What is up with the market?

[Tripleshot]

The nasdaq is down more than 5% so far today. When will it end? The market has dropped 40% since last year. Have you people with 401k's checked your portfolios lately? You may want to rethink your investment vehicles,if you haven't already. This is getting rediculous.

Can you imagine having your retirement tied to this market,as GW wants? I don't think his plan will fly when we see how the market fluctuates as it is now. Not many can handle 40% losses on revenue. That bankrupts most bussiness's.

Even Bill Gates lost about 50% of his wealth. I understand the nikki average is taking a beating as well. This downturn has global consequences.

 

[kranky]

The Nasdaq contains the riskiest stocks, after all. I actually like the ups and downs. If you are investing a fixed dollar amount at regular intervals (called dollar-cost averaging), you buy more when the market is down, and less when it's up, and that suits me fine.

Look at this chart which plots the S&P, Dow, and Nasdaq over the last 5 years,and things don't look so bad. Too many stocks were way overpriced, and now they are coming back to earth.

I'm investing for the long term, and although my own 401k took a beating in 2000, I don't care. I'm not going to start moving my money around like a shell game, since I know I'm not that smart to do it right. I feel better that my monthly investments aren't buying way overpriced stocks, now that things have come down a lot.

 

[Spook]

Yeah, been watching it... Great way to start off the new year, huh...

 

[bigbootydaddy]

blame gw

 

[ArkAoss]

dunno, glad i don't got no money in it thoug,hey any one read red herring magazine in the us?

 

[tinneric]

Elect Bush and this is what happens. Republicans suck:disgust:

 

[thebestMAX]

<<Blame GW>>

WTF, he is not even in office yet. Quit the whinning already.

It take about 1 year for the economy to affect stock prices so blame Wet Willie if you need to blame someone. Add Janet Reno in there with Joel Cohen if you need more scapegoats.

PS: If you were SMART, this would be just a great buying opportunity.

Kranky understands.

 

[Tripleshot]

bigbootydaddy

I don't think it would be fair to blame GW for the downturn. I have stated before the market does not like change and responds this way as change in policy(economic) becomes evident to the investors. There is a combination of over priced stocks that are being put in line now,but who is to say that those stocks will stay in line?

I do draw an inference that taking money from social security and placing it in the stock market,in a design to increase gains is fundamentally flawed and that is pointed out by the market downturn of the last half of 2000.

I'm listening to GW's mouthpiece now on cnn and it sounds like Bush is trying to set up a meet with all kinds of business leaders to ask them for ideas. I just wish we had voted for a leader that could think for himself and lead. Instead,we voted to be lead by committee. That is disturbing.

 

[Dave]

Choice: that is all I want with regards to a PORTION of my Social Security &quot;contribution&quot;. Let me decide whether or not, and how, MY $$$ will be used for MY retirement. Please, let grownups make decisions about their own money. It is the only correct (and fair) thing to do. SS is such an incredibly poor &quot;investment&quot; ... a preponderance of experts have cited the Rate of Return for SS to be about 2-3%. This is abysmal and if it were widely known (and understood) by the general public, there would be hell to pay.

By the way, while the recent downturn in equity markets, NASDAQ in particular, is astounding, the bond market has done very well indeed. This begs the question: Why do most critics assume that one would place all of their SS investment in NASDAQ stocks alone? Most financial experts would counsel DIVERSITY in a long-term investment portfolio. In fact, most proposals would allow a fairly conservative range of investment options ... ones that would ensure diversity.

Also, the depression in equity prices would be an IDEAL time for a long-term (retirement)investor to be BUYING stocks, but bonds would not be a bad deal either ... &quot;buy low, sell high&quot; ya know.

Allowing individuals the CHOICE to place a PORTION of THEIR OWN MONEY in &quot;the market&quot; would provide a steady inflow of capital which could tend to reduce volatility in the marketplace.

I believe that plans that would give people a CHOICE of staying with the exisiting SS plan OR investing in stocks and/or bonds and/or real estate investment trusts would be a boon to most participants as well as the US economy. Win-win.


Choice ... control of ones own funds ... personal responsibility. What is wrong with these concepts? Wait ... I hear the liberals/Demos now: &quot;You just can't trust most people to be as smart and responsible as the government in deciding what to do with this money, the people's own money.&quot; - Wait, you will hear this argument.

Rant over/Out

 

[smartt]

I'm sure all the talk of killing these dot com companies, going around these forums, won't help the NASDAQ much. Seriously though, the market drives on perception... the media says it's bad... it's bad... they say it will get worse... it gets worse... If you're some rich old fart in south florida watching Dan Rather tell you how bad he thinks the market is going to get are you gonna leave all your money in there... no you take it out and put in a mason jar and bury it in the backyard, where it's safe