Comments for That damned Bear Cavalry...

That damned Bear Cavalry...

2008-11-06T14:10:58Z

...came and savaged my investment accounts again yesterday.

I need a Penguin Army.

Comment from Rivrdog on 2008-11-07

2008-11-08T00:15:51Z

Sal, you are a CARD ! Of course, Prez-O never filled out a DD398, and unlike you and I, doesn't have a stack of copies attesting to hours of blood, sweat and tears knowing EVERY entry had to be letter-perfect.

My guess is that if he ever DID fill one out, he would have a hard time holding on to even his Senate seat...

Comment from RetRsvMike on 2008-11-07

2008-11-07T13:26:13Z

John/Sal, i would concur with John on the point being moot now, but i would extend it further by stating that the security directives controlling such a topic would have their proponency and derive their authority from the position of the Commander in Chief.

while that point is still debatable for the Junior Senator from Illinois, once he is inaugurated, POTUS has "ultra max galactic purple retina only" clearance.

until Inauguration Day, i would still insist on getting a signed Non Disclosure Statement before conducting any such briefings.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2008-11-06

2008-11-07T05:25:00Z

Sal, I dunno if he ever filled out the clearance questionaire, but the people made that un-necessary. The people gave him a TS Code Word clearance when they elected him.

Comment from Argent on 2008-11-06

2008-11-07T03:01:21Z

People say you can't time a market but that's not really true. You just can't time it exactly. Really you aught to have sold those investments when things were rosy and now... now is the time to think of buying strategies not selling.

Retirement funds have two huge problems. At least over here. One is that fund managers underperform the market and charge fees to boot. The other is you can't control the selling or buying process sufficiently because the money is locked.

AfSis they don't think the world coming to and end, hell they are reacting more that way with the Obama factor than the market... but what they can see is their retirements and other investements resulting in leaner times during their twilight years and conservatives think well this way. And most of their fears are quite reasonable. The market will recover oh yes but the previous expections of how much money they have to live on in those later years will become much smaller.

Comment from sal on 2008-11-06

2008-11-07T02:47:06Z

I WONDER IF OBAMA EVER FILLED OUT FORM, DD 398

Comment from Ymarsakar on 2008-11-06

2008-11-07T01:46:59Z

I wonder if Obama can get gas to 6 dollars a gallon in a year.

Comment from AW1 Tim on 2008-11-06

2008-11-07T01:35:22Z

Well, to my mind, the market is simply responding to the implied threat of a socialist government to nationalize much of the economy on the way to destroying all of the economy.

Markets respond predictably to threats to their existence, much like people. They liquidate assets to gain capital, then stash it out of harm's way.

Respects,

Comment from Beth Donovan on 2008-11-06

2008-11-06T22:58:29Z

My guess is that after the 2012 election, stocks will rocket to new heights.

Comment from AFSister on 2008-11-06

2008-11-06T19:22:09Z

Diversification people!
Diversification!!

And dollar-cost averaging.

Those two things, plus 5+ years before needing to access your retirement account, will help you weather the storm and set you up quite nicely for the up-swing.

And think of it this way:
A month ago I was paying over $4.00 a gallon for gas; I filled up today at $1.89. That's over a 50% drop in ONE MONTH. The US stock markets have fallen 40+ % over the past TEN MONTHS. If it took gas 10 months to drop in half, we would have been happy, but wouldn't have noticed quite as much as we have because of the quick drop. Why is it when gas drops by 50%, we're happy, because it's a bargain, but when stocks- good quality stocks- drop by 40%, it's a national disaster and the world's coming to an end?

Why? Because it's an emotional response.
We jump at the opportunity to spend our money on things on sale (has anyone else ever noticed that Kohl's ALWAYS has a sale? anyway.. I digress), EXCEPT when stocks are on sale. We see stock prices fall, and all we see is the bottom line on our quarterly statements. We see gas prices fall, and suddenly we see the ability to go visit distant relative for Thanksgiving this year.

Keep things in perspective, and plan for your future. Let today do whatever today is going to do- you can't control that. Stay true to your risk tolerence and long-term plan, and you'll be fine.

Trust me... we'll come out of this. The stock market has averaged around 8% per year, including the Great Depression. This is not another depression; we will be fine if you give it enough time.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2008-11-06

2008-11-06T16:48:05Z

I moved everything in my 401(k) into bond funds, and have actually been getting about a 3% return on those. The other choices I had in the corporate plan were'nt doing well at all.

I'm taking a beating in the mutuals in my other investment accounts, but I'm holding on to the shares and waiting out the rough seas, because, thankfully, I can. I'm diversified both in risk and instruments.

Comment from fdcol63 on 2008-11-06

2008-11-06T16:40:40Z

Pretty soon, there'll be nothing left in my 401K. Brutal.

Comment from John of Argghhh! on 2008-11-06

2008-11-06T15:34:00Z

Heh. I can vouch for that!

Comment from RetRsvMike on 2008-11-06

2008-11-06T15:31:17Z

rounded belly = good cupola hatch seal...

Comment from BillT on 2008-11-06

2008-11-06T15:10:13Z

What're they carrying, belt-fed rockets with iron sights?

Whatever -- good luck getting rounds downrange with neither trigger fingers nor opposable thumbs. I mean, *everybody* knows penguins make lousy combat soldiers, but they're fairly useful as tankers...

Comment from RetRsvMike on 2008-11-06

2008-11-06T14:56:23Z

Bear Cav sez, "yummy crunchies, pink and gooey on the inside."