Be the bid!

[Arrian]

Originally posted by DanS


Studies have shown that a negative experience has 2x the psychological impact of a positive experience.

Fighting those human impulses could prove to be a very profitable exercise for you.

Indeed. Gotta make sure the wife's on board. Then move the money over and pick another index fund.

-Arrian

[DanS]

Welcome to April 1997!

[KrazyHorse]

DOW 7850, TSX 8170, S&P500 789, CL under 50

[Arrian]

Originally posted by DanS
Welcome to April 1997!

Good times. So I can go back to college? Sweet...

-Arrian

[DanS]

I would suggest putting money into a company in Silicon Valley selling pet food to the world on this new thing called the "Internet." You'll be a billionaire in no time.

[DanS]

Down she goes.

[DanS]

S&P 500 trailing twelve month dividend yield: 3.85%
10-Year treasuries yield: 2.99%

Tempted to refinance the house to buy stock, once the mortgage rates fall in line with an additional 1% rate cut.

[DanS]

So far, this is the worst year for total returns that I have on record. My records go back to 1926.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

a happy commentary on the day we reached 7552 a little more and back to 1997 levels for DOW

30 reasons for Great Depression 2 by 2011

and a snippet

1. America's credit rating may soon be downgraded below AAA (well that is the actual Armageddon)

12. Consumer debt way up, now at $2.5 trillion; next area for credit meltdowns

21. Unemployment heading toward 8% plus; more 1930's photos of soup lines

25. The 800-pound gorillas: Social Security, Medicare with $60 trillion in unfunded liabilities

At a recent Reuters Global Finance Summit former Goldman Sachs chairman John Whitehead was interviewed. He was also Ronald Reagan's Deputy Secretary of State and a former chairman of the N.Y. Fed. He says America's problems will take years and will burn trillions.
He sees "nothing but large increases in the deficit ... I think it would be worse than the depression. ... Before I go to sleep at night, I wonder if tomorrow is the day Moody's and S&P will announce a downgrade of U.S. government bonds." It'll get worse because "the public is not prepared to increase taxes. Both parties were for reducing taxes, reducing income to government, and both parties favored a number of new programs, all very costly and all done by the government."

so while the stocks look good, it might not all be as shiny soon... we will probably come back from this low, however down the line there are some real structural problems which will drag us all down for years...

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by DanS
S&P 500 trailing twelve month dividend yield: 3.85%
10-Year treasuries yield: 2.99%

Tempted to refinance the house to buy stock, once the mortgage rates fall in line with an additional 1% rate cut.

I know. I wish I had net worth greater than 0.



Do brokers take credit cards?

[KrazyHorse]

America's credit rating may soon be downgraded below AAA (well that is the actual Armageddon)

Not that big a deal. Canada's was dropped down for a few years in the early 90s IIRC due to our massive national debt. Once we'd reduced the debt/GDP ratio to one of the better ones among OECD countries we got re-upped.

[Jon Miller]

You can get cash from your credit cards, but you spend such a high interest on it that it isn't worth it.

JM

[KrazyHorse]

I actually have a credit limit of 4800$ on one card which will not charge me any interest for 2.5 years (though for cash advances there is a 3% fee). I would have to tap it in the next 4 weeks though (it's an introductory offer)

[OneFootInTheGrave]

US is different, Canada like Argentina - could disappear, and the world would just say "oh"... with US - due to everything being dollar denominated, this would bring all sorts of "issues" out...

while US is not exactly like monolines, going bust if they are not AAA, it will make it a lot harder to come back into shape than it already is... I don't think we can predict the effects, but it surely will add further loss of confidence and instability worldwide, deepening and prolonging the depression substantially...

[Jon Miller]

My credit cards all have silly limits (well, maybe not the one I haven't used for ~3 years), but I have had them all long enough that they are at standard rates (which is 9% or something). However, they occasionally send me checks for 0% for some period of time... not 2.5 years though!

JM