Looks like AAPL is "correcting" nicely!

Have to agree ... it's great when market goes up but without the Fed ... DJIA would be 8-9000 or thereabouts IMHO. It's actually quite amazing to watch Ben Bernanke levitate ... gotta give him credit. He's the modern day Wizard of OZ and so far, it's working.

the real reason the market is up is because any other place one putes their money is paying 2% or less. As long as interest rates remain where they are the market is the best return. If you need the money in the short term you probably should look else where.

btk

I did; I told you yesterday! And today, at the end of traiding, the market is down 225.47. :)

1.5 %.....mathematically it is almost just noise on the curve.

btk

That's what I'm saying actually... at least in part. The Fed has flooded the system with new money and, among other things, forced interest rates lower. By manipulating the rates lower, and goosing the stock market higher, the de facto policy is to create a "wealth effect" such that investors will have no other choice except to put their money in the market to generate returns.

I think this policy is particularly pernicious when it comes to the elderly and retirees who, for the most part, don't fully understand what's happening. All they know is they can't make any interest income in bonds or CDs anymore so they go into the market. It's actually immoral in some ways but that's another topic.

You may fully understand and appreciate why you're in the market but I think there are a lot of people out there who don't and thus likely to get hurt at some point.

Excellent synopsis, TexaninVA. It's sad how undereducated people are as to the financial crisis boiling under the surface of the American economy. The Emperor has no clothes.

Rats, I didn't listen. I only lost 1% so it wasn't too bad but the next time I will listen better.

I agree about the Fed pumping up the market and that a lot of people will eventually get hurt. Although, inexperienced investors usually get hurt because they typically get out at the bottom and get back it at the top.

Having said that, the Fed action is not all bad. Cheep money has allowed many corporations to restructure their debt, thereby reducing their operating costs. Many are operating leaner and smarter in many respects. Many have continued to expand, albeit more slowly during the recession, so their stock prices are catching up with the growth and changes they have made in recent years. Yes, the Fed is helping to pump things up, but it's not all hot air in my opinion.

:)

The correction continues:
 

Down 170.33 today.

The Fed is a de facto central planner and it is hurting the economy. Wall Street as become addicted to the Feds buying. Banks are getting richer because they are dealing with low interest and so make money but then just sit on it. Why wouldn't they.

Retirees lose out because they are forced into the market when perhaps all they want re CD's etc.

The dam is going to burst and when it does the bond market is going to react the same way as the real estate market.

The kicker is by that time Bernanke will be sailing his boat along the Caribbean and probably denying paternity the this monstrosity called QE

the ONLY time you lose is if you sold your holdings. What a portfolio is worth at any given moment on a given day is just that....what it is worth IF YOU SOLD THEN (maybe).

Paper losses up and down are just personal score keeping. Pick one day each month to look at your holdings. Then just watch the trends.

It's kinda like weighing ones self every day...the human body can vary up or down depending on a lot of things...pick one day per week to get a better picture.....ditto the stock market.

If one is diversified properly the daily ebb and flow of the market is for the tums takers.

btk

Market will correct if Fed stops buying. The other wild card is Syria. Both could cause major down slides in the short term.

At some point the Fed will buy LESS bonds; they won't completely stop buying bonds all at once. That means interest rates will likely go up gradually. This gradual increase in interest rates, as the economy improves, won't hurt the market long term. All the fear about interest rates and Syria is being factored in now and that makes this correction a buying oportunity, IMHO.
I've been using this correction as an oportunity to reinvest money that has accumulated from dividends. I would have reinvested it anyway but this is an oportunity to take advantage of somewhat lower pricing.

Exactly! My net worth has taken a hit this last month, but my income has actually increased as two of the companies I invest in have announced an increase in their dividend. In 4 months, my net worth will have recovered (or not). As long as I keep enough cash on hand for 4-6 months of emergency spending, I don't have to sell any holdings "at the bottom". At this point in my life it's all about income, not the daily fluctuations of the market and the resultant "on paper only" fluctuations of my net worth. When the market goes up and my net worth increases, I don't have any more money in my pocket. When the market goes down and my net worth decreases, I don't have any less money in my pocket.