And Then There Were ....

Just posted on AppOne's credit portal:

"Due to current market conditions, AmeriCredit will no longer be accepting credit applications after April 30th. Any AmeriCredit approvals issued through April 30th will be funded as usual."

One by one, sub prime lenders are falling by the wayside. It's like a sub prime pandemic; the only question left to ask is "Who's next?".

This morning I was talking to my sales force and asked them if anyone was afraid of catching swine flu. They all agreed that the risk here in south Florida was minimal, at worst, and none of them was concerned about getting sick. But if you watched the news this morning, we're all doomed! Vice President Biden said he would NOT travel by plane or subway, and recommended staying away from crowded places! CDC official tell us not to travel to Mexico, and countries and states, cities and counties are shutting down public places to avoid a swine flu pandemic.

Let's all duct tape our doors and windows and not venture outside until we get the all clear!

No, don't get me wrong. There is always a concern for health and well being. We should all take precautions against getting ill, as well as spreading anything around. But perception is the reality in our society, and if the news tells us it's a pandemic, we believe it with the utmost enthusiasm. The news tells American consumers that the auto industry is going bankkrupt, and they stop buying cars. They tell us that there's not money to lend, so banks stop lending. The tell us that things are bad, and they just get worse. Maybe it's time to find some good news to report?

I'm sure this is an oversimplification of things, but then again, it's just my opinion.