Sandy aftermath will be far worse than reported...

If nothing else we have learned one thing, when disasters strike there is an initial onslaught of coverage, intense and dramatic coverage with much slick “mainstream” presentation and of course saturation of advertising opportunity.

Disaster coverage has a shelf-life though…. and it seems any particular chronic incident drops off the radar once perceived it has no further promotional juice. This is a terrible pattern because the real news is always in the months and years subsequent to the initial circumstance.

I’m always amazed how quickly the spotlight shifts away from the ongoing daily miseries of the victims and afflicted and often gross “recovery” mismanagement is a mainstay of subsequent followup “news” rather than the uplifting words of comfort one would expect.

It seems the criminal element is drawn like flies to a rotting carcass when emergency “funds’ are made available. It is here I should list examples of both short lived coverage and fraudulent activity surrounding disaster aftermath, unfortunately these lists would overwhelm the internet.

Be that as it may… you will see no shortage of in-depth analysis around the topic of wealth creation as it relates to disaster aftermath. As much as human suffering is soon relegated to the news void, wealth creation bobs up front and center as the pundits and analysts fall over each other to find the ideal strategies to capitalize on the situation, it is there in the pages of financial journals you will find the best assessment of aftermath depth and scope.

Disaster equates to opportunity these days and may represent sad commentary about the state of  the human condition today. In what well developed society would wealth creation opportunity usurp the prerogative of human well-being? The answer to that is short! A sick and unwholesome society.

This can be a useful perspective if one is an entrapped citizen of a psychopath run society, it can assist in knowing and understanding the pitfalls of such a situation, it can assist in setting personal expectations which can lead to forming appropriate coping strategies. Ignoring the stark truth of the matter can and will lead to a state of abysmal disappointment or even increased threat to self, relying on self is paramount.

Self-determination is key when formulating coping strategies.

Already the denizens of wealth creation are sifting through the garbage bins of opportunity.

Economists fear worst for super-storm Sandy’s damage to fragile US recovery

The real effect won’t be felt for several weeks, and it may be months and even years before the final cost of Sandy is calculated.

The initial estimates take the usual response to a major natural disaster: yes, there will be losses caused by damage but these will be largely offset by the stimulus of rebuilding. Much lost production will be made up in subsequent weeks as companies and workers catch up with any backlog, while the consumer spending foregone by the days lost to the storm will be merely displaced to later dates or other avenues. Some sectors, such as tourism and transportation, will have permanent losses – empty hotel rooms and airline seats caused by cancelled bookings can’t be resold later – but that effect will be brief and limited to the peak of the storm.

That was the case with Hurricane Irene, which hit the area over a year ago and caused insured property damage worth $4.3bn, according to the Insurance Information Institute. But Sandy had a far bigger impact on the region, and hit a wider area. It may be that the final bill is well in excess of the early numbers being talked about on Tuesday.

One of the first estimates was from Gregory Daco and Nigel Gault of IHS Global Insight, which said said early calculations of infrastructure damage was for losses worth $20bn. Lost economic activity could boost the overall total to $30bn-$50bn. 

Bain Capital Finds an opportunity in Sandy

As millions across the nation are glued to the Weather channel to get the latest updates about hurricane Sandy, A managing partner went to the social media to let people know that how the company has got shares in the channel which has garnered maximum interest right now in the nation. 

In the coming days, as the freshness of new hurt wanes, expect the financial sector to squeeze every drop of profitable opportunity from “Sandy” their new pin-up honeypot.

You may be wondering about degree of human suffering and ongoing struggles, unfortunately that story-line is not enduring and you will need to dig deep to find it – it will be found underneath the voluminous… “personal wealth creation from sorrow”  file.

Good, bad or indifferent… that is where society has graduated to…

When promotional juice runs out…

Stay tuned…