The Buzz on the Street: Are WaMu Deposits Safe? What About WaMu Stock?
The latest chatter concerns Washington Mutual. Will it sink too? Do its clients need to get out?
To WaMu depositors, I would say: Your money (up to $100,000 per account) is insured by FDIC. So in theory it is just as safe (or vulnerable) as everything else that is insured by the feds–and that pile of assets just grew a lot in the past two weeks.
To WaMu shareholders, I would say: Be very afraid. Things are very fluid, and the government can engineer a self-fulfilling prophecy if it wants to acquire 79.9% of your shares on the cheap.
Either way, the future does not look good for dollar-denominated assets. If you are a regular Joe, I would definitely advise reducing your checking account balances and instead loading up on “junk” silver. And you wouldn’t be doing it as an investment, but rather transferring one form of money into another, more traditional form.
