ronaldholden

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:54:52 -0800

No, I'm saying that the Dow is a window into a tiny segment of the stock market, and that the stock market is only a tiny window into the American economy. An indicator, for what little it's worth, that is now back where it was ten years ago. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR PERSONAL WEALTH, unless, of course, you sell assets for less than you paid. My point is: don't sell undervalued assets in order to buy overvalued assets. Ideally, don't sell anything. Remember, if someone is buying what you're selling, the purchaser knows something you don't. Keep your head when everyone else is in an irrational panic. It's NOT the end of the world.

jdavin

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:00:06 -0800

Uh so if I read this right you're saying don't worry about the Dow drop because it's an unrepresentative index. Well duh, the Dow is dumb and the media is dumber for continuing to quote it. But that's not the point - the S&P and other large indexes also dropped 4 to 5% and even more than that in the past month. To your point that someone who hasn't bought stocks or mutual funds doesn't need to worry about the market's performance - well, the market indices are just a reflection of the broader economy. They're going down because of all the bad news we're learning, like unemployment increasing, GDP dropping, further home price declines, bank nationalization, etc etc. So if your livelihood depends at all on a job, consumer spending, or government benefits, it doesn't do much good for one to stick their head in the sand.

Seattlest: Opinion: Sky Not Falling, Just Dow

ronaldholden

jdavin