Well, the good part about this week is that banks all around the world did not explode, some kind of bailout plan was passed (though don’t ask us to decode it), Sarah Palin and Joe Biden managed to be civil and keep their mouths from f*ckng up at their debate (plus, a new favorite catch phrase was born!), Jeremy Piven’s hotness did not wane, weed suddenly became good for us, and we found out the identity of the REAL Joe Six Pack.

Let’s see, what else happened that wasn’t completely sh*tty…?

Oh, right. We let our inner Halloween bitterness out and felt much better for it, uncovered the horrible undertones to Allstate’s advertising campagin, and learned how to love and protect our awesome boobs.

Unfortunately, there were some not-so-great things that occured this week — and we’re not talking about our realization that we hadn’t blended our make-up one morning. Our birth control flipped the crap out, we realized our college dining halls were nothing compared to these, and the fun of Elementary School seems so, so far away.

Whether your glass is currently nice and half full or running on empty, take solace in the fact that the weekend has arrived to provide us cold beers, fresh-baked cookies, and HBO’s True Blood (What? You don’t watch this show?! Dude…find a way).

It’s official, kids. The Senate passed the bailout plan tonight! It took three long hours of debate (which any sorority girl can tell you is nothing compared to rush), but the Senate voted in favor of the newly adapted bailout plan that will cost a wee bit more than the original $700 billion dollars.  All we have to do now is wait for it to slide into the House…and hopefully pass there…

I am no economist so I can’t tell you exactly what is gonna happen next, but it looks like we won’t have to stock up on the canned goods for now!

So get out there and celebrate the fact that the stock market isn’t crashing, your student loans are still available and all that money you have in the bank is safe for another keg.

Mondays are always bad, especially after a weekend of heavy drinking (as if there are any others), but today is even worse. It’s bad. Very bad. Very, very bad.

Citigroup just announced that it will be buying Wachovia bank to save it from collapsing. Just like AIG. And WaMu. And every other FREAKING BANK IN THIS COUNTRY.

Seriously, are there any banks even left anymore?

I know that everyone is telling us not to freak out, that this is just a dip and that we will come back from it, but I am about ready to pull my money from the bank and invest it somewhere safe.

Like in denim. Or shoes. Or lots of new winter coats. Those greedy bastards on Wall Street won’t be able to take it from me there!

(In the second installment of our Expert Series Understanding The Economic Situation, we continue with the Q and A with a VP of an Investment Banking Firm. He knows his stuff and he’s gonna break it down for us in ways we can finally understand. Pay attention; he offers great advice for us college ladies for saving, spending, and not getting depressed. In case you missed the first part, read it HERE]

Do these recent economic waves mean college students and recent grads should stay away from investing in the stock market right now?

No - they should DEF participate and now is the time to do it. Recent and current grads should look to NON-financial stocks. Everything is down right now and there are so many bargains. Look to other tech and retail stocks. Buy stock and just let it sit. Don’t start trading regularly like I did when I was in college. I didn’t really make anything off of it, and if I had held onto the Google stock that I bought at $15, I would NOT be answering this email right now - I would be on a beach drinking fruity drinks with umbrellas.

How does one actually start to make smart investments?

Smart investments are ones that are based off of information, not emotion. An emotional investment is, “OMG, everyone is selling off finance stocks - I should sell mine too!” An informed one is made by reading 10K reports, poking around the internet for info, maybe even emailing or calling an investor relations representative of a company (they HAVE to talk to you and actually like doing so). Then you say, “Oh, Lehman is f*cked but JP Morgan is still in a strong position.” Read More »

We’ve sorta been freaking out lately about this whole economy thing. What the hell is going on? How bad is it? Should we start stocking up on non-perishables?

Depending on what channel we are watching, or what paper we are reading, we are hearing very different things. Most of which we do not understand.

So, we at CollegeCandy decided to bring in an expert: a VP of an Investment Banking Firm. He knows his stuff and he’s gonna break it down for us in ways we can finally understand. Pay attention; he offers great advice for us college ladies for saving, spending, and not getting depressed.

(Note: We had so many questions that it was just way too much info for a single post, so we will be breaking this one down into two. Come back tomorrow at the same time to find out the rest!)

CC: We keep hearing the words “Recession” and “Depression” - What’s the difference between them and which one are we REALLY dealing with now?

VP:The market, especially now that it has been globalized, is very cyclical. It goes through growth periods and reduction periods. A recession, in its most simple terms is an extended and significant contraction of the market that is evident in several indicators that are generally accepted as representative of the market. The REASONS for contraction are endless; everything from housing to taxes to the results of Rose Bowl affect the market, but it is important to note that a recession refers to SIGNIFICANT losses across the country for over 1 quarter (3 months), but - this part is important - it should be visible in the GDP. A depression is simply a sustained recession. Read More »