Goodbye 2009 - It's that time of the year when I prepare for my year end vacation and also spend time relecting over the past year - and what a time it's been!
We witnessed the unintended consequences of the governments intervention in the mortgage crisis which lead to credit card companies hiking rates charged to their customers. The price of oil fell below $34 a barrel (and later soared to over $70 a barrel).
We saw the outrageous behavior and continued greed of Goldman Sachs; we saw disgusting conduct in the political arena and the debate on Health Insurance Reform raged on.
Gold reached an all time record of over $1200 an ounce, the Dow Jones Industrial Index slumped and then recovered over 50%, and major banks reduced their lending to businesses by $100 Billion. It was extremely troubling to see unemployment rise and so many more homeowners face foreclosure and financial ruin.
But despite all the upsetting events of the year, I am grateful for all the good that happened.
International respect for our country improved and President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. The economy seemed to bottom out and housing prices stabilized. Oh, and Lou Dobbs departed from CNN:)
I met some great new clients and friends and visited places I'd never been to before. My Real Estate business succeeded in probably the most difficult market ever and I have exciting prospects lined up for 2010. All things considered, I am extremely fortunate.
I'm happy, healthy ... and excited for the New Year.
