Now, North Texas can lay claim to the newest victim, Highland Capital Management.  Highland Capital is currently liquidating two funds, the Crusader Fund and the Credit Strategies Fund.  The partners of Highland Capital Management told their clients that:

“Unprecedented market volatility and disruption to the financial system continue to pose huge challenges, with conditions having deteriorated significantly over the past 60 days and in particular over the last two weeks.”

The Crusader Fund has around $1.5 billion in assets while the Credit Strategies Fund possesses around $500 Million.  Demonstrating the difficulties faced in this economic environment, the liquidations of these funds will take up to four years because of the logistics of selling off such a large numbers of assets.

This is just another sign of troubled times for an economy struggling to get its footing amid a credit crisis and plunging stock values.  All of these forces, combined with increasing joblessness and shrinking consumer spending, are causing a great deal of belt tightening at the corporate and individual level.

Retailers from mom and pops to auto dealerships are seeing huge declines in business as we approach the critical holiday season.  Some businesses (e.g., Wal-Mart) tend to thrive in such dismal markets.

“We are well positioned to capture new clients as the discretionary income of wealthy individuals shrinks,” claims dfw elite car club.com General Manager Tom Warren.  

“Our exotic car club (http://www.dfwelitecarclub.com) allows members to enjoy two dozen exotic cars without worrying about the regularly scheduled maintenance, depreciation, or other costs that come with owning these prestige automobiles,” continues Warren.

These tough economic times are going to require flexibility and creativity for both businesses and individuals to survive.  A car sharing club is one way to maintain a luxury lifestyle on a slimmer budget.

Written by G.D. Gregory.  If you are interested in having me write stories for you or seeing my portfolio, please contact me at ggpsu@yahoo.com.