SHIT!!! the stock market is in a free fall

[bigdarryl]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/18/wall-street-sell-off_n_930510.html

[Ozymanithrax]

1. Thank you President Obama, Congress (Republicans and Democrats) for taking our...

401K's for a vacation.

You deserve your well earned rest, and the rest of us can watch extreme coupons and chase garden snails to make escargot.

[patrice]

4. Vacation? Two of my small 401K s have died completely. nt

[Ozymanithrax]

11. Yes, I know. At this point, we should rewrite the beginning of A tale of two cities...

It was the worst of times, it was the even worst of times. Oh, fuck it, this is bad.

[patrice]

15. Even though it's too late for some of us, is it possible to hope that the (relatively) "good" guys

are eating the bad guys?

[Ozymanithrax]

17. Perhaps in a little curry sauce. Protein is protein to the hungry.

[patrice]

18. mmmmmmm . . . curry!

:9

[emulatorloo]

19. Market is falling today due to "concerns about global economy". Read a few artcles

[JoePhilly]

22. You clearly don't have a 401k ... or if you do, you started it 20 minutes ago.

[patrice]

2. Reaction to evidence of SEC corruption? nt

[Atman]

3. Relax...freefall is a relative term these days.

It was in "freefall" three times last week. Tomorrow, the Hedge Funders will rake in their profits. We're being totally fucked. It is our SYSTEM that is in freefall. Wall Street, which produces NOTHING, is dictating the direction of the country. I wish I could go to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun and dictate the odds to the croupiers and the card dealers. That's where we are. Our entire economy has failed. The entire "capitalism" model is a farce. Perfect Capitalism means only a small handful of companies owning everything...that'w when the system collapses. And that's where we are now.

[Harmony Blue]

7. True

Now, that they know they can generate mega money with these cyclic, manufactured free falls on a weekly basis this will continue, and they will make money buying low while the average joe panics and sells.

[MatthewStLouis]

12. So true. If I had a million dollars to play with I'm sure I'd be doing some trading...

[Turbineguy]

14. If I had a million dollars....

I'd keep playing the stock market until it was all gone.

[Philippine expat]

23. Remember, the easiest way to make a small fortune

is to start with a big one

[bulloney]

31. If I had a million dollars, I think I'd find a coffee can and a shovel.

[gateley]

8. Agree -- freefall doesn't mean what it used to. It sounds

as though people will start leaping from windows soon, but as you note, it was in "freefall" three times last week.

To all those who are invested, I know it's scary. At times like these I'm actually grateful I'm too broke to have to worry about it. :hug:

[Safetykitten]

5. Oh, we fixed THAT. Don't worry, 2008 will never happen again.

[jaxx]

6. Not just us, down around the world.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15921552

[Jackpine Radical]

9. It's not the temperature, it's the humidity. And…

it's not the nutzo drop or soar of the day, it's the volatility of the period. Nobody knows WTF they're doing, but they're doing it anyway. Or their computers are.

Always remember Jackpine's Second Law: When the market is acting crazy, only crazy people are playing the market.

[liberal N proud]

10. Just more profit making by day traders

[slackmaster]

13. I'm more glad than ever that I shifted my investing to guns and ammo

And paying down my mortgage debt.

[RC]

16. Lookie here. The DOW is down over 408 as of now.

I pulled my money out of the stock market a few years ago. Am I ever glad.

[JoePhilly]

21. A few years ago ... when ..?? March 2009?

[Philippine expat]

24. For me it was JUly 2007

went to straight cash then and couldn't be happier at my decision

[JoePhilly]

30. Here's what I did ...

Since the DOW generally ran at an average of 10k to 12k for most of Bush's first 6 years, I'd invest in my 401k, with a certain chunk of the portfolio in a money market account, basically cash. When the DOW moved down towards the lower end of what I called the "Bush average", I'd move some of that cash into other investments. Then, as the DOW approached the upper limit, I'd convert some back into the money market account.

As you know, the DOW went way up in 2007. As it passed 12k, I moved some to cash, at 12.5k, moved more to cash, at 13.5k, moved some more. The DOW hit 14k for about ten minutes, and then started back down into the "Bush average". Down to 11k, then down to 10k ... and I almost started to buy back in then ... but the DOW fell through 10k, all the way to 8500 or so in just a few weeks.

So there I am, sitting with all this cash on the sidelines ... so I wait some more ... and in a few months, we're at 7500 when Obama enters the White House.

At that point, I started to slowly move money from that money market fund back to stocks. The Dow goes down to 6500 ... I'm still slowly buying, not huge, but some. The DOW starts to creep up, I'm still buying. I should mention that during this period, all of my monthly contributions are buying stock.

By the end of 2009, we've returned to the low end of the Bush average again. I basically sat still between 10k and 11k. My monthly 401k contributions going into that money market account to build up cash, but I'm not moving anything else around. By April, of this year, the DOW breaks 12.5k ... I started to lock in gains at 11.5k, and more at 12k, more at 12.5k.

Now we're back at 10.8k or so. Which is right around the middle of that Bush average. I'm building cash with my monthly contributions again.

We know the GOP isn't going to do anything to help the economy. In fact, we know they want to damage the economy to hurt Obama, so the potential for the DOW to go down some more over the next year or two definitely exists. The cash being held my business could enter the economy and move us up, but that's not likely to happen anytime soon, the GOP's action create uncertainty, and the markets hates uncertainty.

Personally, I think the DOW is right about where it should be here just below 11k.

If we drop down to about 10k, I will again start to buy stock in higher percentages, if we go up above 12k again, I'll shift more to cash again, and watch for the next opportunity to buy on the lower end.

Importantly, my time horizon is about 20 years, so I can take this kind of an approach. Over time, I'll shift a larger % of my portfolio into something very stable ... simply take that money out off the table. But with interest rates as low as they are, I'm not in a rush to do that.

[mkultra]

20. and we all no the stock market is what drives job creation.

[Donnachaidh]

25. ...

[Cali_Democrat]

27. LOL

:thumbsup:

[springstreetbooks]

26. This hurt me

Big hit today...ouch to my 401k ugh..

[Jakes Progress]

28. The republican plan is working.

[vaberella]

32. If the Republican plan is in line with the catastrophe of the euro.

France and Spain are getting closer to their end. Not everything is 100% American and we need to realize that the European market is inherently tied with the market economic situation in general. Which means--the Republicans are helping along on the American front. But the euro is deteriorating presently and that is where a good number of the problems lie.

[Jakes Progress]

34. And their plan is working. Gaining a foothold on DU.

[MilesColtrane]

29. The total market is down just under 5% for the day.

Hardly a free fall.

Not even half-way to meeting the conditions that trigger the NYSE brakes.

[DU GrovelBot]

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