How amazing is it to wake up morning after morning to headlines telling us that what was unthinkable yesterday has happened today.

To punctuate a remarkable four-month period in the history of the markets, the Federal Reserve set a target for short-term interest rates at as close to zero as you can get. A $50 billion Ponzi scheme devastated charities and family trusts from coast to coast.

And the fate of the Big Three automakers hung in the balance with the White House pondering a $14 billion cash infusion.
In an effort to add some perspective to these epoch-making developments, here are some thoughts:

Global events always have local implications.

Consider the case of Special Devices, the Moorpark-based maker of explosive triggers for car airbags and other applications. Once the 15th largest private company in the Tri-Counties, it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Dec. 15, citing the flagging car market and global economic turmoil for creating what CEO Christopher Hunter called a “tsunami” that forced it to seek protection from creditors.

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