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Don't Panic About The Stock Market
consumerist.com — Seeing the greatest single-day drop in the Dow is probably not the kind of history anyone wants to be living through right now. The failure of the bailout bill to pass caused a big freakout in the market, which thought we were going to get a bailout today.
jordankasteler- 776 diggs
- digg it
- linharesalex, on 09/29/2008, -2/+59I'm buying stocks of valium and of rope-producers!
- sjbdallas, on 09/30/2008, -1/+17screw that, just buy all the stocks that dove today because they'll be back up in a month.
- rrc7cz, on 09/30/2008, -1/+4That's some great financial advice there Lou...
- Pasaris, on 09/30/2008, -5/+0Nice try. Sounds like you're trying to pump and dump.
- sardion2000, on 09/30/2008, -2/+3LOL That's how you make money in this type of market. Been making money hand over fist since the wobbles began, hope it continues :-D
- RipleyIsDead, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2It's bargain basement time, I'll be loading up as soon as it hits bottom.
- Memitim, on 09/30/2008, -0/+4He's trying to pump and dump nearly the entire stock market? You use the phrase "pump and dump" but I do not think it means what you think it means.
- ripple123, on 09/30/2008, -3/+1id get stock in companies that make 8ft long pieces of rope.
- honeybrass, on 09/30/2008, -1/+2I'm going to put an electric generator on the stocks so that when they fall they give us POWER!
- jcsw, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=29 ...
- Jake54321, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2Thank God I bought Pfizer..Zoloft sales should be through the roof!
- subliminalurge, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Screw Zoloft.
Jack Daniels, Anheuser-Busch, Miller Brewing Co, Phillip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, etc....
That's where you want your money at a time like this. - drewbe121212, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1As funny as that sounds, it is definitely true.
In times of crisis, the best thing you can do is stock up on boos. Atleast you will have that. - subliminalurge, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Wasn't meant to be funny.
Doesn't matter how bad the economy gets, people will still want their booze and smokes. (And probably porn.)
Somebody should step up and create a mutual fund called the "Sin Fund" that invests in nothing but companies that cater to bad habits and humanities base instincts. It would be the most recession proof mutual fund out there. - Jake54321, on 10/03/2008, -0/+1I also bought DEO - makers of Guiness, Capt Morgans, Jose Cuervo, and numerous other brain numbing beverages
- subliminalurge, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Screw Zoloft.
- mahadiga, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Stay in Stock markets only if can/will Short-Sell
- oldgal, on 09/30/2008, -0/+4Being retired, I'm cashing in on truck-loads of booze. The demand will be high and when the dollar doesn't work anymore I'll be able to barter.
- sjbdallas, on 09/30/2008, -1/+17screw that, just buy all the stocks that dove today because they'll be back up in a month.
- sjbdallas, on 09/30/2008, -4/+34Panic is what makes these kind of things worse. WaMu account holders panicked and took 16billion out over 10 days which killed the bank. Wachovia account holders started yanking their money out last week and now they had to be rescued. So now a bunch of stockholders panic and we have a huge drop in the market. If you look at the list of stocks losing money today it was all across the board so there were obviously people out there just selling because they were afraid everyone else would sell.
Everyone just needs to relax. The news media is leading us around like lemmings with their doomsday scenarios and scaring the heck out of anyone with more than 100 bucks in the bank or a 401k.- Y0tsuya, on 09/30/2008, -0/+8Last week I heard on the radio Wachovia was proactively rewriting crap mortgages acquired through their purchase of Golden West, probably eating massive losses in the process. If I heard they're screwing around with my deposits I'd pull my money out too.
- Hillsfar, on 09/30/2008, -0/+4Wachovia sold most of itself to Citigroup.
Citigroup paid $2 billion in stock for the Wachovia holdings it is getting - more than quadrupling its bank branch offices nationwide from some 1,000 to 4,300 - then immediately wrote down $42 billion in mortgage losses as a result of taking on Wachovia, and is now seeking more financing and the sale of more stocks in order to shore up its reserves - somewhere around $10 billion is needed.
While the FDIC said this does not involve the FDIC nor FDIC depositors insurance money, the FDIC is guaranteeing that Citigroup's losses will not exceed $42 billion by granting the FDIC $12 billion in preferred stock and warrants.
Sounds to me like a bail-out, all right.
- Hillsfar, on 09/30/2008, -0/+4Wachovia sold most of itself to Citigroup.
- Mpwns, on 09/30/2008, -0/+5its our right to want our OWN money. its a sad day when you can't pay rent because the bank you pay rent to lost the money they were also holding for you. people have the right to be scared those of us with almost nothing in the bank see just how bad it really is. so many empty houses out there. i bet you can think of at least 3 houses you know of right now that are for sale with no one in them. america is broke its just time to face it. it will be the best of times and the worst of times.
- sjbdallas, on 09/30/2008, -1/+3Yes, it's your own money but by putting your money into a bank you're buying into the nation's economy and the benefits it provides you (buying a car, buying a house, etc). Your money supports the whole credit market because banks can lend 10x their deposits. So if you have 10,000 bucks in WaMu, they can loan you or someone else $100,000, that's why they pay you interest on your deposit -- because they're paying you back for using your money. When you panic and take that money out, they lose the ability to loan that money. So sure, everyone can take their money out and stick it in a mattress but don't plan on buying anything on credit because that market won't exist.
- Mpwns, on 09/30/2008, -1/+2we still have credit? since when? our country has so much debt we managed to turn it into something you can buy.
- roodammy44, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2Is it just me or did the "long term" graph make the dow jones look incredibly bloated in the last 20 years?
Stock markets have 20 year bursts of growth followed by 20 years of stagnation, historically. This allows the market to catch up to the growth in the economy that has occurred. But seriously, do you see where the american economy has grown in the last 20 years? Most industry has left or hasn't changed fast enough (e.g. auto) and intellectual property is being devalued by the internet.
To be honest, if I had shares I would have sold a year ago. The writing's been on the wall for ages.
You could argue that selling now is like closing the door after the horse has bolted, but all the high profile investors have already left.
In recent years the stock market increases had barely kept track with inflation.- fabkebab, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1The NYSE is full of the stocks of international companies- they might well be growing outside the US, for example in Latin America
Who are all the high profile investors that have left? Can you please link to an article ?
- fabkebab, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1The NYSE is full of the stocks of international companies- they might well be growing outside the US, for example in Latin America
- poxonyou, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3This is basically an anti-panic article, but not by an economist.
I don't buy it. I think the last people to trust right now are those with a special interest in seeing Wall Street succeed. If everything is tanking and you really are best off getting your money out or put somewhere safer, they aren't going to tell you to do that. - Memitim, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2WaMu and Wachovia were both dead men walking. The only surprise is just how long they lasted once the shell games ended. The only people who have been caught by surprise by any of the failures and/or buyouts that have occurred so far are the people who haven't been paying attention to their business models of the past few years. I don't know ***** about anything and yet I saw every one of these failures coming long ago. Well, except for Citibank; I'm still trying to figure out how in the ***** they picked up Wachovia's banking ops when they should be up for fire sale themselves.
- Y0tsuya, on 09/30/2008, -0/+8Last week I heard on the radio Wachovia was proactively rewriting crap mortgages acquired through their purchase of Golden West, probably eating massive losses in the process. If I heard they're screwing around with my deposits I'd pull my money out too.
- kevinisms, on 09/30/2008, -1/+24We'll get through this. Yeah, it looks bad if you cashed in your stocks today, but you weren't planning on doing that anyway, right? Look at it as everything being on SALE!!!!
- jabberwolff, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2Fire sale? Everything must go?
Yeah sure, don't panic, and carry start carrying a towel. - bunnyman1, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Wall St is rolling back prices to save you more! ☺
- jabberwolff, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2Fire sale? Everything must go?
- chupavacas, on 09/30/2008, -2/+20"Remain calm! All is well!"
--Chip Diller
Animal House- BradleyNowell1, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1We're on double secret probation...whatever that is.
- Calculon, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1ROBOT HOUSE!!!
- MunkiWow, on 09/30/2008, -25/+0yes... ride it through...
this was created by Polesi... per news media
Her refusal to work with Republicans and ticked them off...
Why are we victim of party?- mrn111, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3Or could it be that the bailout was a bad idea in the first?
- EnnuiStudent, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3Why must we be a victim of your grammar?
- boulderomen, on 09/30/2008, -4/+1Its kind of like having the rug pulled from beneath them.
- koreaski, on 09/30/2008, -4/+1wish I was in the rosery business.
oh wait there's still time. them people aren't paying attention for bit still. - Shaman760, on 09/30/2008, -1/+3Exactly. It's all the visceral knee-jerk that makes everyone think the sky is falling. Everything is going to work out fine. Know why? Those at the top KNOW they ain't gonna get paid unless they loosen the ***** up. Our crisis is now THEIR crisis and they can just get in line to get paid, just like the rest of us.
And eventually, things flip and their children's children shall suffer the wrath of past regimes, and so it goes.... - gambit2121, on 09/30/2008, -2/+11don't panic.
- CandidateZero, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Yeah. Panickers look like whiners, and we all know how whiners are portrayed...
- drewbe121212, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1.... Like Panickers?
- Izult, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1bring a towel.
- CandidateZero, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Yeah. Panickers look like whiners, and we all know how whiners are portrayed...
- NigerianHair, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1If the fed-gov had bought into these companies, would that not have given them warrant-less access to bank customer data?
- Mpwns, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2they become part owners (controling stake). everyone they bailed out before this is at least 80% owned by the goverment. its a fire sale all wall street all right, and the white house saw they can buy the housing sector really cheap right now.kiss our last bit of privacy good bye. if you do not think im right maybe you should read the bills. i for one did we are letting them get away with it. if the next bail out bill fails as well they will try again before the market crashes. if it passes 2nd time around watch how quick banks start falling for big paydays. hell the banks said they need 1.2 trillion bucks to get out. kinda odd how that number came out after the pesident said 700 billion. and get this the 1st bailout said bush had control over the bailout money even after he was out of the white house.i don't wear a tin foil hat, i just know how to read.
- etsung, on 09/30/2008, -4/+6Well, when your local bank closes shop, your 401k value drops in half, and you get laid off....I think it might be too late to panic then.
- LilRabbitFooFoo, on 09/30/2008, -0/+11) Your bank deposits are FDIC insured. Who cares which one you use?
2) Only if it's tied into mutual funds that were overvalued to begin with. They will just correct.
3) Why would you get laid off? We're all still working. We still need to be producing and doing whatever we were the other day.
Don't let Bushco's latest "FEAR attack designed to milk another trillion from you" succeed.- subliminalurge, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1"3) Why would you get laid off? We're all still working. We still need to be producing and doing whatever we were the other day."
Because business runs on credit. If a farmer can't get a loan to harvest his crop, then the grocery store won't have any need to have you stock their produce aisle. If the farmer down the road can't get a loan to feed his dairy cattle, then the dairy has no need to have their employees report to work, and the grocery store doesn't need you to stock the dairy case.
If the car dealership can't get a loan to purchase inventory, good luck getting a job as a car salesman. (You don't think some guy just bought 250 cars out of his own savings to open up that car lot, do you?)
I could go on and on. Our entire economy depends on credit. If the credit market freezes, we are ALL *****.
- subliminalurge, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1"3) Why would you get laid off? We're all still working. We still need to be producing and doing whatever we were the other day."
- LilRabbitFooFoo, on 09/30/2008, -0/+11) Your bank deposits are FDIC insured. Who cares which one you use?
- 37RUSSK4N, on 09/30/2008, -2/+3dont panic ... lol !
- untitlednet, on 09/30/2008, -2/+1777 points down, eh? Could this be a highly elaborate ARG for Bungie's next game?
- Mpwns, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1no its vegas saying "haha"
- gnocchi1442, on 09/30/2008, -3/+46Let's get some perspective. It's not even close to the greatest single-day drop. -777 is a drop of 6.98%. In the 1987 crash, stocks dropped 22.6% in one day.
- charm803, on 09/30/2008, -3/+10Perspective?
You are asking for too much here!
This is digg. We freak out over everything. - JenniferInMO, on 09/30/2008, -0/+15definitely the largest point drop, but I agree that is misleading if we are to understand it in relative terms.
- Pradeek, on 09/30/2008, -5/+0Now thats encouraging. WTF!!!
- rockstar1o9, on 09/30/2008, -9/+7Your equivocating the word 'drop' in the article by confusing percentage with amount.
On Black Monday (Crash of 1987), the 22.6% single-day drop was still only 508 points.
777 > 508. - Y0tsuya, on 09/30/2008, -1/+9Points are meaningless. When you're investing, only percentages count. Who cares if BRK.A gained 1000 pts? On any other stock it'll be big news.
- Memitim, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1I still want to see someone write options on Berkshire just to see if they actually find a buyer. ;)
- richmomz, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Monday's drop didn't even rank in the top 10 worst market days on a percentage basis. And half that loss has already been recovered today (Tuesday).
- nikkon, on 09/30/2008, -2/+3You are assuming that the market won't continue down, perhaps with an even larger drop later in the week, or in October. Will the bottom be at today's -7%? No. -22%? Maybe. -95%? Possibly!
The scary thing is that no one really knows what the right thing to do today. Bail out or let it run its course? A sloppy bail out could result in even worse results down the road. Let it run its course and we could see the financial markets seize up and take down the whole global economy. Certainly a knee-jerk plan (formulated overnight by the clueless bozo's that deregulated this industry which led to this problem) is not likely to be the right solution.
Taking time to analyze the situation sounds like the usual bureaucratic foot dragging we get from Congress, but it is likely exactly what we need now. - BoneStamp, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2But the market has more value now, the percentage just shows overall market change... it doesn't describe how much was lost.
- richmomz, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1This didn't even rank in the top 10 worst days in the market on a percentage basis (was 18th according to CNBC). People are spazzing about this way too much.
- charm803, on 09/30/2008, -3/+10Perspective?
- ninjarabbits, on 09/30/2008, -3/+8Oh oh
Wee-ell-now!
Relax dont do it
When you want to go to it- CarStan, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3They need to play this in banks, so people stop pulling their money out and kill the banks.
- khn483, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1yep
- RaynOfDarkness, on 09/30/2008, -1/+5Most awesome thumbnail evar!
- xieodeluxed, on 09/30/2008, -1/+3Good thing I don't have any money. Stupid ***** expensive books..
... oh, no loans either. - excalibre, on 09/30/2008, -4/+5Right, I'm not taking any financial advice from the consumerist.com.
- charm803, on 09/30/2008, -3/+4Ever since I read about the day the stock market crashed in history books, I've been waiting for an opportunity to be able to buy cheap stocks.
I've used Share Builder for over a year now. - deadbaby, on 09/30/2008, -3/+13I agree. Panic doesn't really help anyone. No matter what happens to the American economy, and perhaps capitalism itself, America has a ton of assets -- land, natural resources, labour, knowledge workers, inventors, etc, etc, etc. We'll be fine no matter what happens to the stock market or any other aspect of the economy. Things may get bad for a while but we'd pull out of it within a couple decades.
That being said... here's what you SHOULD panic about:
We have a huge social security crisis looming in this country. One day you're going to wake up and turn on CNBC and see that we have a whole new crisis to deal with and it's going to require an even bigger bailout.
We have an energy crisis. One day you're going to turn on CNBC and find out the world wide auto industry is in crisis. Shipping & transportation has halted. Gas pumps are empty. This is a whole new crisis to consider.
We have a huge health care crisis. Someday soon we're going to be talking about bailing out hospitals because people just can't pay their medical bills anymore and the insurance companies are going bankrupt in the process.
So the moral of the story is, this economic crisis should have taught everyone that we have to be more progressive in this country. We can't keep ignoring problems. We have to get over this abortion, gay marriage, prayer in schools non-sense. It's not important. If we just keep ignoring the real problems here's what's going to happen. We're going to have one huge crisis... and then a few years later another. And a few years after that, another. Then you need to panic. That's when the country can be weakened so much, over a long period of time, that we can no longer sustain ourselves as a federal system. States will start breaking off. Foreign countries will start showing up to buyout what is left of our country.
Vote, and vote progressive if you want to ensure the future of the country. It could be either party, or a third party. It doesn't matter. Just vote for the progressive candidates who actually want to change things because I think it's pretty clear we cannot sustain this country for more than a few more decades at best if we keep going down the road we've taken the last 20 or 30 years or so.- Hangly, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1I admire your sense of social justice, but the money to deal with social security, health care, and energy just doesn't exist. All of us, and city-dwellers especially, need to start adjusting to the new reality.
The first two problems could be addressed if Americans started looking after each other. I'd start looking into that. And collapsed economies tend to use less energy, so that problem just about takes care of itself. - positron, on 09/30/2008, -3/+1Populist Socialism is not the answer to Corporatist Socialism.
- deadbaby, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1I'm not advocating any ideology. (although I do have my personal opinions on it) I'm just saying these problems have to be fixed because they won't fix themselves -- just like this crisis. Neither party will compromise and figure it out until the people are demanding a solution.
- 808ethan, on 09/30/2008, -0/+4The energy crisis is NOT about you, and your special little car. If oil vanished tonight, you could walk to the bike store, buy a bike, and get your ass to the grocery store.
The problem isn't moving people, its moving things. Big, heavy things that cant move themselves.
Think about everything you ate and drank today. How much does all that weigh? How far did it come? You need that much cooled and shipped to you, every day of the week. - LilRabbitFooFoo, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1Can you imagine what would have happened if we had allowed that Busho graft privatize Social Security scam to have happened a few years back?! All of our futures would have been riding on these derivative scams....shudder.
The market will correct itself. A lot of rich people will lose a big chunk of the phantom/on-paper money they didn't actually earn over the past decade. And, well, that's about it, folks.
- Hangly, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1I admire your sense of social justice, but the money to deal with social security, health care, and energy just doesn't exist. All of us, and city-dwellers especially, need to start adjusting to the new reality.
- Hillsfar, on 09/30/2008, -3/+2YTD, Dow down 21.5%, Nasdaq down 24.6%, S&P 500 down 24.1% as of Sept 29, 2008.
- Hillsfar, on 09/30/2008, -0/+4YTD, Dow down 21.5%, Nasdaq down 24.6%, S&P 500 down 24.1% as of Sept 29, 2008.
YTD, I'm down about 5% - I had figured there'd be something major so I got as much out of stock as I could back in January.
However, I do think there are some good stocks now. Seriously, look into dividend plays and value plays. This is when value stocks and dividend stocks are a great buy. Some solid companies with great balance sheets and low debt are worth looking at because their dividend pay-outs are now hovering from 7% to 10% - some even more! That's great inflation-fighting ROI just on the dividends alone! Plus, you will be able to ride the value when it's recognized, and you'll be able to ride the growth when a bull market comes again, too.- isntreal, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1fyi... www.reddit.com
- SymbolicChaos, on 09/30/2008, -1/+6First, it is slightly cheaper; and secondly it has the words Don't Panic inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover. But the story of this terrible, stupid Monday, the story of its extraordinary consequences, and the story of how these consequences are inextricably intertwined with this remarkable book begins very simply.
It begins with a stock market. - Disgod, on 09/30/2008, -1/+7The stock market has become the world's largest prisoners dilemma situation ever.
- Jeepy, on 09/30/2008, -1/+2No offense but this article is a little irresponsible. Sure, panic will only make things worse but actually suggesting right now is a good time for young people to invest is playing fast and loose with the facts. It's more than likely the DOW will fall below 10k and how far below depends on the progress towards a solution of the hemorrhaging of speculators and foreign investors. The debt may take care of itself but confidence in the market isn't as easy to build back up.
Saying the DOW will recover in the long term does not exclude the possibility that it will dip into the mid 9000s or even in the 8k range before this is over in a worst case scenario. Investing now short term or long term isn't a good idea but if you do have funds tied up in the market and you aren't close to retirement age yeah you should leave them alone.
Oh, and I realize that advocating people to not invest only hurts confidence in the market but I don't think shares of "bravery" will help your portfolio any :P- SymbolicChaos, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1"Investing now short term or long term isn't a good idea but if you do have funds tied up in the market and you aren't close to retirement age yeah you should leave them alone"
But should you keep paying into them? I understand not jumping the gun and investing like mad right now, but overall shouldn't continuing to throw the same amount at a 401k every pay period be beneficial in the long-run?- Jeepy, on 09/30/2008, -1/+3Simply put you should not invest a single dime until the markets settle however long that will take. If you have investment capital right now, bonds and plain old high yield savings are the only safe bet at the moment unfortunately. People advocating commodities are also putting their faith in foreign markets so while less risky it's still an unknown with the volatility shown this week.
The point of investment(in theory) is to maximize profit vs risk so when risk becomes an unknown factor you can't figure out the profit part and it defeats its own purpose. - covertbadger, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3"But should you keep paying into them?"
Yes, absolutely. You can't predict the bottom of the market, and if you miss it you potentially miss out some of the initial rebound which is when some of the biggest gains can be achieved. If you have monthly payments, keep them.
Do not, repeat, do not listen to people who tell you to time the market. Work out your asset allocation based on age (or years to retirement), NOT on current asset performance, and stick to it. People who tell you to get out of the market and into bonds are advocating the same panicky sheeplike behaviour that causes so many people to get their fingers burnt. - Jeepy, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1Well covert is using typical market trend theories which are great for maximizing profit at minimal risk, but again you're dealing with perhaps the most volatile market in modern history. If there's another unexpected downturn after you've payed into them again you could be looking at waiting for a decade while DOW recovers 2.5k. Imo discretion is the better part of valor here but if you have money you don't mind tying up for 6 years min TYPICALLY you'll see a profit, your call.
If you can't live with yourself if you let 6% ROI slip through your fingers I guess take coverts advice heh. - covertbadger, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3"If there's another unexpected downturn after you've payed into them again you could be looking at waiting for a decade while DOW recovers 2.5k. Imo discretion is the better part of valor here but if you have money you don't mind tying up for 6 years min TYPICALLY you'll see a profit, your call."
I'd go so far as to say that if you aren't prepared to tie up your money for 6 years, you've got no business investing in the stock market. The money I invest now (and I've been putting about $800 monthly into the S&P 500 throughout this mess) is staying put for 20-30 years. If your horizon is 6 years, you might as well put it on a horse. - Jeepy, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1Minimum isn't exactly a horizon and I mentioned a decade to even break even so unless he's like 20 OR has funds which he doesn't need(not everyone can lock capital up for 20-30 years) he may want to be careful. I personally know a few folks that aren't going to have comfortable retirements and they invested well over 15 years ago.
- covertbadger, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3If he's investing in a 401K, it's likely the money is intended to be locked up until retirement. I know it's possible to withdraw funds for a house deposit, but I would not advocate that in the short term.
The other key thing is to rebalance risk as retirement age approaches. If the folks you know are nearing retirement and they are struggling, it's because they should have been reducing their exposure to the stock market over the years. Someone within 5 or 10 years of retirement should have the majority of their portfolio in bonds.
That doesn't change the fact, however, that the correct action for someone currently funding a 401K on a monthly basis is to continue doing so. Changing asset allocation in response to approaching retirement is fine; changing it because the market is volatile is very silly. Volatility shouldn't scare a young investor because they have time; and it shouldn't scare an old investor because they shouldn't be badly exposed to it.
- Jeepy, on 09/30/2008, -1/+3Simply put you should not invest a single dime until the markets settle however long that will take. If you have investment capital right now, bonds and plain old high yield savings are the only safe bet at the moment unfortunately. People advocating commodities are also putting their faith in foreign markets so while less risky it's still an unknown with the volatility shown this week.
- SymbolicChaos, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1"Investing now short term or long term isn't a good idea but if you do have funds tied up in the market and you aren't close to retirement age yeah you should leave them alone"
- Jordan117, on 09/30/2008, -2/+11You what's really giving me the creeps? This NPR interview with Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall of California:
http://tinyurl.com/4pwu9l
Dude's facing a hard-fought re-election campaign in a conservative district, and yet he still voted for the bill, which has proven politically unpopular. But he admits in the course of the interview that he felt it was the right thing to do for the country, that he was even willing to risk his seat in Congress in order to help the bill get passed.
Think about that, now. A modern-day American politician openly admitting that they are risking their political career to do what's best for the country. That alone should give pause.
But most chilling about the interview was that, right after Marshall had finished explaining that this bill just *had* to get passed to avoid economic disaster, the NPR reporter broke the news that the bill had failed.
"Oh... my God," Marshall says.
Silence for several seconds.
He then hastily recovers and finishes his thoughts in a shaking voice and gets off the line within a minute.
This frightens me.- Jordan117, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2Sorry, that should be "Democratic Rep. John Marshall of Georgia". I guess I confused the D-GA with D-CA.
- xxnightopsxx, on 09/30/2008, -3/+0I just want to do the blonde in the photo...
- acknotSW, on 09/30/2008, -2/+2Sounds to me like a great agument for term limits for congress.
- LilRabbitFooFoo, on 09/30/2008, -2/+1Don't be frightened. Anyone who voted for the bill was either REALLY ignorant of what's actually going on (by design by the FEARmongering Bushco) or hugely in the pocket of those financial sector lobbyists who want that graft to avoid having to lose the profits they made over the last decade (like almost all of McCain's team). He may be presenting a noble face, but he's either woefully ignorant or a lying scumbag.
- Asianwaste, on 09/30/2008, -4/+2Buried for bad photoshopping.
- isntreal, on 09/30/2008, -2/+1Buy stock in moped companies.. I live in a poor town, for cheap rent while in college. All of these people drive mopeds.
- DroppedGT, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3Whats with the graph chart line crashing into the woman's eye?
- kurrent, on 09/30/2008, -1/+2because it's awesome?
- AbYsMaLWaRT, on 09/30/2008, -6/+1mark my words.. We are *****
do your research PEOPLE!!
stop looking at stocks and view the bigger picture, photoshoped or not.
Eat this ; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgJFE_igHyI- mistertrogdor, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1It's hard to break free,
from a prison, with bars you can't see.
Why, oh why didn't I take the blue pill.
People don't like thinking about situations that are entirely possible. Such as Martial Law, and that our economy was designed to fail ever since the Federal Reserve stepped in. That's how we continue to be 'surprised' with all these problems, by not ever thinking 'what if?'.
Most Americas still cling desperately to the manufactured 'reality' resulting from the works of the psychoanalysts during WWII.
http://digg.com/general_sciences/The_Engineering_o ...
- mistertrogdor, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1It's hard to break free,
- tomega, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3Dugg for gore pic.
- honeybrass, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Everyone panics when the stockmarket moves, sometimes its justified, today it was pure speculation.
- paker, on 09/30/2008, -1/+2Buy precious metals, gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, NOT paper stocks if you want peace of mind. Gold is up about $50.00 an ounce since the bailout failed to pass.
- covertbadger, on 09/30/2008, -0/+6And yet still down by over $100 since March, and still less than half its value from 1980 in adjusted dollars.
Gold is just about acceptable as a small (5%) part of a portfolio. As a place to keep the majority of your wealth, its a catastrophe. - korvan504521, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1Buy guns. And ammo. That Viggo movie coming out soon?
It's not a movie, its a prophecy!
/my chicken little impression
- covertbadger, on 09/30/2008, -0/+6And yet still down by over $100 since March, and still less than half its value from 1980 in adjusted dollars.
- xxnightopsxx, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1SELL! SELL! SELL! SELL NOW!!!
PS there's nothing to worry about... - hoist0that0rag, on 09/30/2008, -3/+5it's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything.
- ptemple, on 09/30/2008, -2/+5Whilst you may be fine rooting around in the mud and eating berries, I've become rather accustomed to a daily hot shower and a my lights coming on at the flick of a switch.
Phillip.- hoist0that0rag, on 09/30/2008, -2/+1well then you're in for a rough time when your cherished amenities go the way of the dodo. your ilk will be the first to die off, thank Darwin.
- getbusyliving, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2Have fun standing in a line up of hundreds of men trying to get a ditch digging job while you are doing "anything".
- ptemple, on 09/30/2008, -2/+5Whilst you may be fine rooting around in the mud and eating berries, I've become rather accustomed to a daily hot shower and a my lights coming on at the flick of a switch.
- jstem1994, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1"The economy is strong" Isn't that what he's been saying for years?
- edstate, on 09/30/2008, -0/+4The tools on CNBC are making this ***** worse... and, ironically, this time it's not Cramer.
"Look at what you're doing to the markets! If you don't act now, we'll tank! See?" ....much of it's warranted, but much of it is some sort of hight tech thuggery.- getbusyliving, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Kramer*
- richmomz, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2The talking heads on CNBC are a waste of oxygen - they're the Fox News of the financial world. Anyone who has been getting their financial and investment advice from them is probably broke by now (and screaming for a bailout along with the idiots that got us into this mess).
- LilRabbitFooFoo, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2For the media, FEAR drives ad dollars.
For the politicians, FEAR gives them power over us. And power = graft.
Everyone is making money on this but us because, like the Iraq War, no one is checking the politicians anymore.
- dieboldcracy, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2and while we are all talking about a 7billion bailout which is actually closer to 3 trillion according to Bloomberg Financial, in the last week alone the banks borrowed 930 BILLION from the Fed. and next week the Fed will print biliions more out of thin air to fund another b.s. war and neither the dems or repubs will do a thing about it, regardless of their constituency's mandate, because they are both bought and paid..
PEOPLE! if you've stocked up on Food, have invested in a precious metal, get paid in Swiss Francs, and work in a recession/depression proof economy (i.e. hollywood) then don't Panic. But if you are anything else, you still don't have to panic but everything you worked for along with the notion of this great nation being a free and open society, will be wiped off the planet and replaced by a one world cannibalistic govt intent on killing off %80 of the human race to save the planet from certain peril.....................and that thought usually makes you Panic - Slayback, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2Whether you're just starting in the job market and don't have a 401K yet, or are nearing retirement, you owe it to yourself (and your future self) to read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Bogleheads-Guide-Investing-T ...
Emotion, especially fear, has little place in investment. Harder to do than to say, but if you can detach yourself and look at the long term, you'll sleep much better at night. - Demos27, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1I get tired of hearing this "it's going to be okay, the market will be fine" bs...I've heard it so many times, months before this crash happened and believed it for a while, then I stopped believing them. I get tired of this talk about how everything is okay...when it hardly isn't. Yes I know these people want to ease investors so they don't sell their stocks like they just did yesterday, but there is a difference between pretending everything is okay and knowing everything is okay. I believe this article might be right, but I'm taking it with a grain of salt.
- truck87bp, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1Its obvious that we still have a few good people in office in Washington. The current White House has lost control and they are not very happy about it. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 needs to be repealed by America and the Huge Financial Banks need to be Seized and returned to American Republic.
We would like this on the paper ballot in November. No electronic voting machines either.
J.P. Morgan and his buddies created this mess and America needs to stop it.
Call Your Governor and demand paper ballots.
http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/st_governors ... - frosted, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1DON'T PANIC
- yournamehere, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1man, now is a great time to buy if you got the bucks
- richmomz, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1A year ago people were saying the same thing, and have been repeating it every quarter since. The idea is if they keep predicting a bottom every three months eventually they will be right... lol!
- Smiley09, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1Don't panic about the stock market says the website that has stories about people blowing small problems usually specific to one bad employee out of proportion...
- Ebacherville, on 09/30/2008, -0/+2No reason to panic here, got months worth of food and water and ammo.. and a place that rural that can self sustain ...bring it on !!!
if it all come crashing down, this will thin the heard and get rid of some of the dead weight... I'd recommend being repaired for the worst.. its like having cash in savings, its just a smart thing to have available in bad situations. I live where snow storms can kill power for over a week and block you in your home for that long, if that were the case would you survive.. I would and id be dang comfortable doing it to.
Be prepared its just the smart thing to do. - cuoops, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3I bought more stocks. Already making a little money.
- chadpyle, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1The market needed a reboot. The DOW drop was the start of a deflating bubble that was the cause of this whole fiasco. If we let the market correct it, we'll be outta this in a couple years. If Congress votes for a bailout, we're lookin' at a couple decades of hard times.
- richmomz, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1People are hyping this up way too much - on a percentage basis Monday's drop isn't even in the top ten worst days in the market.
- getbusyliving, on 09/30/2008, -0/+1We are completely and utterly *****. Get that through your heads now. You have maybe six months to buy a small portion of land suitable for growing vegetables for private consumption or a cottage in the woods where you can gather vegetation and hunt small animals.
This is how it always begins. Do not kid yourselves. The time to save yourselves and your families is NOW. Get a plan, set reasonable goals and put them into action RIGHT AWAY. DO NOT WAIT A DAY or you are gambling with the very lives of your loved ones.- silikon2, on 09/30/2008, -1/+0What are you talking about? The US is the breadbasket for much of the world. There is and will be plenty of food, if ***** really hit the fan that hard. And yes there is plenty of oil to power the agriculture machinery and it's pretty low labor-intensive.
- deadonbroadway, on 09/30/2008, -1/+1I honestly think nothing major will happen with this "crisis."
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