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The good news,
according to a new IMF working paper, Systemic
Banking Crises Database: An Update, is
that financial crises are more likely to begin in September than in any other
month, which suggests we may have a bit of time before the stuff (Europe,
China, fiscal cliff, etc., etc., etc.) really hits the fan (hat tip to Free Exchange).
 
The bad news,
however, is that no matter when the next disaster strikes -- and it will -- a
lot of people are going to have a hard time coping with the economic fallout,
based on the following Los
Angeles Times report, "Two-Thirds
of Americans Wouldn't Survive a Financial Emergency":
If the standard
financial wisdom is true – that surviving a financial catastrophe
requires a 6-month cache of emergency savings – then two-thirds of
Americans may be in for a nasty surprise.
Only a quarter
of U.S. adults have more than six months of funds set aside and readily
accessible for such disasters; 28% had none at all, according to
Bankrate.com.
Of the 1,000
survey respondents, 17% said they had three to five months of expenses squirreled
away in case of job loss, sudden medical bills or other unexpected events; 9%
didn’t answer the question.
Michael J. Panzner
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