NO HIDING PLACE!

Pope Pius XI, described the operators of the system like this: "…It is patent that in our days, not wealth alone is accumulated, but immense power and despotic economic domination are concentrated in the hands of the few, who for the most part are not the owners but only the trustees and directors of invested funds, which they administer at their own good pleasure…This domination is most powerfully exercised by those who, because they hold and control money, also govern credit and determine its allotment, for that reason supplying, so to speak, the life blood of the entire economic body, and grasping in their hands, as it were, the very soul of production, so that no one can breath against their will..."

This may sound alarmist, but it is not. It is the stark truth that
2009 is going to be a tough year, in every sense of the word,
particularly on the economic front. This seems obvious enough from the
experience of, at least, the last quarter of 2008. But incurable
optimist that mankind is, we are hoping it will get better soon, but
will it?

The situation used to be that if things got tough in Nigeria, you
endured whatever humiliation they heaped upon you at the United States
embassy, get a visa and bolt. If the United States won't do, you tried
the United Kingdom or Ireland, or Japan, or China or wherever else
seemed likely to provide succour. But, just look around you. Virtually
every major economy in the world is either on the verge of recession,
already in recession or is unofficially already in depression.

In recent times, Nigeria had been one of the most lucrative
destinations for investible funds in the world. Portfolio investors
were falling over one another for a piece of the action. Nigeria was
the emerging market to watch. The Lagos Stock Exchange was yielding
earnings that were literally out of this world. Then the bubble
busted, as bubbles were wont to. Portfolio people smelt it from a
distance; they scrammed, hastening the burst, leaving thousands of
fringe players holding on to thin air. Now the infamous global markets
meltdown is taking its toll on the crude oil market, crashing prices
hitherto headed furiously northwards to $200 back to an earthy $40 at
one point. That, for an economy like Nigeria's dependent on oil
revenue for about a quarter of its revenue, was the equivalence of a
hurricane, even if government officials, understandably, deny the
obvious. All of which is saying, barring any miracle, Fiscal 2009 will
be tough in Nigeria and for Nigerians.

So, if Nigeria's economy looks unstable, where do you run to? A
January 5 Bloomberg Worldwide report published by news media across
the globe paints a graphic picture of what is likely to happen in the
first half of the year in terms of corporate profits. It's a sobering
picture.

Written by Katie Hoffmann and Joseph Galante, the report gives its
backdrop as "the first simultaneous recessions in the U.S., Japan and
Europe since World War II." It opened by forecasting that "earnings at
Standard & Poor's 500 companies will probably fall in the first half,
marking eight straight quarters of declines". The report went on to
quote data compiled by Bloomberg as declaring that profit at
companies will fall 11 percent in the first quarter, followed by a 6.2
percent drop in the following three months, though "earnings should
improve in the second half, driven by a rebounding financial
industry…while profits will rise 4.3 percent for the full year…"

Standard & Poor's 500, by the way is widely recognized as the best
single gauge of the equities market in the United States, featuring
500 leading companies in leading industries of that economy covering
approximately 75% of its equities. The fortune of S&P 500 companies
therefore substantially mirrors and influences the US economy in
general.

Attempting a sectoral projection of the US economy, the report
fingered the energy industry as likely to "lead U.S. declines, with
earnings estimated to drop 29 percent in 2009" and named the largest
three oil companies as candidates for profit dips resulting from
recession-induced fall in fuel demand, which has led to a 78 percent
drop in crude-oil prices…" Exxon Mobil, said to be "the world's
biggest publicly traded company", will according to a Bloomberg survey
of analysts quoted in the report, probably see its earnings "tumble 39
percent to $28.2 billion, the first decline since 2002."

Turning to the US retail sector, the report said earnings "will fall
20 percent this year, according to analysts' estimates. The
International Council of Shopping Centers in New York predicts 73,000
U.S. stores may shut in the first half of 2009 after what may have
been the worst holiday-shopping season in 40 years. That's after about
148,000 stores closed last year, the most since the 2001 recession,
according to the trade group."

While the report holds out hope of a second-half rebound in the US,
predicated obviously on the success of an Obaman stimulus package
especially on the financial sector, it held no such hope for Europe
and Asia. Earnings in Europe, says the report, are projected to
decline for all of 2009 and analysts predict worsening reports out of
Asia because the recession hasn't fully hit there yet."

According to the report while profits at Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index
companies may fall marginally by less than 1 percent this year,
compared with a 17 percent decline in 2008, the Oil and gas companies
will face the heaviest declines. "Earnings at European oil companies
may drop 21 percent in 2009, compared with a 4.7 percent gain last
year, according to estimates. Profit at Royal Dutch Shell Plc,
Europe's largest oil company, may drop 27 percent. The company
postponed projects in Canada and Australia as demand for oil
declined."

Quoting Nick Hood, an analyst at Begbies Traynor, the report said
"European retailers may post a 12 percent drop in earnings this year"
explaining that discounts of 70 percent or more during the holiday
shopping season by U.K. stores hurt profit margins and may lead to a
raft of bankruptcies." Nokia, famous in these parts "could decline 14
percent in 2009, according to analysts' estimates."

The picture in Asia is not any prettier. Says the report, "half of
Asia will probably be in recession this year as a $700 billion drop in
export earnings causes economies in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South
Korea and Taiwan to shrink, according to Macquarie Group Ltd.
Japanese corporate earnings may extend their slump after the yen rose
against all major currencies in 2008 and eroded the value of exports.
Credit Suisse Group AG estimates earnings will be weakest in the first
half at carmakers, machinery producers and technology companies.
Japanese automakers are slashing output, jobs and profit forecasts as
the global recession deters consumers from buying new cars and
sport-utility vehicles. Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's biggest automaker,
last month predicted its first operating loss in 71 years for this
fiscal year because of the slump and a stronger yen. Vehicle demand
from emerging markets, where automakers had counted on sales shoring
up collapsing demand in the U.S., Europe and Japan, is also likely to
decline as fallout from the credit crunch and economic slump spread,
said Song Sang Hoon, a Seoul- based analyst at Kyobo Securities Co.
"No one will be immune from this downturn. It's time to see who's
losing least, not who's winning more," he said.

Now, what's the point of this copious use of a largely uninspiring
report? Is it simply to show how bad it has gotten and how bad it
could get in order to scare you? No way! The point is that the divide
is not that of geography; it is spiritual! The point is that the
wisdom of man is failing, just as the Bible says it would. It is to
show that your socio-economic well-being and mine cannot be guaranteed
by the system of the world, the Babylonian dog-eat-dog system run, in
truth manipulated by a few ungodly people.

Pope Pius XI, described the operators of the system like this: "…It is
patent that in our days, not wealth alone is accumulated, but immense
power and despotic economic domination are concentrated in the hands
of the few, who for the most part are not the owners but only the
trustees and directors of invested funds, which they administer at
their own good pleasure…This domination is most powerfully exercised
by those who, because they hold and control money, also govern credit
and determine its allotment, for that reason supplying, so to speak,
the life blood of the entire economic body, and grasping in their
hands, as it were, the very soul of production, so that no one can
breath against their will..."

Would you rather continue to put your trust in a system run by people
such as this; people who love dishonest gain and would sacrifice you
to retain their power and comfort; people who in spite of their
expertise keep getting caught in the contradictions of their evil
methods? Wouldn't you rather switch over to God's economy, run by
principles that do not change, motivated by love, utilizing strategies
supplied by His omniscient Spirit and operated with the sole purpose
manifesting the blessings that the Bible says have been yours from the
very beginning? That is the challenge before us all in 2009.


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