Financial meltdown

The BBC: Warning as HSBC Profits fall 28%

Am I missing something here ? Over the last few days we've been told that several other banks profits are down. British Airways is also doomed for the same reason.

When did making a profit become a disaster ? Surely if a business always makes a profit it is successful ? Or do we now have to have a minimum profit level ?

This sounds like the sort of thinking that has recently said the rise in house prices could carry on for ever. Truth is that all economies are cyclical. Wise people remember this and use the good times to plan for the bad.

Maybe it is the obsession with youth and sticking graduates in positions when they don't have the experience, only gained through doing a job for a while, to fall back on. I bet some of the "old hands" knew exactly what was going to happen and prepared accordingly.