Posted on 10/06/2008 7:33:49 AM PDT by AngieGal
Dow slides below 10,000 for first time in nearly 4 years.
U.S. stocks tumbled on Monday, sending the Dow industrials below the 10,000 mark for the first time in nearly four years, as last week's $700 billion bailout package and government interventions in Europe over the weekend failed to soothe nervousness in global markets. Europe didn't reach an accord on bailouts over the weekend, and instead each country is handling the fallouts on their own. Germany backed its retail deposits, following similar moves by Ireland and Greece. Holland nationalized the Dutch operations of Fortis, and a new 50 billion euro financing package was reached for Germany's Hypo Real Estate.
"With global equity markets selling off today, and the developments which followed the weekend European crisis meeting, much nervousness abounds," said Jennifer Lee, analyst at BMO Capital Markets.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Pray that Sarah-cuda takes McCain to the back room and uses her shoe on him to get smart about this game....would assume that they make level 1 news, not read it.
"These are the days of our great lament. The land thirsts.
A great plague infests our Congress."
Bawney is signaling me, 500 more rounds of .45ACP. Ok, Bawney, I read your hand signal!
The reality is that markets are volatile and therefore not a direct reflection of any single policy or event. A daily snapshot of the market is not a reliable indicator of any given economy's health - it could jump back up 400 points in the next day given what we've seen over the last few months. Remember individual investors don't cause these huge swings (unless you're Warren Buffet or George Soros), institutional investors do. Right now there are a whole lot of fund managers out there desperately trying to maintain the unrealistic returns their clients have come to expect, and since the bubble has popped, 10-12% +++ just ain't realistic anymore.
Finally, look at the numbers that were released last week - increasing unemployment, crappy durable goods orders, and flat earnings from S&P stalwarts. Of course the general trend for the market is downward right now, the economy is substantially slowing as we speak. But it will come back as it always does, it's just a matter of when.
Substantial tax reform would hasten that recovery, but that would require our fifth grade classroom (otherwise known as Congress) to get off their collective butts and address the real problems instead of this constant showboating for attention during a high-stakes election cycle.
Gonna be a long couple of years on the road to recovery, that's for sure. Just keep in mind that an Obama administration will greatly extend the time before a meaningful recovery can occur.
And that will be the next step. Until we either have 500% inflation or a new currency.
because people (banks, foreign govts) were sold to freddie thinking they were risk free investments
There was an excellent show on Fox News last night that gave a lot of insight into how we got where we are. I hope they repeat showing it nightly until everyone sees it. In one segment they had an economics professor showing a simple (as can be) presentation on how this mess happened. If I understood it, basically, once the subprime (junk) mortgages started defaulting at an increasing rate, that made the market value of all the junk mortgages worth less and less causing all these institutions that bought billions of these junk mortgages packaged into debt instruments, to write down their asset values by billions and billions because they couldn’t sell them for anything. No one would buy them.
But I'm still confused.
$2T is at risk. That does mean $2T has been lost. It just means there is a risk. We just three $850B at the problem which covers more than one third of that risk. And let's also note that the 5 million homes who have "at risk" mortgages will never be worth precisely nothing. They are wood and stone, these are viable dwelling places.
I just don't see how this amount of risk, which is collateralized with tangible assets can destroy the entire world's economic infrastructure.
Thank Bush for listening to that idiot Paulson, and thank McCain and the GOP leadership for voting to socialize the economy.
at Acorn, at Fannie Mae and in Congress caused this
Economic DEMbacle
Your comment is proof of why we are screwed. No sane person believes Obama’s economic program would help a struggling economy. At best, it is a program that can only be handled by a robust, growing economy.
So who are people turning to as the economy goes down the toilet? Obama.
YGBSM!
God bless those who opposed the useless bailout. There was someone [was it you, ForGod’sSake?] who was chewed out by a rich FRiend for being ‘insensitive’ for cheering the House voting down the initial bailout last Monday. Well, well, well — I wonder what the fellow has to say now? We had his best interests in mind all along, even if he resented our ways.
Absolutely correct assessment. Thank you.
I would add that, here in the real world, the sky is NOT falling. My business has secured a $300,000 loan (actually TWO different banks approved it, I was scared by all the media) secured by commercial property. Quite frankly I thought credit was difficult, I assure you it is not if you have a good business plan. Gas prices will begin their retail plummet next week. I think the detrimental effect that 3% of mortgages being bad is at least equaled by the positive effect that a $60 drop in crude prices will have.
The US economy is in recession, but relative to the rest of the world we're in good shape. This of course is why the dollar is rising, and I think that is more responsible for the drop in crude than lessening world demand. If world demand is plummeting so, why did the last report of US crude stocks go down?
No, there's what's really happening out here, and there's what the media would have everyone believe. Sanity will return to wallstreet.
Adding this to the Timeline Project / Link List of Bailout History
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2093845/posts
Yes they will. When you're under water (IRA's/401k's, etc.)--you grasp for ANYTHING!! When you see something to grasp onto--you take it---anything. You find out it's an ANVIL AFTER YOU GRAB IT.
The markets have just determined this election.
That is exactly and precisely how I see it. You’ve summed it up perfectly. Except for one thing... My “training” tells me that the money we threw at the problem is meaningless. You canNOT manipulate the market, and it will find its value. $850 moved from point a to point b in the econ will have NO good effect. Joe gets 850, but Steve loses 850. “The good economist sees not just what the gift created, but also sees all that was NOT created when the money was moved from where it was found.”
There has been sufficient information that the DNC and Democrat Congressional leadership have been working for eight years to assure poor national economics would come to a head for this election and thereby guarantee a massive liberal win in November..
Do you suppose their plan has gotten out of control and about to eat up all of us - them and us???
This wasn't it.
Well, maybe those of us who are taking a hit in the financial melt-down by staying the course instead of doing "panic" selling are going to be considered "Patriotic" Americans?
When do I get my medal?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.