Stock Market down 355 points today as of 4pm. Jeesch, now they're eating their own.

[MichiganVote]

[truebrit71]

1. 2.9%.....bah humbug.,..'tis but a minor hiccup...

...wait 'til it loses 9-10% in a day...THEN you will see airborne stock brokers....

[Pale Blue Dot]

14. It's lost almost 10% in the past 8 days. nt

[truebrit71]

15. Not the same impact as losing 1,000 in one day would have....

...it'll be raining analysts and brokers that day....

[anigbrowl]

17. No you won't. They halt trading if it drops too far on a single day

so as to avoid 'panic runs', which sometimes occur. Mind you, they should do the same thing when it shoots upward too abruptly.

[truebrit71]

23. Sorry, but yes you will...circuit breakers kick in at 10%....= -1145.30 points...

http://www.nyse.com/press/circuit_breakers.html

....get your umbrellas ready...

[anigbrowl]

25. Yes, but why do you think this would make people jump out of windows?

In the 1987 crash it fell by 22 or 23% (which is why they put the circuit breakers in) but I don't remember any defenestration then. Well, I do agree that quite a few hedge funds are probably going to fold in the coming 6 months. 10% over a week, I don't worry too much about. 50% in a month I would worry about, and it's not impossible given some of the things I hear.

[BOSSHOG]

2. The end of the bush administration

may turn out to be a great buying opportunity.

[Captain Angry]

3. Ssh! Buying low and selling high is only for elitists.

For all the intelligent people that frequent DU, there are too many that have zero understanding of how the markets work but will offer advice.

There is a lot of money sitting on the sidelines waiting for the bottom. There is a LOT of money hiding in commodities, waiting for a bottom.

[sshan2525]

5. I've got no money....

...to buy gas, much less stocks.

[Captain Angry]

8. Gas prices will fall back to a normal level in the next few months.

It sucks, it's wrecking the budget for nearly everybody.

There are a lot of people that jump into investing because they think they need to. I know people with a lot of stock "equity" with nearly no savings.

I've run my savings out and have been selling stock to live on for a little while now as I keep looking for a new job. My old one went to India without me. I am expecting another 6 months of no jobs. No companies are going to hire when everything is so uncertain. More layoffs, the people that are left are working harder in the hopes that they won't be next.

Wait until winter. When heating bills are at new highs, food prices are high, and a lot of unemployment, it's going to be a mess.

And even if Obama can take the presidency, he's had his first few years dictated to him in advance as he has to try to stabilize and then fix everything.

[Yukari Yakumo]

18. Define "normal level" {nt}

uguu

[Captain Angry]

26. Well, let's see.

World population is rising.
Consumption of oil and its derivatives is rising.

But they didn't quadruple in the last 8 years.

I think it's reasonable to expect that if not for manipulation, supply interference, warfare, misreporting of data, lack of conservation efforts, that gasoline would be in the $1.50 - $2.00/gallon range.

There will be swings due to normal situations like weather, but the range should be FAR lower than it is today.

[DJ13]

6. There is a LOT of money hiding in commodities, waiting for a bottom.

There wont be a bottom until that money gets out of commodities.

Commodity inflation due to speculation is the reason everything is so screwed up.

[MichiganVote]

7. So where will they put it once they've driven all else to the bottom?

[DJ13]

9. I wish our nation didnt insist money not invested is wasted

Half our problems are caused by the wealthy not being content with the amount of money they already have, and insisting "they have to put their money to work" .

[MichiganVote]

10. I once tried to explain to my spouse that saved money meant that you were selling it to the banks.

Rather than what we have now...the total and complete opposite.

[Captain Angry]

12. It will be in the markets, in different sectors.

Look how private prisons have done in the last few years.

Leveraged buyouts have taken a lot of money out of the public market and into private companies. Those companies will eventually be taken public again.

If things hit the bottom, there is just more to buy for the people that had money saved for that situation.

I saw an interview with Jim Cramer one time. He was addressing what high net-worth individuals should be doing. He said that you have to have a list of companies in advance and a value for each one that it could never go below. And if it did, to buy in and buy big. For instance, there is an inherent value of a company due solely to their buildings, real estate, patents, etc. The stock price should be unable to go below the value of those holdings. When that happens, buy huge since it *has* to go back up since some other company would buy the stock at the minimum value of those assets to get them for resale.

[TheWatcher]

24. Jim Cramer?

:rofl: :rofl:

Not exactly someone I would consider for financial or investing advice. Or for that matter, ANYONE on Bubblevision.

[Captain Angry]

27. I didn't say his show. It was an interview.

When he's not on his own show pumping stocks to idiots, he's very candid about how the markets work behind the scenes.

He may be a douchebag, but he's completely correct about the value of a share of stock having a basement based on the price of the company's assets.

[anigbrowl]

19. I think he meant waiting for a bottom in stocks

If one asset class is doing badly, the logical thing to do is park you cash in a different one while you wait for the first market to bottom out.

[DiverDave]

13. As apposed to us dummies, huh?

up yours, you snob.

[Captain Angry]

16. I apparently wasn't clear with my sarcasm.

I was poking the people that seem to think that investing is voodoo or only done by wildly rich people.

I'm a snob, but for totally different reasons. :-)

[truebrit71]

4. Don't bet on it.....the effect of the stink from these criminals will last for YEARS....

....

[malaise]

11. Let them

I'm hoping they'll start jumping live on TeeVee.

[Individualist]

20. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3526098

[Skidmore]

21. So how much is your retirement portfolio worth today?

[Lone_Star_Dem]

22. I've just decided I'm never going to retire

Takes all the pressure off having enough money. I'll just work until I die.