What will happen to us?

Torvald reads a letter.

...

Torvald: Damn!

Lili: Bad news?

Torvald: That insurance policy, the Eagle, a lot was in Lehmans.

Lili: Exposure?

Torvald: Fifty-five per cent! And on top of that, falling shares and the dollar.

Lili: Were we leveraged?

Torvald: No. At least not that. Only our own cash gone. But those youngsters…

Lili: What will happen to us?

Torvald: Buy gold, work longer, til 80, maybe.

___________________

Voice-over

Suddenly even ordinary people have to use rarely used words with new meanings in their everyday vocabulary. Lehman. Exposure. Leveraged.

When the news is all bad, victims wriggle (“What will become of us?”). But some still look for ways out, remain calm, devise strategies. Often presented with imperatives (Buy gold), comparatives (Work longer) and a prediction (Til 80) thrown in.

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