Posted on 02/11/2009 3:03:27 AM PST by Halfmanhalfamazing
RE :”The tax laws were changed so gain on a home didn’t count as long as you had lived there for at least 2 years. “
I am glad you reminded me of this, Thanks!
I’m putting it into a series of CD’s, paying attention to FDIC limits and the creditworthiness of the banks involved.
Here’s a tip: If a CD from a bank is paying more than a few basis points more yield for the same duration as what you’re seeing from other banks, it probably is because that bank (the one paying the higher yield) has a lower S&P/Fitch’s/Moody’s rating, or they’re on a negative creditwatch, or they’re in trouble, not downgraded yet, and they’re in a fat hurry to plump up their reserves.
Go back and look at the yields on WaMu CD’s before they went under. Boy, they looked fantastic! Well, there was as reason why.
It started that day and just accelerated:
See that first spike down? That’s on the 17th of September. And then as things started getting more and more bleak, you see the yield roll off to nothing.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/120220-kanjorski-and-the-money-market-funds-the-facts
Not certain what to believe at this point...
bump
***....It was pulled in two days from public view.***
I’m not surprised. Like I said, his tentacles - and influence - are everywhere. I would really like to know just how much of this country he owns. I think we would all be shocked. I believe he is the power behind Obama, and is our de facto dictator. Has he managed a stealth coup?
I didn't get directed to the chart you wanted me to see.
I am looking for where the money went on the 15th, not that I really expect to find it. I am not saying that was an evil genius or smersh behind the panic, but electronic funds moved, have to have a destination.
OK, when you sell off the “money market” mutual funds, you roll out of a mutual or “sweep” fund, and you’re left in cash, which has a 0.0% yield.
The money is still in your account, so technically it didn’t move anywhere, just as when you buy or sell a stock in your accounts, your money didn’t “go” anywhere - it was just buying or selling an asset held in your account. So the money didn’t have to “go” anywhere, it was just pulled out of the money market funds.
Correct.
The money market funds were exposed to risks arising from the collapse of Lehman, and that’s what they wanted to get away from, ASAP.
Thanks for the insights!!
Mucho thanks!!!
I've been reading your posts with great interest, and I wanted to say "thank you" for the education.
Now, you've said what you're doing, and why, but as you said, you are retired. I am 45. I suspect your primary objective is to preserve capital. My objective is growth, the more the better.
When the market tanked in early October, I started the process of picking funds, opening up a Roth IRA account, and then investing $5K from cash in late October.
I knew I couldn't time the very bottom, which we unfortunately haven't reached yet, but the DOW had dropped 40+%, which I figured was one hell of a discount.
The question is, when there is a recovery, will it be slow enough to get back in as it starts climbing out of the hole? Or do I continue to fund that IRA to lock in the current discount?
Thanks for your time.
I can’t predict the future, all I can do is tell you what past patterns have been.
Due to the change of psychology from credit-fueled booms to the psychology of thrift and saving reduces the growth of the economy. However, the stock market can take very rapid upward swings when the gloom starts to abate.
We might be nowhere near the bottom. The P/E on the SP500 is very high right now — people look at the approximately 40% drop in the SP500 since last July and say “Surely, stocks MUST be cheap!”
No, not so. While stock prices have certainly fallen hard, earnings have fallen even harder. Unless earnings recover quickly, the SP500 will be falling later on this year. How far, I can’t say. Right now the only thing holding stock valuations up are analysts’ expectations that earnings will recover. Sadly, I don’t think this will the case. Too many equity analysts are still running analysis based on post-WWII recessions. They keep saying “This is the worst since... WWII” or “this is the worst in 50/60/70 years...”
Blah, blah, blah.
THE fundamental difference here is that unlike recessions, which are normal contractions in economic expansion as a normal outcome of the business cycle and a rise in interest rates precipitated by either the bond market or the Fed, this is a debt deflation. Capital is being destroyed, sucked down into black holes on balance sheets.
Thanks for the reminder that it's not all about the price.
Where the eff is the media on this? Are they keeping the same secrets that Kanjorski and his colleagues have kept now FOR SIX MONTHS!!!!
J.D. Hayworth mentioned this on MSNBC the other day and the host pretended not to know what he was talking about.
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.