stock market in free fall...

[mrsmaalox]

When people say why did we do the bailout they're not realizing that while this is bad, it could be worse.

How much money is everyone out on their 401ks?

My biggest acct is a 403b and I'm down 10k, last time I checked (not today). But I believe I have recovered nicely from 7k loss in the past, so I'm not too excited....yet. Plus I don't need the money. My smaller accts I haven't even checked.

[CosmicCowboy]

If I WAS in the market I would not consider it my patriotic duty to leave my life's investments in the markets and watch them wither away just to "keep the market from dropping further"...At this point I would stay in till the Fed drops interest rates. I would watch the bounce, and if the market started to turn south again after that I would get the heck out and sit on the sidelines in Tbills till things sort out. IMHO after the rate drop Paulson and Bernake will be out of bullets and there will be NO fundamentals left to sharply increase the market and when the market finally finds a bottom it will be wide and deep. There will be plenty of time to get back in when the smoke clears.

[SpursWoman]

I guess the solution is to move your 401K money to bond funds.

The company I know that manages a friend of mines' 401k has put a freeze on any and all transactions in regards how they are diversified.

I'm not even going to look at mine ... I'm too scurred.

[CosmicCowboy]

The company I know that manages a friend of mines' 401k has put a freeze on any and all transactions in regards how they are diversified.

My answer to that would be "then give me a cashiers check, asshole..."

[smeagol]

The company I know that manages a friend of mines' 401k has put a freeze on any and all transactions in regards how they are diversified.

Can they do that?

[smeagol]

I have money in the stock market (stupid of me). I'm waiting for a pop, and I'm out. I will buy puts then, betting that the market continues to plummet.

[SpursWoman]

That's what I said .... that and that he needs to start making some phone calls. I can't see how that can possibly be right.

I know there are a lot of restrictions to withdrawing your money, but I can't see not being able to move it around.

[gay abc]

The company I know that manages a friend of mines' 401k has put a freeze on any and all transactions in regards how they are diversified.

I'm not even going to look at mine ... I'm too scurred.

I moved our 401ks to bond/interest bearing funds last year and have left them there - we have actually made some money instead of losing tens of thousands

[RandomGuy]

I agree that average Americans do relate to the stock market via their 401Ks. Nevertheless, unless you are about to retire, you should not worry ...

Baby boomers are all about to retire.

Looks like they will stay in the labor market, clogging things up and driving the price of labor down.

Dammit. I am in a great position to benefit from all those retirees freeing up their nice jobs...

[RandomGuy]

If you are 10+ years from retirement, now is a great time to keep money in the market. A few steady investments over the next few years seems to be a good idea, while everyone else is running for the hills.

The economy WILL recover by then, and those steady investments you made while things tank right about now will make you seem like a genius buying things at historically cheap levels.

[RandomGuy]

I moved our 401ks to bond/interest bearing funds last year and have left them there - we have actually made some money instead of losing tens of thousands

Always good to keep a mix. Don't try to "time" the markets, that is generally a losing proposition.

If you stay in bonds only, you will miss out on an upswing, because you will not likely be able to figure out when it happens until after it happens.

I am glad it worked out for you, though.

[CosmicCowboy]

If you are 10+ years from retirement, now is a great time to keep money in the market. A few steady investments over the next few years seems to be a good idea, while everyone else is running for the hills.

The economy WILL recover by then, and those steady investments you made while things tank right about now will make you seem like a genius buying things at historically cheap levels.

I think you are missing the fact that this is not a localized and classic cycle slump in the US stock market. This is a potential collapse of the global credit markets and an almost assured global recession or even depression. If it reaches that point there is not going to be a quick recovery and a narrow window of opportunity to "catch the bottom". The bottom (when it's finally reached) will be wide and deep if the upcoming interest rate cuts don't stop the bleeding it will get ugly fast. Dollar cost averaging is for "normal" stock market cycles and this is not the case. I'm just saying that if stocks start going back downhill after the Fed drops interest rates to 3/4% or 1% its time to get the out and sit on the sidelines in t-Bills till the smoke clears.

[Anti.Hero]

Those ABOUT to retire should have been in less aggressive investments. That's what you do when you get close to retiring. Although, I suppose to lure of making 8% on 1.5 million without having to lift a finger in one little year is pretty damn attractive. After 30+ years of compounded interest you should get to enjoy the best part so that does suck for many out there.

People lose hundreds of thousands of dollars over the span of 401k, IRAs. They also make millions including the negative return years.

I'm not freaking out because I have been told reality since I was a little boy.


If this is truly the collapse of our beloved market....damn I always had ty timing.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

worse case scenario. if a currency were to fail, how would that effect the markets?

[CosmicCowboy]

worse case scenario. if a currency were to fail, how would that effect the markets?

[CosmicCowboy]

Those ABOUT to retire should have been in less aggressive investments. That's what you do when you get close to retiring. Although, I suppose to lure of making 8% on 1.5 million without having to lift a finger in one little year is pretty damn attractive. After 30+ years of compounded interest you should get to enjoy the best part so that does suck for many out there.

People lose hundreds of thousands of dollars over the span of 401k, IRAs. They also make millions including the negative return years.

I'm not freaking out because I have been told reality since I was a little boy.


If this is truly the collapse of our beloved market....damn I always had ty timing.

The world is not going to end and there will always be financial markets. I agree that there will be money to be made when it finally turns and starts coming back up. At the same time, it is absolute lunacy to keep drinking the "dollar cost averaging" koolaid when the handwriting is on the wall that the current markets are about to come un-spooled. I will say it again...IF the markets keep dropping after the Fed drops interest rates to practically zero then you could easily see a market bottom several thousand points lower and half the people in this forum could be out of jobs. It's going to be a market bottom that a blind man could see. All the smart money has been bailing to treasuries the last few days.

[BacktoBasics]

Hopefully we still have internet porn

[BacktoBasics]

on a related and somewhat unrelated note I have been informed that 4 out of my last 6 lenders will not finance applicants who live in Louisiana. When I saw the decline I called because I've never heard of such a reason for decline. These banks have written that state off as out of territory. This is getting ridiculous.

[Clandestino]

markets will come back sooner than people think. this is no doomsday scenario. the "end of the world" predictions happen EVERYTIME the market drops. All the dumbasses who sell out are the ones who exacerbate the problem.

with no pensions, the market is the ONLY way the majority of people will ever be able to retire. or you can also save half your paycheck every month and put into cds. then you may end up having enough.

[MannyIsGod]

on a related and somewhat unrelated note I have been informed that 4 out of my last 6 lenders will not finance applicants who live in Louisiana. When I saw the decline I called because I've never heard of such a reason for decline. These banks have written that state off as out of territory. This is getting ridiculous.

Holy so no matter what their credit if you're in LA you're out of luck with these lenders?

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW.

[TDMVPDPOY]

this

the bank i put my deposit in is getting bought for $2.1billion, stupid parent company in england HBOS is being taken over...i wonder wtf happens to my deposit account...

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

LOL I'm sorry but that statement is quite funny because its so ing stupid.

Yeah, right. A large chunk of the western world has been living far beyond its means for a decade, what with a large proportion of the population buying loads of crap they can't afford ON CREDIT, and it had to come home to roost some time. What exactly is " ing stupid" about pointing that out? This credit crunch isn't just about the sub-prime mortgage lending, which was basically a big scam on the poor and stupid, it's about entire economies living beyond their ability to pay for what is consumed. Please enlighten my stupidity, oh wise one.

Any fool could see that the US, and the West in general, was in for a gut-check, it was simply a matter of when it was going to happen. I've had money in the bank for the last 3 years because I could see this coming, I just didn't know when it was going to happen. Now that stock markets are flushing out all the bad debt, the system should return to some kind of sanity - how long that will take is the question. Sure, the crunch is hurting people, but you can't live on credit for ever, and a lot of people have put themselves in credit holes so they can live lifestyles they could never really afford. It's harsh, but I have no sympathy for those people because they did it to themselves.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Looks like the markets are going to be more stable today...Australia surprised everyone and dropped rates to 1% which had a calming effect on the asian markets...Japan only dropped about 3% and Hong Kong 5%. Europe is up a little and the US markets opened on an upswing.

That being said, this is a world market that is just holding it's breath for the next set of bad news that could drop the bottom right out of the market again...

Australia dropped rates BY 1%, not TO 1%. The official interest rate set by the RBA is now 6%.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I'm not buying til it hits 8000

EXACTLY.

I've read estimates that there is up to 4 trillion of bad debt that needs to be written off, so why does anyone think these gap-plugging measures are going to have much effect? The market needs to purge itself of all the , and that could take another couple of years, depending on how quickly the debt is written off. There is a long way yet to slide.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

The point is this is how the average American relates to the stock market. Most people don't have porfolios and don't know what the numbers mean other than if it goes down its bad.

But when they look at their monthly 401k statments and see how much they just "lost" it tends to hit home.

Which totally ignores the fact that a lot of what was "lost" NEVER EXISTED IN THE FIRST PLACE - it was a bunch of figures founded on nothing but market optimism and fancy smokescreens.

As you well know, the real value of the market is based on the productive capacity behind it, and much of the bull market wasn't founded on increased capacity to produce.

The market correction is a good thing - it is going to force our societies to start living in reality, within our means, again. Painful, but necessary.

And as for retirement funds, those who are set to retire in the next 3-5 years are going to do it tough, but everyone else will be okay. The market will eventually recover and go bullish again, hopefully based on real economic expansion this time... massive investment in sustainable infrastructure, anyone? After this deep recession/depression bottoms, and with better and cheaper technology coming online all the time, investment in renewable energy and water technology will be the big leap that will fuel the next bull cycle. Mark my words. The world can't grow without sustainable energy and water.