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Two years ago I was walking the streets in Westwood, California several blocks from UCLA, glibly waving a sign that said Sore/Loserman NASDAQ 2000. At that time the DOW was around 10,500 and the NASDAQ resided at around 2300. I and others couldn't resist ribbing the administration of Bill Clinton for the rapid decline of the NASDAQ. Today the DOW has dropped 29% since it's zenith and resides at 7755. The NASDAQ has dropped more than twice that percentage. It's lost 76% of it's former value and resides at 1187. Both have been dropping like a rock, no confidence in a bottom at just about any level. The NASDAQ appears headed for 950 and the DOW 5500. Yeah, laugh at me. I dare ya.

When markets behave like this the bad news begins to feed upon itself. The stock buying public has lost it's shorts. Worse than that they have lost their nerve. It would take a total lunatic to buy in at these levels. The wheat and the chaff were separated around 500 DOW points ago, and about 1000 NASDAQ points ago. The business reporting community hasn't covered a positive aspect of business in what seems like months. I'm thinking there may have actually been one or two out there somewhere. Who knows.

Remember that quaint little phrase that we were sold on during the 80s and 90s? "Dollar income averaging" was stuffed down our throats until we finally accepted that nothing else made sense. If the market drops, just keep those retirement contributions flowing. When it drops you're buying bargains. Well I've been buying bargains since around March of 2001. For the good of the nation, I'd like to think I was the only raisen on the grapevine, but sadly I've had lots of company.

Those who know far more than I do about the markets think we're nearing a bottom. For the life of me I wish I could have confidence in those greater minds. I don't like what I am seeing. The water in the bay seems strangely still. The tide is strangely low this evening. Is there a tidal wave in our near future? Can anyone state without a doubt that there isn't. That is a major problem for a market who's buying public has seen one too many storms in recent months, washing more profits and value away.

I don't like the rumblings in Japan. The world economic system is already experiencing enough problems. One more domino falling is not going to help.

At a time when all this havoc is going on in the world's markets, the World Bank has determined it's a great time to facilitate nations declaring bankruptcy. Now the only market systems that generated energy into the world's economic system are going to be taxed more, making them less stable. Conspiratorialists should love this. I'd probably get a pretty good kick out of some of their thoughts these days.

Just for the record, if Greenspan raises interest rates anytime soon, they can consider me on board.

Don't you think Greenspan has been too tight? My concern is the longshoreman's strike on the west coast, said to cost $1B daily to our economy. Retail falling but homes still good.

Today the DOW has dropped 29% since it's zenith and resides at 7755.

Strangely enough, almost the exact amount by which the Toon administration cooked the economic books for its last two or three years.

We won't hit bottom until ALL of the optimism is gone.

BUMP