[rshoffer]

The House doesn't pass the rescue bill--the Dow drops 700 points. The House passes the rescue bill-- the Dow drops over 1000 points in the next few days. The Fed cuts the prime rate by 0.5%--the Dow, since that announcement is down 222 points. Itsa one way street. Looks like Kramer's prediction of a Dow at 8200-8300 is about a week or so away. I wonder how many people are rethinking their retirement planning. What a difference a year makes.

[NJblue]

I saw Cramer's advice regarding getting out of the market and have to wonder whether he is contributing to this hysteria. There are some amazing bargains out there right now. At some point sanity will prevail and people who stay in or put new money in will make a lot of money in the next few years. I think anyone who follows Cramer's advice at this point is making a big mistake.

[SteveZ]

Originally Posted by NJblue

I saw Cramer's advice regarding getting out of the market and have to wonder whether he is contributing to this hysteria. There are some amazing bargains out there right now. At some point sanity will prevail and people who stay in or put new money in will make a lot of money in the next few years. I think anyone who follow's Cramer's advice at this point is making a big mistake.

After the Dot.Com's tanked in July 2002, the Dow went down to 7750. So, as bad as it is, it was worse and did eventually recover...

[billethkid]

in the past when things were turbulent he was an advocate of buy as much as you can afford to take advantage of the 5 year cycle upside. So now all he is talking about is the 5 year downside. Just balance what he advocates with other connected to the market experts.
Here is one to offset Cramer:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dow-theory-editor-turns-bullish/story.aspx?guid={1DA1B28C-8D5C-4381-A112-2F3414054AF9}

Now doesn't that feel better?

Good luck

BTK

[rshoffer]

Originally Posted by SteveZ

After the Dot.Com's tanked in July 2002, the Dow went down to 7750. So, as bad as it is, it was worse and did eventually recover...

I was 52 in '02. As we get older we feel like we're less able to wait for the recovery. It took 16 years to bounce back from the Depression. No problem if your 30... big problem if your 60. I've listened to my financial advisor and have sat tight through this but I gotta admit, not without some hand holding.

[Prizmz]

I overheard a conversation yesterday while on line in a box store.

A fellow reassured a woman the economy is cyclical, and her retort was lucid and direct. She averred,"Yeah, but I'm in my last cycle!"

[JohnN]

Why on earth would anyone listen to Cramer, the business pundits, the government or anyone else? Not any of these people have your interests at heart, they've got their own, period.

Look at the complete mess we're in. (And I've posted all this before)

Energy
Loss of Jobs from this country
Mortgage mess
Wars
Health Care
Social Security
Immigration and Borders
Govt and Business Ethics
on and on and on

what is it that's going to turn this around, folks? What are the fundamentals?
it's bad, it's seriously bad, and consumer spending isn't going to turn this around for a long time. The market may rebound some, but it's not strong and healthy, I just don't see it.

I'm very conservative and I sleep at night, though I pray for our country and my kids (and yours too).

[zcaveman]

I told my financial adviser to move all of my monies into the fixed accounts for each program and I would redistribute it when the smoke cleared. He convinced me that we should hold off a few days. I lost another $5000 since then.

All I want to do is protect my current value. When the market starts to come back I will redistribute the funds.

I did not do this the last time and went down about $60,000 before it started to come back. I do not need the aggravation.

I do not think that the market is going to come back for a while. Too many offshoot failures to recover from.

I call my FA again tomorrow and tell him to move it.

The good news is that I have total control over my other retirement accounts and was able to move it with no complaints from the computer and saved about $5000.

BTW: I am not talking about millions of dollars.

[The Great Fumar]

Speculators are driving this market and we are near the bottom....

If you've got the nerve , there are some fubulous buys our there .......

Nervey fumar

[Boomer]

Jim Cramer

That guy has always annoyed me. If he appeared on my television screen, I always hit the remote and sent him away.

But a couple of weeks ago he started showing up on those early morning shows, and I looked. And at first he was acting all confident. Well, sort of. But I noticed that he was starting to get that wild look in his eye, like a horse gets right before it stampedes. Sure enough.

I have no credentials for professional financial advice. I have been trusting my gut for years. I win some. I lose some. But dancing around with that bubble a little in the 90's sure made me wary of REIT's when they came calling. That tech bubble sure taught me a lesson.

I just cannot manage to relinquish control to an adviser. Some of them even want to buy me dinner first. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) It's just that I cannot let go of the decision making process. I must admit that I have gone through times when I fear that someday I will go stark raving mad and start putting it all into Beanie Babies or Pez Dispensers or Plates with Pictures of Elvis.

But for now, my adviser is still just me. Oh, I do have one client, Mr. Boomer. He keeps asking me where that woman went that used to make him all that money.

I remember one time in the wonderful days when a good friend was going to a family event where his cousin would be there and would be sure to try to sell him investments. Well, he did not like his cousin very much. And he, himself, did not know much about investments. But he knew he did not want to buy them from his cousin.

So I told him that his cousin would say to him, "Hey, I can get you 35%."

And then I told him that he could say, "Hey Cousin Fred, my dog could get me 35%."

And you know what happened when he met up with his cousin?

Well, those were his cousin's exact words, percent and all. And my good friend had his line all ready. And he did buy some stuff, but not from his cousin.

So anyway, I wish I could predict the market like I predicted those long ago words.

These are uncharted waters I do think.

No matter who is talking on television. No matter how cool they are trying to sound. I see that wild horse look in the eye. And sometimes I look in the mirror to check to see if that look is in my eye, too. But I am thinking about doing a little, just a little, shopping soon. It is going to have to be for long term though I think. But what do I know?

Boomer

[JohnN]

I might stick my toe in the water, but I still think the fundamentals are bad.
I don't see good signs here anywhere other than speculating the market is "at a bottom"

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by JohnN

I might stick my toe in the water, but I still think the fundamentals are bad.
I don't see good signs here anywhere other than speculating the market is "at a bottom"

I know what you mean. The only toe that I will stick into those uncharted waters is the little piggy on the very end. I just hope it does not end up going, "Wee! Wee! Wee!" all the way home.

Maybe tomorrow they can just let a day go by without trying to fix it. My guess, though I want to be oh so wrong, is that tomorrow will be another down day because -- oh who knows? Maybe because it is Friday.

A tsunami today. It took everything in its path. Even my boring consumer staples are taking a hit. The dividends are a little consolation prize. And I sure need consoling.

Boomer

[JohnN]

Boomer, Bush is talking today, so you can almost guarantee the market will tank again .

I don't like to play daily volatility and I think the long (medium) term is still dangerous. Again, what positives are there except saying "how low can it go"?
The crashing commodities (ie: OIL) is the one bright spot.

Interject the government into anything and it's a screwup that takes forever to get started, tons of extra $$ to support and doesn't work as expected.

[Boomer]

If you have not looked yet this morning -- Don't.

Boomer

[JohnN]

If.. IF.. I were a market timer, and I'm not, so I won't LOL

I might get back in today and expect some increase back,

8,000 seems like a low to me