Global economic crisis

[gtalum]

Maybe not, but it does show that the traders are worried that the economy as a whole is f-ed up...

No, it shows that stockholders are acting with irrational fear. Stockholders are no smarter than anybody else. In fact, when everybody is yelling "SELL SELL SELL!" that's almost always the time to start buying, and the opposite is true too.

[george_r_1961]

Maybe not, but it does show that the traders are worried that the economy as a whole is f-ed up...

No, it shows that stockholders are acting with irrational fear. Stockholders are no smarter than anybody else. In fact, when everybody is yelling "SELL SELL SELL!" that's almost always the time to start buying, and the opposite is true too.

This is a good time to buy???

[JonathanBelles]

Maybe not, but it does show that the traders are worried that the economy as a whole is f-ed up...

No, it shows that stockholders are acting with irrational fear. Stockholders are no smarter than anybody else. In fact, when everybody is yelling "SELL SELL SELL!" that's almost always the time to start buying, and the opposite is true too.

This is a good time to buy???

The next few weeks-months are a great time to buy. Low stock prices that can (in the long term) only get better. The more people that buy the quicker the stocks will increase in value.

[gtalum]

This is a good time to buy???

For the long term, certainly it is. The DJIA is down nearly 40% in a year. A vast majority of those companies are still very sound and will rebound. It may not be for a few months or a year, but they'll start rebounding and I suspect they'll do it quickly once the trend starts.

For short term investors, well figuring out exactly when to buy is the hard part of short-term investing. I don't do any short-term investing and certainly wouldn't ever recommend it for anyone who can't dedicate full-time to stock trading.

But in general, the smart play is to buck the herd and do the opposite of what "everybody" does. When everyone is yelling to sell, it's often a good time to buy. When everyone are yelling to buy, it's often a good time to sell.

Disclaimer: I am not a financial professional.

[RL3AO]

This is a good time to buy???

Sure. When ever it bottoms out.

[somethingfunny]

If I had any extra money I would absolutely be buying stock right now.

The market does not respond rationally to "market pressures". It responds to fear, panic, and greed, and psychoanalysts. The economy did not grow by 80% between 2002 and 2007. But the stock market did. Makes you think everything was a bit overvalued to begin with, eh? It will be again soon enough, long before the underlying weaknesses actually straighten themselves up. The stock market has been a ridiculous house of cards ever since its' invention.

[Brent]

Asian markets are suffering massive losses once again... Nikkei is down 9.69%, Hang Seng 7%.

[Dionne]

The markets are in an adjustment period. It's been coming for a long time. Never invest in the market unless you can afford to lose the money. Just because you have witnessed huge drops the last few days does not mean it's time to start buying. Thats like saying nobody has won the Powerball in a month, I'm putting my entire paycheck in this week. At this time I would not sell or buy. If you have some money and this terrible itch to invest go with gold coins......the kind you can bring home and put in your safe. The gold will always retain some value, while any given stock could potentially collapse. We've learned from past experience that companies that appear to be viable could very well be calling a bluff with inflated numbers.

[gtalum]

Never invest in the market unless you can afford to lose the money.

Good idea. A good rule of thumb is to only invest money you will not need in the next 5 years.

Just because you have witnessed huge drops the last few days does not mean it's time to start buying. Thats like saying nobody has won the Powerball in a month, I'm putting my entire paycheck in this week.

Not exactly. Right now, thanks to the irrational fear in the global stock markets, many companies' stock valuations are actually well below their intrinsic cash value, which can be determined by subtracting liabilities from assets. When a company's stock value is less than the company's true cash value and the company has a solid business model, it's always a good time to buy.

If you have some money and this terrible itch to invest go with gold coins......

Historically gold is a terrible investment. It's near 30 year highs, so its even worse right now.

[Dionne]

Your replies sound reasonable. Although I don't think simply subtracting liabilities from assets and searching a business plan is something average investors are qualified to do......plus....do you trust their numbers?

While gold is now about the same price as in the 70's.....there is one good thing to remember......gold is tangible. You can bring it home. It's not a piece of paper. Also consider the numismatic value of gold coins, not just melt down value.

My coins are about 6 feet from me. The guy....Bernie Ebbers (WorldCom).....that took thousand from us is in a minimum security federal prison in Louisiana. He drove himself to prison in a Lexus. He is anticipating a presidential pardon when Bush leaves office.

I'll stick with gold and hope like hell there aren't any liars crunching numbers at PetMeds.

It's about trust. Lessons hard learned.

[gtalum]

Gold is a hedge, and it can make sense to keep some, though personally I don't.

Over the long run it generally will not build wealth, though. And now is certainly not the time to be buying more of it. A few years ago it was a better investment.

With the dollar surging, gold is likely to drop significantly in value.

On a side note, I find it interesting that the "haters" in Europe and the rest of the world are flocking back into the US Dollar in droves now that the financial world is getting a little scary. I guess we're still top dog after all.

[HURAKAN]

Link: http://moneycentral.msn.com/detail/stoc ... ol=%24INDU

[lurkey]

make sure you pay attention to your credit limits on your credit cards. . there are sporadic stories of banks drastically slashing credit limits

[Dionne]

yeah man......two green places on the boards at yesterdays close....the dollar and gold.

The only problem I have with gold is that I have become a collector more than an investor. Big difference.

I will still buy gold, although not bullion/ingots. I prefer coins. I keep an ad running in the nearest local newspaper as a gold/silver coin buyer. Kind of surprised there haven't been any calls lately? I never consider spot when buying. I place value on a numismatic level and seldom pay more than 70%. Unless I need a specific coin to complete a set.....on those occasions I have been known to pay more than value.

Wow.....the opener in NY was a slam....it would be nice to see a rebound today. Heck, I'd be happy just to see everything settle down and accept the adjustment as necessary. It's so wild right now, the DOW could be in the green by the time I post this.....LOL.

[Nimbus]

As a rule of thumb, usually when financial bubbles break there is a flat bottom that gives investors plenty of time to get back in. Precious metals in the 80,s and real estate meltdowns in the past have displayed flat bottoms that lasted for years.

The stock market recovered fairly quickly after 9/11 but we were not looking at higher interest rates at that time. Potentially a day trader could make some money as long as stocks keep making large swings intraday but aren't they still limiting computer trading when the market drops more than 50 points?

[Ptarmigan]

I think the stock market will be very volatile for the rest of the year. I would not be surprised to see it go below 8,000. I predicted it would drop below 10,000 and 9,000, which turned out to be right.

[lurkey]

From the Drudge Report:


Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi said political leaders discussing idea of closing world's financial markets while they 'rewrite the rules of international finance'... MORE

[Brent]

From the Drudge Report:


Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi said political leaders discussing idea of closing world's financial markets while they 'rewrite the rules of international finance'... MORE

Probably the only thing that will stop the slide...

Here we go AGAIN:

DOW
8159.6
-419.59
-4.89%
NASDAQ
1571.03
-74.09
-4.5%
S&P 500
860.9
-49.02
-5.39%

[lurkey]

From the Drudge Report:


Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi said political leaders discussing idea of closing world's financial markets while they 'rewrite the rules of international finance'... MORE

Probably the only thing that will stop the slide...

Here we go AGAIN:

DOW
8159.6
-419.59
-4.89%
NASDAQ
1571.03
-74.09
-4.5%
S&P 500
860.9
-49.02
-5.39%

The US markets are closed Monday anyway, b/c of the Columbus Holiday, right?

[Brent]

From the Drudge Report:


Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi said political leaders discussing idea of closing world's financial markets while they 'rewrite the rules of international finance'... MORE

Probably the only thing that will stop the slide...

Here we go AGAIN:

DOW
8159.6
-419.59
-4.89%
NASDAQ
1571.03
-74.09
-4.5%
S&P 500
860.9
-49.02
-5.39%

The US markets are closed Monday anyway, b/c of the Columbus Holiday, right?

Nope, according to this the next holiday isn't til Thanksgiving:

http://www.rightline.net/calendar/market-holidays.html