics or Finance knew the economic meltdown would eventually happen. The reckless appreciation of real estate prices could not be backed by any sensible reason and to think that these home mortgages were packaged together into mortgage backed securities, plain vanilla and complicated derivatives by financial institutions only encouraged moral hazard and abuses.

Foreign countries, sovereign funds backed by record level oil earnings, agencies and financial institutions scrambled to grab a piece in the once lucrative but highly volatile and risky US housing market segment. 

Indeed, the world exhibited ‘irrational exuberance’ as Alan Greenspan rightly suggested some years ago.

By and large, the deed has been done and we are left to watch how decisions by a few have led to pains for the entire world populace. 

2008 already has its place in history for so many reasons, highest inflation adjusted fuel prices, record one-day rise in fuel prices, lowest level of US consumer sentiment just to mention a few.

While there is enough blame to share among us all, the lack of adequate regulation may have been one of the main reasons for the near collapse of the world’s financial system.

While several writings including a previously written piece have documented the impact of the crisis in Nigeria, we must realize that the financial crisis led to a massive outflow of funds from the Nigerian financial market in the first half of the year as several investment funds and financial institutions struggled to cover the heavy losses in their home countries arising from the mortgage crisis. Today, the Nigerian Stock market index and capitalization is at the lowest level with some blue chip stocks losing half of their values in months. 

In spite of all these developments, this period provides opportunities for the professional who is willing to take some level of risk as I have rightly suggested in a number of writings. The depressed prices of stocks, pretty good returns in the money market and competitive real estate prices in the outskirts of Lagos provide an array of investing opportunities in this economic crisis period. 

In addition, the huge fall in crude oil prices owing to the fear of an imminent global depression may mean lower fuel prices for the average Nigerian professional. 

In all, these times are rare and I urge every discerning professional to look out for opportunities. This is the incubation period for a new wave of innovations and business developments in Nigeria. In summary, as widely described, why not strike while the iron is hot.

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• 01/01/2009 13:37 - 2008 - The Year of Unimaginable Possibilities Comes to an End
• 29/12/2008 12:41 - Why the Passwords?
• 29/12/2008 12:34 - When the Brain Drain Turns to Brain Gain - Part One
• 23/11/2008 23:52 - The Bizarre World Of Marketing In The Nigerian Banking Industry
• 23/11/2008 23:40 - The Challenges of Living Healthy in Nigeria

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