Market down another 500pts today. In the 9k's
 

Maybe once the shock wears off I'll be able to understand what's going on. First id dives 777 points because the bailout vote failed. Couple days later it passes and drops again. Today it drops another crazy amount. We've now officially fallen the 40% since it's high. Very wild. I won't lie I feel like I've been murdered on some of my stocks lately. I'll just have to hold onto them for a LONG time. I just purchased a few CALL options on AAPL and WMT today. I can't see either one staying that low.

Next support level is at 8,000. Sorry you missed my earlier post. http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/mo...ear-doing.html

I'm not surprised the market is down below 10K. I'm not worried either.

This is not a bad thing for the market to be down, especially if you have money to invest into it. People only cheer when the market is up. How do you buy low when the Dow is setting record high numbers? I know there are some out there who are going to be scared off by the low numbers. I say keep investing money into the market while it is low. When the market swings upward (and it will) then you will profit from it.

Is my 401k worth less today than in the past? Are my mutual funds worth less today than a year ago? Yes. But am I planning on cashing either one of them out in the near future? No. True, many portfolios have lost money IF they are cashed out today. Looking long-term I am confident my portfolios are going to be worth much, much more than if I hid my money under a mattress.

The biggest difference between the market today and the market 20 years ago is simple: it is the speed at which we receive information. In the 1980's the market swung high and low. Compared to today, the only difference was that you couldn't get updates as frequently and as easy as you can today. This affects emotions to a much greater degree and thus the behavior of the market. Sometimes it's better to not watch the market for days at a time. :)

Ummmm....Mission Accomplished?

More like "hope' and "change", as in hoping you have some change next year.:)

8,000 seems like a low shot of a support level. I'd think 9k would be before that. I bought a few CALLS on Apple when it was at $89. Sold when it hit $93. I didn't know it was going to shoot up to $97. Glad it did though. I purchased a few wal-mart calls around $56 per share. They've jumped and if tomorrow pulls ahead any which normally happens things might be looking up.

Maybe, but these events tend to last longer than most futures trading accounts. I certainly don't know, but around 8,000 is a recent historic support level. There are often more rallies in a bear market of a short violent nature than in a bull market.
I do think this is going to take months or years to play out.

8000 may not be so far fetched. In a tightening credit market, more and more businesses are slowing growth or contracting, leading to lay offs, less profits (or losses), and falling stock prices. But don't take my word for it. Jim Cramer believes stocks can fall another 20% before the market bottoms. He advises investors who need access to their money within the next 5 years to totally divest themselves of the stock market. His opinion can be seen at the following link.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27045699/

I respect Jim Cramer, but I think this may be a little far-fetched. 5 years? So much can happen in less time than that.

But what if you do not need access to your money within the next 5 years? If you can afford to stay in and don't mind holding on for the long term, one could make a small (or large) fortune.

I for one am willing to place that bet. It seems like the wealthiest people in America did not become millionaires via the route of "playing it safe". 10 years from now I hope to be feeling thankful I stayed in while so many others pulled out.

I've seen it all; I'll have lots to tell my grandchildren.


Impeachment of a President
Loss of (2) STS space vehicles
Witnessed (2) Cat 5 hurricanes ( Andrew & Katrina)
WTC terrorist attacks
Remember when gas was < $1/gal.
Dow goes below 10K (Failure of rock solid financial institutions)



atp