October Scares Investors More This Year

[callady]

Oct 15, 11:31 AM EDT

October Scares Investors More This Year

By ELLEN SIMON
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors know October is the stock market's scariest month. But this October finds them even jumpier than usual. The magnitude of the year's calamities - the tsunami, the Pakistan earthquake and Hurricane Katrina - has prompted some to prepare for disasters of almost every stripe.

"How might another influenza pandemic affect the market?" Banc of America strategist Thomas McManus wrote to clients this past week.

The declines in the first half of the month haven't made anyone calmer. The Dow Jones industrial average has fallen 281.36 points, or 2.66 percent so far. Percentage declines in the Nasdaq composite and the Standard & Poor's 500 are even steeper: The Nasdaq has lost 4.03 percent and the S&P, 3.44 percent.

If investors think October has the potential for absolute misery, it's because most of the market's darkest days came in October: the crash of 1929, the Black Monday crash of 1987 and 1989's Friday the 13th mini-crash. According to "The Stock Trader's Almanac," Oct. 11 has historically been the worst trading day of the year.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WALL__MAIN?SITE=NYITH&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[Deja Q]

1. Superstition and

fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear fear

[TahitiNut]

3. The Divided States of Fear and Loathing

:shrug:

[bonito]

5. LOL !

[uppityperson]

2. Katrina aftermath still hasn't sunk in yet

The potential for a recession is pretty big right now. Lots of stuff happening, out of control. If I'm wrong, I'll admit it, but I can see it happening very easily.

[ecoalex]

4. Mass Investor Hysteria

[peacetalksforall]

6. Do you get the impression that someone is preparing us for a

pandemic orchestrataed by the right wing? Why is there such a variety of the ruling class talking about this day after day?

If yes, how do they contain it so that they and theirs are not struck down?

[ozone_man]

7. They're the house, they always win in the end.

They win coming and going. They just offer the illusion that we get to be winners too, especially to the suckers who are buying in to the market now, while the smart money is fleeing.

October is historically a wild card month, it can go either way. This year, we are beginning the return to the bear market, after deficit spending furiously for three years. The next three months ought to be interesting in a downhill sort of way.

[teryang]

9. spreading fear and chaos

this is the nazi modus operandi. It's almost as if they are giving up on the economy and entering a new phase of political survivalism.

[Demeter]

8. If I Were on the GOP Side, I'd Be Apprehensive About October

Apprehensive about being apprehended, that is. Nobody that had anything shady to do with this misadministration is safe now.

[Carolab]

10. Invest in Roche and Glaxo--they make the influenza drugs. n/t

[depakid]

11. Bankruptcy bill kicks in Monday

Once it becomes clear that this retail season isn't going to be so rosy- and there'll be a lot less disposable income floating around, it wouldn't surprise me if the market reacted.

Of course, it wouldn't surprise me if it didn't. I figure there'll be a considerable lag time on some of this summer/fall's events. Sooner or later though, Wall Streets gonna pay the piper for the Republicans' irresponsible fiscal policies. I'm guessing that when that day comes, it's going to reflect a culmination of a lot of things- only it'll be brought about by a comparatively minor perturbance.

[SpiralHawk]

12. Monday is the day of a Full Moon eclipse

at 24 Aries 13 (Sun at 24 Libra 13).