Is the bottom about to drop out of the stock market?

[Quixote1818]

Now I am no financial expert by any means at all but I am a little worried that Wall Street is teetering on the brink of disaster. Economists on the radio keep saying that things are fine and dandy and their will be some great buying opportunity's in a few days. Is this just their job to help prevent panic or is that the most likely scenario?

Concerns over economic growth and higher prices lead to the worst week of trading so far this year. Is this the beginning of the next great depression or just a blip on the screen that will correct it's self next week?

At the end of next week we can look back and see who made the best prediction.

[1monster]

1. You weren't around in 1987 when the stock market dropped 500 plus points

in one day, hmmm? Then it rallied slightly the next day and dropped even more the day after that... Thing were really hairy for a few months. That was before the Dow hit 3000. It was a 23% drop in one day.

The Dow dropping 191 points in one day when the value is more than three times that of 1987 isn't cause for panic ... yet.

[Quixote1818]

3. I am worried about a 20% drop next week if panic sets in

I am not too worried about what happened this week. What I am asking is will next week be a week for corrections or panic?

[On the Road]

2. Nobody Knows

but it's possible it still has a ways to go down. As you point out, there are still a lot of bulls, and a major downtrend typically ends with capitulation, when everyone thinks it will keep going down.

The market crashed in 2000 -- the NASDAQ especially badly -- and the world didn't end. It will be the same this time. Only probably not quite as bad on the tech side.

[Quixote1818]

4. What is your prediction for next week? Up, down or Crash? nt

[On the Road]

7. Up Sharply on Monday

down more slowly the rest of the week.

[Quixote1818]

9. That's a good prediction nt

[On the Road]

11. One Thing That Makes it Easier

is that today was an options expiration day, which typically makes the market more volatile and magnifies any movement. So given the extreme reaction, it's likely to cause a retracement to one of the moving averages on Monday. But today still solidifies a very significant downward momentum.

[johnaries]

5. Hopefully, the market will be boosted Monday by Bargain

Hunters. Not by much, but by enough to let us just wipe our brows and say "Whew, another close one". This isn't THE one, but IT's not far behind.

Welcome to Trickle-Down/Reaganomics/Supply-Side economics.

These guys keep talking about a Free Market, but they don't understand that a Free Market is Consumer-based.

Idiots.

[Quixote1818]

8. I agree

If the economy was a lemonade stand would you give more money to those making lemonade or more money to the kids in the neighborhood that might buy the lemonade? In my opinion the answer is you would give tax cuts/higher pay (allowance)to the kids in the neighborhood who might buy lemonade, mostly. Then they would be more likely to buy lemonade then everyone has more money. If you give higher pay/allowance/tax cuts to those selling the lemonade they probably would not even make new kinds of lemonade they would invest it in the Kidd stock market if their were one. Meanwhile those wanting to buy lemonade would stay thirsty because they are broke. The kids selling lemonade would make more money on the kiddy stock market and the kids in the neighborhood would get pissed on.

Giving tax breaks to the producer and not the consumer is how Republicans like to work things. Simple common sense shows this reasoning to be completely insane! Clinton had it right! Targeted tax cuts looking where the boat is leaking and plugging up those holes. Giving broad tax cuts to the wealthy is a crap shoot! It's like playing pinball because once the ball (money) start rolling down you never know where it will go. More than likely NOT back into the economy but into the stock market horded by the wealthy.

[bperci108]

6. Another Depression?

I really don't want to wish ill on my nation or my neighbors, but I sometimes wonder if a BAD downturn for a few years might be what this country needs to get it back on the right track fiscally, spiritually and philosophically.

It took precisely that to end the ridiculous excesses of the Robber Barons (who seem to be with us once again), and their govenment that they created of, by and for the rich (which has returned as well...).

That generation is fast dying off and taking their hard-learned lessons and wisdom with them. Those that lived through the Great Depression that cry out in warning are not listened to by those in power-such topics are too "hard a hearing" for them.

See:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2000/0011.mcdonnell.html


(Grover Norquist stated in a European-appearance speech before ex-pat conservatives a few months back that he wishes that these "un-american traitors" would hurry up and die so he and his cronies can get on with their plans. No; I'm not kidding...)

:puke:

Problem is, I don't see a modern FDR out there to lead the march back to national sanity and greatness.

[carpetbagger]

10. Stocks are at this point in a chronic slump.

Dollar devaluation and a supply-side economy have driven money out of the economy. The Dow-Jones index has not changed in five years. We've had dips and recoveries, from the recession proper, the attacks, Summer of Enron, war jitters, but no budging. What's likely in the near future is probably more of the same. Most of us underlings don't own stocks for a few weeks or months and unload, so it's not relevent to us, at least not to me.

I've decided it's time to just throw money at the mortgage. That's a peculiar situation for me, since houses are dirt cheap here in Texas, and I don't really reap more from the deductions than I do from the standard deduction.

By next week I say we're unchanged, 10,087.

[spanone]

12. The botton damn near dropped out today. Where's bush*?

Talking about the crisis in social security. Meanwhile the economy is in the toilet.

[carpetbagger]

14. Uh, the last time he gave a market speech, it tanked.

If you can find some screen shots from his July 15, 2002 speech, you can see the speech on one half, and the market panicking on the other half.

[leftofthedial]

13. It sucks and will continue to suck until the coup is overthrown

typical repuke market bounces around in mediocrity, with just enough volatility to allow the insiders to score big and often.