Stocks Suffer Sixth Straight Day Of Losses

Dow Closes Down 190 Pts. As Wall St. Remains Rattled Despite News Of Emergency Rate Cut

(CBS/AP)  A stock market empowered by an emergency interest rate cut tried to find some stability Wednesday, rallying several times before another late-day drop left Wall Street down for the sixth straight day. Still, the pullback, while fed by comments from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, was milder than the massive declines of earlier in the week.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index, the market measure most closely followed by traders, fell 1.13 percent - compared to a 3.85 percent slide Monday and a 5.74 percent drop Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrials fell 189 points, a number that while sizeable was less frightening than the 875 it lost over the first two days this week.

Trading was erratic right from the opening bell, after the Federal Reserve and other leading central banks cut rates in the hope that credit markets would soon relax and that banks would begin lending more freely to businesses and consumers. The Fed lowered the target for its federal funds rate by a half-point to 1.5 percent from 2 percent, saying in a statement that the turmoil in financial markets posed a further threat to an already shaky economy; it was joined in the rate cut by the European Central Bank, Bank of England, The Bank of Canada, the Swedish Riksbank and the Swiss National Bank.

Investors had been hankering for a rate cut, and they were clearly happy with the central banks' actions. However, they were also aware that in the near term, the credit markets remain tied up because banks are reluctant to lend.

"The financial institutions are having an anxiety attack," Stuart Hoffman, an economist at PNC Financial, told CBS News. "In and of itself [the rate cut] won't be enough, but it's part of a lot of stuff the Fed has thrown on the wall to see what sticks."

That mix of emotions had the major indexes wavering between gains and losses until Paulson in late afternoon financial markets remain severely strained. He also said it would be several weeks before the government's $700 billion financial rescue plan makes its first purchases of banks' troubled mortgage-backed assets.

Paulson's comments showed how vulnerable the market is, and how it can shoot up or down in minutes. The S&P 500 index, up more than 20 points at 3:35 p.m. EDT, tumbled to a loss of 11 by the 4 p.m. closing bell.

"Until we have some more confidence here it's going to be difficult to sustain any rally," said Bill Schultz, chief investment officer at McQueen, Ball & Associates in Bethlehem, Pa. "Unfortunately you probably sell the rallies for a little while until we run out of sellers."

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve agreed to provide insurance giant American International Group with a loan of up to $37.8 billion, on top of one made to the troubled company last month.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 189.01, or 2.00 percent, at 9,258.10.

Broader stock indicators also fell. The S&P 500 index slid 11.29, or 1.13 percent, to 984.94, and the Nasdaq fell 14.55, or 0.83 percent, to 1,740.33.

With its precipitous drop of the past few weeks, Wall Street is approaching the magnitude of the losses it suffered during the bear market in the early part of this decade. By the time the Dow reached its low of that market, 7,286.27 on Oct. 9, 2002, it had fallen 37.8 percent from its record high close of 11,722.98, set in January 2000.

The Dow has now fallen about 35 percent from the closing high of 14,164.53, reached a year ago Thursday. This week alone, the Dow has lost 1,067 points, or 10.3 percent. It has lost 1,592.56, or 14.68 percent over the past six sessions.

The worries on the Street have been exacerbated by the spread of the U.S. credit problems overseas. Several banks in Europe have had to be bailed out, and earlier this week, the governments of Germany, Ireland and Greece took steps to guarantee private bank deposits.

Moreover, the markets are mindful of the fact that the government's $700 billion financial rescue plan is in its early stages of implementation and will take some time to have an impact on banks' balance sheets.

David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor's, said the heavy losses in stock markets around the world signal that markets are determining that the credit crisis won't likely be resolved soon.

"There was a general disregard for risk going on in financial markets around the world, it wasn't just the U.S.," he said. "Now they're waking up to risk."

Investors had been anxious in recent days for a rate cut, and despite the Fed taking other steps this week to help the credit markets. Policymakers unveiled a plan to buy massive amounts of commercial paper, the short-term debt used by companies, in a bid to reanimate the credit markets.

It is likely that stocks won't begin to recover for good until investors are certain the credit markets are functioning in a more normal fashion. There are also severe economic problems including heavy job losses and high unemployment that will also need to show improvement.

The uncertainty in the market has driven investors to buy up anything deemed safe, including gold and government debt. For instance, prices of gold shot up $22.60 to $904.60 - though still off its record of $1,033.90 in March.

Demand for short-term Treasurys remained high because of their safety; investors are willing to take extremely low returns just to have their money in a secure place. The yield on the three-month Treasury bill, which moves opposite its price, dropped to 0.66 percent from 0.81 percent late Tuesday.

However, longer term Treasury bonds fell because they are considered to be less attractive when the Fed cuts rates. The yield on the 10-year note rose to 3.70 percent from 3.51 percent late Tuesday.

The first third-quarter earnings reports are showing signs of strain on companies, and that is adding more uncertainty to the stock market. After the close Tuesday, Alcoa Inc. said it would conserve cash by suspending its stock buyback program and all non-critical capital projects. The aluminum company's earnings fell 52 percent.

Shares of the company fell $2, or 12 percent, to $14.71, by far the steepest decline among the 30 that comprise the Dow industrials.

Recession worries are hitting retailers as well, reports CBS News business correspondent Anthony Mason. Three out of four major retailers reported disappointing sales.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said sales rose in September but issued a tepid forecast for October. Often discounters do better than other retailers during tough economic times so the forecast from the world's largest retailer caused some worries about overall retail demand. Wal-Mart fell 29 cents to $54.55.

Luxury retailers turned in a generally weak performance. Saks Inc. fell 96 cents, or 13 percent, to $6.24 after sales fell more than Wall Street had expected.

Declining issues were narrowly ahead of advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a heavy 2.13 billion shares.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 12.38, or 2.21 percent, to 546.57.

European indexes had a short-lived bounce after the rate cut. In Britain, the FTSE-100 ended down 5.18 percent, Germany's DAX dropped 5.88 percent, and France's CAC-40 dropped 6.31 percent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 9.38 percent lower and Hong Kong's Hang Seng tumbled 8.17 percent hours before the rate cuts were announced; their declines showed the extent of the worldwide gloom. And Russia's two main stock exchanges were suspended because of a massive sell-off right after their openings.

[nick32708]

The stock market index is like my girl friends mood. Gets upset for no reason. I wonder if the Fed can ever make the gamblers on wall street happy. When people invest money, wall street makes money. But now that people are not investing, still they want to make money by creating panic selling. The ban on short selling may help stabilizing the stock market also the pi*ps on wall street won''t be able to gamble.

[whitemale08]

CAUTIOUS ABOUT WHAT????

WALL STREET IS IN A FREE FALL!!!!!

There is no new CREDIT DERIVATIVES bubble that is big enough to replace the one backed by the world wide housing bubble.

It''s over, accept reality and get to work on a new global credit system based on national soveriegnty not ''globization'' and ''central banking systems''.

[antoniof123]

Wall Street Cautious Despite Rate Cut
Stocks Fluctuate On News Of Global Interest Rate Reductions

Maybe in normal times but not this time around it is heading down and will most likely fall for the next few days (I hope that is all it falls). We may see an up but don''t ralley and start going crazy you need to wait there are no bargins do not listen to those who are telling you there are bargins. They want to sell to you so you absorb their loses.

[silverstar06]

Just goes to show how much of this horrible mess is being governed by ''someone''s'' backwards resentments, and unwillingness to dislodge full and complete blame onto and against the strongest European businesses. Companies like Allianz did not become financially strong through their involvement during the Third Reich alone. They had by then already been a prominent insurance and investment firm. To hold that involvement against them still, as though this was the only business venture ever, and the one that made them who they are today is racist and ridiculous.

[lochlan-2009]

MARTIAL LAW was declared in the House of Representatives, September 28. Have you heard this in the news? No? This is a fact on the House of Representatives website.

http://burgess.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=103976


Brad Sherman in the house of Representatives says members of congress were threatened that "There would be martial law in America if we voted no."(on the bailout bill) Have you heard this in the nws? No?

[brianbwb-2009]

Japan has more than once cut their rate to zero, and it didn''t help, the people lost trust, and were unwilling to spend.

The Fed can cut to zero, and it will not help. Banks aren''t lending to each other, because they all know that they all are corrupt liars, and low interest rates won''t change that.

It is almost funny that the only obvious answer is exactly the one everyone on both sides of the aisle will not discuss.

There is a time limit, if no one will discuss the solution, expect riots and general anarchy to begin next summer. Once they start, that will be all she wrote.

[archiej2]

Possible Temporary Safety Net

For those of you who have IRAs outside your place of employment, I want to share some information that I learned from Chase earlier this week. There is a 60 day window that you''re granted where you won''t incur a penalty if you sell your present IRA and transfer that money into another bank''s IRA. Based on that information and as a result of present market conditions, I sold all my stocks that were in separate funds in my IRA. I will be truthful; I did incur a loss. Nonetheless as a result of the continuing downward spiral that I witness in the market and in spite of the fact that these CEOs received the $850 billion that they''ve all been crying for, I decided that the benefit of selling my IRA and leaving my money in an insured institution for 60 days to actually see where this market is headed in the next two months far outweighed the loss that I incurred. I guess what I''m trying to say here is the administration continues to say not to panic, however I feel that with the daily news filled with examples of corporate corruption, I''d rather sit tight for 60 days with cash in hand and watch where the market is truly headed instead of losing my entire IRA.

[donevis-2009]

Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall Street, Everyone was screaming Dump, Dump, Dump, so he had a 1450 point fall. All King George''s bailouts, and cronies, couldn''t prop Humpty back up again. So they all ate the egg and split.

[ajaxtheleast]

You Mean I wont have now and wont be able
to afford what I didn''t have then
and wasn''t able to afford !!???

SCARY, MAN, SCARY !!!

[lemonskink]

I wonder how long before these guys go on another junket to the spa, AIG''s bill was 420,000 dollars. It was just a small celebration for the gift the Bush administration showered on them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcZSh1diQRQ

[rebelrepubli]

http://www.survivalistboards.com

[samthetvcat]

Is it true they okayed short-selling again? If so when did that policy change take place? Did they say it''s okay to give hedge funds who have been hit hard something to work with?

All the experts say short-selling''s okay for the market, but it does tend to add volatility to the market - you think that explains the wild swings we''ve had all day? If so, maybe the fact that anybody''s buying for any reason maybe offsets that?

Who knows . . . hmmm . . .

[lochlan-2009]

MARTIAL LAW was declared in the House of Representatives, September 28. Have you heard this in the news? No? This is a fact on the House of Representatives website.

http://burgess.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspxDocumentID=103976n

Brad Sherman in the house of Representatives says members of congress were threatened that "There would be martial law in America if we voted no."(on the bailout bill) Have you heard this in the news? No?

[samthetvcat]

Oh the ban doesn''t expire until tonight . . .

[lastdance127]

Definition of TREASON :
1 : The betrayal of a trust : treachery
2 : The offense of attempting by Overt acts to overthrow the
government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance

ECONOMIC STRIFE
That is Being used as a Weapon to
ELIMINATE a DEMOCRACY and REPLACE IT
With The Totalitarian Dictatorship of

A NAZI FASCIST RULE
(Master-Slave Mentality)

Against : The Populace of the United States

Any Corporation or POLITICAL INFLUENCE
That has Supported and Assisted in
The Achievement of : PURPOSELY and INTENTIONALLY
DESTROYING : The DEMOCRATIC INFRASTRUCTURE and
The ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE of The United States
Is an : Act of TREASON

The Political Criminal FBI
Out of an Act of : Political Nepotism - Patronization and
Fraternization to : The Bush NAZI Fascist Crime Regime

Refuses to Understand or Comprehend
Definition of : TREASON

[antoniof123]

the majority will be just fine.....the people who live their life thinking the government should take care of them will be in trouble

Posted by jamesm12341 at 01:27 PM : Oct 08, 2008

Have you ever read a histroy book or do you get all your talking points from Limbaugh.

In the great Depression no one was spared. And in this day and age the whole world is watching there is no escape. So why don''t you pick up a 8th grade history book and read about it. If you haven''t finished the 8th grade find a 6th grade one it has lots of pictures in it too.

[whitemale08]

Russia takes Iceland into coservatorship and the so-called royals in the U.K. are starting to look like paper-mache projects made out worn out newspaper for elementry school.

All this printing worthless paper money will not solve anything. All of these greedy parasites and ticks must be taken down with their own greed.

If you are smart you should''ve been out of the ''dollar'' and been out of stocks and been out of the U.S. before this depression swallows you whole.

[random_radar]

Banks aren''t lending because they are insolvent. Lowering the interest rate won''t change that. In fact, lending more would make the balance sheet worse for an insolvent bank. The economy is going to collapse no matter what.

Giving banks tax money will help the banks, but it won''t save the economy because it will cause inflation and destroy your investments. Bailouts are the worst possible thing to do for the ordinary citizen because they suffer from it.

There is no way to prevent the depression. The economy has to correct somehow and something has to give. The tax payers are being set up to take the fall while the rich get richer on their backs. Congress is the stooge for the rich and they are selling you out.

[donevis-2009]

Check out that ticker graph. LOL No mater how hard the PPT tries it can''t keep it up!! Needs more Viagra Bailout I guess.

[inketolstoy]

Short term traders must be nervous as a spider at a clog dancing contest with a market as volatile as this one. What ever happened to those guys who quit their jobs to rent a computer and trade stocks that was the fad five years ago.

[generey]

I Cant get over the pics of the brokers / traders...too funny LOL!
Anyway, BoFA went down too, here is their day:
BAC Bank Of America Corporation (NYSE)
Last: $21.95 Chg: ($1.82) %Chg: -7.66%

[gop_will_win]

The stock market is going down because investors are fearing an Obama victory and are cashing out of stocks to put the money in mason jars and bury them in the backyard. Oh woe is us. If only Obama cared about America and dropped out of the race to allow a McCain victory all would be well again.

[gop_will_win]

Short term traders must be nervous as a spider at a clog dancing contest with a market as volatile as this one. What ever happened to those guys who quit their jobs to rent a computer and trade stocks that was the fad five years ago.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Inketolstoy
=======================
They all went on to careers in flipping real estate.

[antoniof123]

I am going to say this one more time do not listen to the conservative analysts.

THERE ARE NO BARGINS OUT THERE AT THIS TIME.

Wait for the market to settle down, make certain that the government controls are in palce. If not through yor money out the window it would be a better investment than giving it to Wall Street.

[ruready2revo]

Revolution.
The time is now.

[ruready2revo]

Isn''t this why we had The Boston Tea Party? Taxation w/o representation? Are you people telling me that we''re truthfully being represented? Are the elected official doing "what they know best" or what we''re directing them to do? You know that answer as well as I. It''s time to take a stand for what''s right, before the handful of powerful politicans around the world--not just those in the US--declare worldwide martial law. In the meantime, stock your pantry with lots of canned goods and get yourselves prepared.

[gop_will_win]

McCain Campaign manager Davis also had the money he earned from McCain sent directly to Davis Manafort. So the connection is solid.

Davis took Freddie''''s cash through August of this year.

Period.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by gun-tower
====================
Thats OK, he is a republican. We must be patriotic and look the other way at this for the countrys sake.

[gop_will_win]

Isn''''t this why we had The Boston Tea Party? Taxation w/o representation? Are you people telling me that we''''re truthfully being represented? Are the elected official doing "what they know best" or what we''''re directing them to do? You know that answer as well as I. It''''s time to take a stand for what''''s right, before the handful of powerful politicans around the world--not just those in the US--declare worldwide martial law. In the meantime, stock your pantry with lots of canned goods and get yourselves prepared.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by RUREADY2REVO
==========================
We are being truthfully represented. Most of us are self centered morons, thats all.

[iphyt4u]

China and Russia are going to post estimated economic growth rates of 7% next year. The United States under the leadership of Bush, Cheney, and John McSame are looking at growth of about 1.5% next year. Get these drunken losers out of government, and let a real American like Obama guide us to prosperity.

[ubrew12]

Sec Paulson says the root cause of these financial troubles is the housing meltdown. The problem? Housing didn''t meltdown, it deflated a bit, starting two years ago. Paulsons underlying message is to pin the blame for this on Democrats, who supported home ownership even for the poor.

Paulson doesn''t want to talk about the hugely risky and largely unregulated derivatives securities bankers drew up after making home loans, that overleveraged those loans by factors as high as 37 to 1. These they traded all over the world, trillions in ''vapor money'' infecting every bank in the world. All housing had to do was catch a little cold, and this derivatives house of cards was going to come crashing down, taking our lending industries with it. Since this industry is ''too big to fail'' (too important to our economy to be allowed to fail), government HAD to bail them out. Lets be clear about what happened: bankers overleveraged mortgages into global investments because they KNEW the worst that would happen would be that the U.S. gov''t (and others) would HAVE to bail them out if their bets didn''t pay off. Lack of regulation allowed them to do that, not faulty mortgage loans. And the housing bubble never popped, it hissed a little, causing the DERIVATIVES bubble to POP, and THAT is what we are rescuing.

[gop_will_win]

the majority will be just fine.....the people who live their life thinking the government should take care of them will be in trouble

Posted by jamesm12341 at 01:27 PM : Oct 08, 2008
========================
Thats right James, the republicans who get in trouble will do the honorable thing and stand on the streetcorners with their hand out expecting their fellow man to take care of them. just like last night some guy asked me for $1 for gas and I asked him who he is voting for and he said McCain and then I gave him $5.

[ubrew12]

What galls me is that NOT only has the taxpayer had to bail the bankers out for their greed, but they are now using their access to the bully pulpit to preach that its OUR fault, for taking on risky loans. Thats BVLLSH*(!!

[missingamerica]

I guess the world does not find the prospect of Republicans - the same people who broke the financial systems of the world in their greed - promising to fix it very reassuring.

Maybe if the Republicans did not have that record of lying people would be able to trust them.

[nader2rescue]

Are you angry about the economy? ..
News Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ryan Mehta, 408-348-0681, [e-mail] (National HQ); Josh Starcher, 718-909-6343 (Local)
WHEN: Wednesday, October 15 at 6:00pm

WHERE: Cooper Union, 7 East 7th St. at Third Ave. NY, NY 10003
Ralph is the only Presidential candidate who supports jail time, not bail time for Wall Street fat cats, so come hear him speak in the historic Cooper Union instead of watching the game show debates on TV. Ralph will address the crowd on serious issues like withdrawing our corporate and military forces from Iraq and more lighthearted, entertaining subjects such as strengthening shareholder power and taxing derivative speculation.

[nader2rescue]

He will also comment on the Presidential debates from which he was excluded. In another part of the city, while Ralph speaks in Cooper Union, the two corporate candidates will be debating each other without even mentioning the issues that Ralph will talk about and that matter to the American people. Since 1988, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) has sponsored every presidential debate and kept the discussion empty. Since its inception, the CPD has always been headed by two former chairs of the Democratic and Republican parties. In 1987, the League of Women Voters refused to sponsor any more presidential debates, lbecause the demands of the two campaign organizations would perpetrate a fraud on the American voter.

[nader2rescue]

About Ralph Nader
Attorney, author, and consumer advocate Ralph Nader has been named by Time Magazine one of the "100 Most Influential Americans in the 20th Century." For more than four decades he has exposed problems and organized millions of citizens into more than 100 public interest groups advocating solutions. He led the movement to establish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and was instrumental in enacting the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and countless other pieces of important consumer legislation. Because of Ralph Nader we drive safer cars, eat healthier food, breathe better air, drink cleaner water, and work in safer environments. Nader graduated from Princeton University and received an LL.B from Harvard Law School.

[nader2rescue]

Are you angry about the economy? ..
News Advisory
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ryan Mehta, 408-348-0681, [e-mail] (National HQ); Josh Starcher, 718-909-6343 (Local)
WHEN: Wednesday, October 15 at 6:00pm
WHERE: Cooper Union, 7 East 7th St. at Third Ave. NY, NY 10003
Ralph is the only Presidential candidate who supports jail time, not bail time for Wall Street fat cats, so come hear him speak in the historic Cooper Union instead of watching the game show debates on TV. Ralph will address the crowd on serious issues like withdrawing our corporate and military forces from Iraq and more lighthearted, entertaining subjects such as strengthening shareholder power and taxing derivative speculation.
He will also comment on the Presidential debates from which he was excluded. In another part of the city, while Ralph speaks in Cooper Union, the two corporate candidates will be debating each other without even mentioning the issues that Ralph will talk about and that matter to the American people.

[silverstar06]

The only people who ever want a violent revolution and an overthrow of the western world, are the one''s who never worked for anything and ain''t got *****!! While western bankers are trying to balance this thing back into stability, non creating slave chasers are hoping things fall back to chaos. Because it works best for them, when all they are pumping is human lives into a slavery system.

[nader2rescue]

Are you angry about the economy? Take action to open the debates. McCain gave the go ahead and Obama said no. http://www.votenader.org/

***Listen to Nader before you decide***
Ralph Nader is on TV tonight!
Ralph will be on CNN''s Late Edition with Wolf Blizter at about 5 p.m. EST this afternoon.
And he''ll be on Fox''s The O''Reilly Factor with Bill O''Reilly at about 8:25 p.m. EST tonight.
Hope you get a chance to watch.

[wl7bzh]

Brad Sherman in the house of Representatives says members of congress were threatened that "There would be martial law in America if we voted no."(on the bailout bill) Have you heard this in the nws? No?

Posted by lochlan at 12:31 PM : Oct 08, 2008

So does this mean that this time they can shoot looters?

[inventagod2]

Republicon greed seals the deal.

It always leads to Democrat wins, the Repugs know we always clean up their enormous messes...

[yongamerica]

Apparently the 800 billion dollar bailout is a ruse and was a complete nnecessary waste of tax dollars, and our grandchildren''s future. Thank you Bush administration for all your insight and oversight and hindsight. I am more than certain the higher echelon of the Bush Administration and peers profited handsomely.

The article about AGI sending all its executives to a health spa and spending in excess of $400,000 on them two days after The Bush administration gave them an 85 billion dollar bailout is truly an eye opener.

It shows that today''s economists are the true alchemists by turning something worth less than dirt (debit) into gold, and its all on the world''s investors dime. Good scam. Kudos.

[ruready2revo]

Nader is too little too late. Maybe Bob Barr (Libertarian) would possibly make true change at this juncture. Maybe.

[samthetvcat]

---"The administration has been rushing to implement the bailout, but, Paulson cautioned, "Getting it right is as important as getting it done quickly."---

I seriously wonder whether Paulson''s doing more damage than good when he talks.

If you listen to all the other economic experts on tv, they''re so careful about couching everything in optimism to not spook the markets - when Paulson talks the market loses like 250 pts.

Like yeah unemployment''s up, sales are down, credit''s tight, housing''s in a slump, inflation might go up, but still . . .

[samthetvcat]

PS I also worry that the candidates in trying to ''empathize'' with people and show that they ''get it'' are as a byproduct of that effort are maybe spooking the markets too (?) It''s kind of scary :o

[whatiknow2]

Plain and simple,
If you will still be able to afford to support yourself after the business you work for folds under,
If you have all the insurance you need for you and your loved ones,
If your home is paid for and is still worth what you paid for it,
If you are secure with the future as far as your retirement,
If you are not concerned with the amount of taxes you pay,
If your credit rating is over 750,
and If you do not care at all about those who are less fortunate than you,
If you feel comfortable about "Bomb Bomb Bomb IRAN",
If you look forward to a Nuclear war with KOREA,
Then you might be able to afford to vote REPUBLICAN.
Here is your sign
_________
|***VOTE***=
|*McSame!*=
|_________=
| ||
| ||
| ||
I am giving my vote to "THAT ONE"

[dangyankee69]

I have heard alot of blame being passed around. Here''s a possible alternative. As a reformed trustifarian, I can remember when it made more sense to have assets invested in the Stock Market and pay only the interest on my personal debt (car lease, home mortgage, etc.) because the assets invested appreciated at a higher rate than the interest charges I was paying (net gain). If I were still in that position today (sadly I am not) I would quickly decide to liquidate the assets to move them to more solid places (pay off the car, and house for one) even if that meant a small loss, the long term trend over the past three years has been to lose ground on many positions, and the foreseeable future looks like hard assets will be much more stable. Not to mention the fact that the value of the dollar appears poised to take a huge hit, so sell now and pay off the personal debt. Oh wait by the look of the DJIA it seems that most American investors have already figured this one out. Last one out gets stuck with the bill.

[david1737]

Until a few Mondays ago McCain said the fundamentals of the economy remain strong, then hours later he changed his position.

Since then McCain''s positions on the economic crisis have been erratic at best.

This is no suprise from McCain as he is quoted as saying:

"I don''t understand how the economy works"

[dangyankee69]

Brad Sherman in the house of Representatives says members of congress were threatened that "There would be martial law in America if we voted no."(on the bailout bill) Have you heard this in the nws? No?

Posted by lochlan at 12:31 PM : Oct 08, 2008

So does this mean that this time they can shoot looters?


In Brad Sherman''s District? W. LA ? Sure. But then again it sounds like Sherman is just trying to build a cover story. How did this Cali. Lib. vote on the Bailout?

Buying at the bottom, love it. Fear and Panic, it''s a great thing