This is a fascinating report from Megan Davies and Walden Siew of Reuter’s. Thanks to Jacques Snyman for sharing the link over on Facebook.

45 percent of world’s wealth destroyed: Blackstone CEO

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Private equity company Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) CEO Stephen Schwarzman said on Tuesday that up to 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed by the global credit crisis.

“Between 40 and 45 percent of the world’s wealth has been destroyed in little less than a year and a half,” Schwarzman told an audience at the Japan Society. “This is absolutely unprecedented in our lifetime.”

So, if your 401k is suffering, well… join the club! The whole world is in this one together, and that means we all have to get together and work our way out if it.
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Well, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics published their unemployment news yesterday, and it was nothing to smile about.

November 2008 US Unemployment Rate

Nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply (-533,000) in November, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.5 to 6.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. November’s drop in payroll employment followed declines of 403,000 in September and 320,000 in October, as revised. Job losses were large and widespread across the major industry sectors in November.

Oh, and by the way, these numbers only count the people who are actively looking for a job. An additional 422,000 people exited the work force for any number of reasons — they went back to school, retired or simply abandoned job searches out of sheer frustration.
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Well, you better get ready. Gas was near an all time inflation adjusted high back in April, but as of right now we’re already paying more than we’ve ever paid for a gallon of gas. According to the Wall Street Journal:

The skyrocketing price of oil, now up more than 44% so far this year, is battering the airline and auto industries and causing consumers to cut back on driving and nonessential spending.

That jolt is reinvigorating worries that crude prices could ratchet still higher, putting a severe squeeze on many economies around the world and deepening the growing tension between the world’s big oil exporters and consuming countries.

This chart illustrates the price of Gas in the US in both real dollars and inflation adjusted dollars. Either way we’re at the top of the scale right now.
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