The sky is falling

[rshoffer]

DOW down almost 1000 points on 2 days. House prices in the bucket. All the news networks are babbling incoherently. Bush says nothing and the 2 candidates are in so far over their heads they're lost. Our Congress says "screw it" and they're going on vacation. We're doomed.

[tony]

It may be good that Congress is taking a vacation.

[Number 6]

I think Neil Cavuto is pretty coherent.

[JohnN]

rshoffer, you're right
My suggestions:

1)prayer
2)learn to really like beans
3)enjoy a comfortable retirement, just don't live too long

[Boomer]

You know, I have a few bucks in my purse right now.

My purse is right here beside me.

And I just took a close look at this money of mine. This money right here in my purse.

And I had never really noticed before.

But right there, on the front, right there, as plain as day, right there on the front of this money of mine, it clearly says, "This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private."

Ohhhhh, now I get it.

Boomer the Bailer

[Muncle]

:pepper2: BUY! :a040: There are a lot of stocks and funds that are having tremendous sales this week. It's like going to Beall's Outlet on Mondays.

[Lucko]

On the way up, we earn.
On the way down, we learn.

[AJ Tower]

Please read this:

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/105785/Worst-Crisis-Since-1930s-With-No-End-Yet-in-Sight

Who cares who is responsible for this, lets fire congress. The are the only folks who can afford a vacation.


This is beyond real!

[graciegirl]

I agree with Boomer. Whatever Boomer says. That Boomer is smart about a lot of things. I have my money tied up in the corner of my handkerchief.

[rshoffer]

:pepper2: BUY! :a040: There are a lot of stocks and funds that are having tremendous sales this week. It's like going to Beall's Outlet on Mondays.My Edward Jones guru calls me almost daily with the same plea!

[784caroline]

ONe suggestion on a morning talk show was to TURN THE COMPUTER OFF...and do not look at a financial page every hour. These are supposed to be "long term" investments. Easier said than done!!

[TomW]

Two years from now we will look back and wish we had bought stocks at these low prices. Some of the best American companies are on sale this week.

[livsea2]

6 months from now you will look back and wish you had bought yesterday at 3:30 P.M. If history proves out. (I did!) You still have time to buy but hurry.:coolsmiley:

[ouma1938]

I agree, let's fire the Congress. Do it while they are on vacation. They probably won't even notice that their desks are gone when they get back!

[chelsea24]

:pepper2: BUY! :a040: There are a lot of stocks and funds that are having tremendous sales this week. It's like going to Beall's Outlet on Mondays.

Was watching Susie Orman and she said this is NOT the time to buy unless you can leave the money alone for (are you ready) five years! I am not going to pretend to be well versed on the Stock Market. Just telling you what I heard. Apparently she doesn't see an upswing for a very, very long time. :shocked:

[samhass]

Chels, I think you have to pick your spots and do DD. IMHO, this is exactly the time to buy..but fundamentals have to be good.

[livsea2]

Chels, I think you have to pick your spots and do DD. IMHO, this is exactly the time to buy..but fundamentals have to be good.


SAMHASS you are very wise! Yes fundamentals do need to be good! I gave the "short" answer. There hasn't been a better time to buy than yesterday afternoon in a loooooong time.

[livsea2]

Was watching Susie Orman and she said this is NOT the time to buy unless you can leave the money alone for (are you ready) five years! I am not going to pretend to be well versed on the Stock Market. Just telling you what I heard. Apparently she doesn't see an upswing for a very, very long time. :shocked:



Sorry I didn't see Chelsea24's post before I 'spoke". You should never ever invest in the stock market unless you want long term results. ANything less is gambling and I don't gamble. (except the occasional $20 on the slots). That said Susie Orman doesn't believe in the history of the stock market and what it has done EVERY time the same situation has occured then hmmmm maybe she's right and maybe she's wrong we shall see. But me... I already made money. :a040:

[rshoffer]

Was watching Susie Orman and she said this is NOT the time to buy unless you can leave the money alone for (are you ready) five years! I am not going to pretend to be well versed on the Stock Market. Just telling you what I heard. Apparently she doesn't see an upswing for a very, very long time. :shocked:5 years is a relatively short investment period.

[Boomer]

Suze Orman is known to be a conservative investor. I read somewhere that she invests like "a retired grandmother." I may have read that first in the interview she did with the NYT, I think it was, a year or two ago.

In fact, at the time, the news of her investing style came as a surprise to some. It seems like there was something in the interview about how Orman recognized that she had lots of millions and did not feel the need to simply try to make more millions just for the sake of making more millions. Interesting.

I have been trying to find that old interview to link in here but I could not. I hope I am remembering it right. I did find the recent one with Larry King though.

I think Suze Orman has found a niche. She educates. She does not intimidate. (Well, maybe sometimes when she yells, "YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT!" at those goofadoofs who call in to her show. But they need to be intimidated. I help her yell at them if I am home on Saturday night watching the show.)

So anyway, if you are interested in reading what Suze Orman had to say about all this recent news, here's the link:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/09/17/lkl.suze.orman/

Boomer

[billethkid]

you might lose depending what you bought when.
It is hard to understand why people get all upset over "paper" losses.
I know there is always a first time, however the stock has always come back as proven by it's track since the early 40's. Google stock market history and there will be a lot of information to absorb.
As one expert said in the last few days we are closer to the bottom than the top. The market has lost in excess of 20% since last October. Historically it has gone down to 25-30% before rebounding.
And yes, it is possible the current environment will set a new record. However, The United States investments are so intertwined internationally, it won't be long before the big money people from other countries come in and start buying up these banks, insurance and mortgage companies at bargain prices. Once that starts the rest will jump on board.
As a result of sell offs in recent weeks there are trillions of dollars sitting in investor cash accounts waiting till the right time.....that is a lot of money waiting to get back in.
It was in the news this morning China (big surprise) is shopping for the bigger banks here in the USA. Soon to be followed by the oil rich in the Mid East.

The rest of the world cannot afford to have a US economy that is not sucking in their exports.

We'll see.
And for some analysts to be forecasting it may take 5 years to recover....I guess that could be viewed as a safe conservative guess....if it happens sooner then their is/was no harm.
The market will not sit still for 5 years...IMHO.

Not an authority on the markets, but I do read a lot to try and understand where best to put my pittance...CD's and shoe boxes don't do well.

BTK

[Lucko]

You all should have bought before lunch today while there was blood in the streets. However, this isn't over !!! It was once said that "Great wealth comes from buying opportunities in the midst of fear." There are some good stocks that appear oversold, if you are fearless.

[chuckinca]

A sale is a commission - sell or buy it is still a commission!



.

[The Great Fumar]

Don't panic and sell, it will come back , it always has ...

Actually their are some good buys out there , honest !!!



This is not turkey lurkey time fumar

[Lucko]

Commissions don't add up like they used to. You can buy or sell stock in the $5.00 to $7,00 range and you can do options without commissions and only pay $.75 or less per option. I just left Merrill because my cost to trade went from $8.00 per trade for the past few years to suddenly over $360.00 after discount in April !!! And they wonder why they are falling apart !!! I had been with Merrill since I was in 8th. grade in 1955.

[Boomer]

Could this thread title be far more appropriate than we realized a couple of days ago?

I just turned on the television to hear some financial news. It is early so I am not sure I am even hearing this right. It sounds like there is a plan afoot to just bail them all out.

I have no idea what is going on anymore.

The massive failure by Congress to oversee regulation will not punish anybody but the taxpayers.

Each of us has seen parents who give their children no guidelines; ignore the kids' problems while they pursue their own interests; refuse to even acknowledge the existence of problems that are all too obvious; turn the kids into monsters; and then bail those monsters out of any big messes they get themselves into. Indulgent, selfish, greedy parents. We have seen a few through the years. Have we not? And now we have seen an indulgent, selfish, greedy government. (And no, I do not expect the government to be my mommy and daddy. I did what I was supposed to do. I was responsible with money. Now what?)

Somebody here used the term "Corporate Welfare." That's what it looks like to me. And we all know who pays the bills for welfare.

This picture is far bigger than just being able to make a few bucks on those rapid mood swings of the market. This is huge. We are witnessing economics history. They will study this one.

Maybe my plan for the day should be to just go spend some money.

Boomer in the Morning

[samhass]

Boomer, two days ago was the time to spend money. Premarket this AM is wild.

[billethkid]

once again staring us all in the face. The CEO's and boards of directors for the institutions that are "all of a sudden" in trouble to the point they are on the brink of bankruptcy???? That is just not the way it works, especially when we are hearing from top tier financial institutions.
Having been responsible for corporate assets in a fortune 500 company, knowing the reporting and reviews that take place, knowing the planning, re-planning and follow up that takes place when ever the ship might get pointed in the wrong direction....all to make sure it gets back on financial course. THERE ARE NO SURPRISES of the magnitude we are seeing and hearing about today. Just go back to the last quarterly statement....or the last annual report...if there is no evidence or discussion in the CEO/President report on the state of the business, then one has to wonder if there was manipulation.
What other explanation could there be. I am sure there are those that will attempt to describe the current housing debacle or something else that came up quickly. I don't but that from top tier, supposedly world class organizations whose primary business is MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!
These people are not only NOT being taken to task for their so called failing company, they are still getting multiple million dollar bonuses.
Now if Congress want to work on something :1rotfl: let them investigate the real problem.
Our country is being allowed to wallow in it's own messes due to lack of accountability and number one on the list is Congress....they do and accomplish nothing and are held accountable for what?
Can you tell this is among my favorite subjects:laugh::laugh:

BTK

[Peachie]

Right on, Sam... stock futures this AM are over 400 pts right now. Wow!! :shocked: I think there is too much money looking for too much profit on too little capital, the whole stock market looks like a house of cards. I got a kick out of one of the CNBC guru's telling us yesterday when the market was sooooo low that a great place to make money was in a company that provides treatment for kidney patients on dialysis because they have to have those treatments 3 times a day. And we wonder why our health system is broken? The stock market plays a big part in that fact. People are making their fortunes off the backs of the ill and chronically ill as we watch patients pay HUGE amounts of money to these public companies so the patients can live ughhhh!

[Boomer]

I have never been able to master the art of tunnel vision. This is so far beyond the thrill of the chase to capture returns on a market in the throes of rapid mood swings.

And I think I might actually be finally running out of words to even talk about it. So that will just have to be the silver lining, I guess.

Boomer

[samhass]

Boomer, I think you have to take the thrill of the chase out of the equation. You have to look at so many different factors when purchasing a stock. It's more about science and wishing you had a crystal ball to go with it.

[Rich42]

Well, don't be so pessimistic. The market was up 900 points during the same week!!!

[dbdavis]

rshoffer, you're right
My suggestions:

1)prayer
2)learn to really like beans
3)enjoy a comfortable retirement, just don't live too long
With all the negative news lately, like many of you I'm stressed out and worried about my plans for the future. There is nothing, or very little to smile about... until I read this.
Thank you for making me laugh to the point of tears. I've come to realize that I can't lose my sense of humor. I must move on with my life and hope for the best with the attitude that this too shall pass. I just hope it passes in my life time.

[Boomer]

This thread was started just over a year ago, and for some reason, I stumbled across it tonight, while I was looking around in the archives when I should have been doing something useful.

I am going to add a link here to an article that was just published in Kiplinger's October 2009 issue. It's a snapshot of the stocks that make up the Dow and they rate them buy, sell, or hold. While I think it takes a little more to make that decision than just glancing through a short article in a magazine, I still found it interesting, especially in retrospect, looking back to last year at this time.

The article also says that the Dow is so over as an index. Hopelessly out of style or something. (Oh well, I probably am, too. And I think my mostly buy and hold philosophy is also out of style. But every once in a while, I get rid of something. I have had two husbands, after all.)

I did pick up a little KFT and JNJ last spring. But just a little. The one I am beating myself up for missing the boat on is 3M. But who knows? I sure wish I had bought 3M though.

Anyway, here's the link. It's kind of interesting if you are interested, but not any earth-shaking, wonderful, sure-thing, stock-picking advice. That does not exist anywhere, as we all know. The most interesting thing to me is to look back a year. And I have to admit that I wonder if we are at the top and possibly in for a long, flat run........at best.

http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2009/10/what-now-for-the-dow.html?kipad_id=5

Boomer

PS: Hey, Tony, I just looked and this thread is in the wrong forum. It is so old that it was started before the investment forum was in existence here. So maybe please back up the moving van and move this thread to where it belongs. (Geez. I am starting to sound like some kind of librarian. Just gotta get those threads all put where they can be found. Oh dear! Oh my! I hope I don't try to catalogue them. Give 'em all Dewey Decimal numbers. Then I will really start to worry about myself. I was perfectly sane when I started here. Really. Really.)