A good time to invest in stocks today?

The trouble with Congress is that noone really has any idea what can be the consequence if the bailout IS NOT passed. Everybody's merely posturing . I think that we are due for a major tank in the market.

um... no. First you need to get some "good news".

I don't think the bottom's been reached yet.

Still skidding.

the unanswered question imo is : how will the world market shape up during the next two to three years ?
have to get a book about the "great depression" up from the rec-room - the book was written and published in the mid-thirties . during the depression the market rallied several times only to down even more every time ... until ...
i wouldn't buy until there is a solid recovery underway . i'm not knowledgable enough to sort out the eventual (true) winners from the short-term upticks in the market .
hbg

JPB, It's my opinion that with the continued bad news, the market is going to tank big time. When the good news, if and when it does come out, will make the tank look like a small flood and forgotten.

I agree.

hbg, That "book" is outdated, because the economies of the US and the world has no resemblance to 1930.

c.i. wrote :



yes , the book is outdated .
does that mean that people and governments make more rational decisions now ?
sure doesn't look like it to me !

to me the simple question is : where is the bailout money going to come from ?
i hear posters write that the debt of the companies "may eventually" be worth more than what is being paid for it right now . that's like telling a person dying of thirst that a waterpipe will be installed by next month - he is dying of thirst now !
commentator on CNBC just said that small companies have already been turned down by their banks for loans to meet their payroll obligations - that doesn't sound good !

just looking at the financial page of toronto's globe and mail : it's down , down , down ! the toronto market is down even more than new york .
but there is a bright spot : barrick gold - it's up 6% for the day - and up about 100 % over 5 years - but it's not in my portfolio <CRYING> .
hbg

I've said previously that I haven't looked, don't want to know, and will try to ride this out but I do have a bit 'o gold in the portfolio. I also maintain a zero balance on my credit card every month and my housing costs are a small percentage of my income. I should be ok but it's a darn good thing I'm not planning on retiring any time soon.

On the other hand, my retail spending just came to a screeching halt. If I don't need it, I won't be buying it.

If we've been a wee bit observant about any government, we know they make more mistakes than good decisions.

In more recent times, all we need to do is look at the destruction of our Constitution and Bill of Rights, and the "capitalism" that have become our god without any controls. The warning signs are much older than the current crisis, but people do not spend much time discerning warning signs until it hits them in their own pocket books - then they begin to pay attention. Same with politics, except it's much more convoluted with political bias and ignorance.

Whatever will be will be....cay sera sera.

JPB, As you know, I've been retired for quite a few years, and there's not much possibility to making money through work. I've been relying on my social security and retirement savings for over ten years now, but still feel un-threatened by this current crisis. Yes, I will cut back on my world travels beginning next year, but still plan to help our son in Austin buy his first home next year. I tried this year, but he said he couldn't "afford it." He's always been frugal and smart with his money. He even purchased McDonald's stock when it was $44/share. He purchased Compaq when it was $16/share, and sold it many years later after many splits and priced at about $60/share.

Screw it. As c.i. has said, "Que sera, sera" If I got hysterical every time I saw red ink on my portfolio, I'd be in the looney bin right now.

If I had brass balls, I'd pick up some bargains now. Problem is, I don't!

CI
WE could almost be related. I also retired about 11 years ago and live on social security and saveings. I have tried to get my wife a job but I think you know what she told me to do with the job. If I had the money I would invest at this time but all my saveings are tied up and I am unwilling to spend my small cash reserve on anything but emergencies. Its a bad time but as always we will survive.

Similar situation. SS is mostly spent, reserves are untouched. Still, if I had lots of cash to risk, I think I would keep sitting on it for a while. The Dow is way off today, but I'm still not believing it's reflecting the true state of the economy yet.

That's what I'm doing; sitting on the sidelines to wait until the DOW/Wilshire hits bottom.

I wouldn't need a bottom, but I'm suspecting the Dow of reflecting someone's idea that the government is somehow not going to let it really crash. To my thinking, that's just not a basis for optimism.

Still remembering your pre-bailout thoughts on a Dow level of 9,000. I'm not thinking that was too pessimistic.

roger, Do you remember where I wrote that? I can't seem to find it. LOL

roger, I repurchased 50% funds this week that I sold when the market was 14,000. Some funds were 53% cheaper, and the least drop was 5.6%, but that was an IT Bond Index fund - with a very small percentage of the sale and buyback. Still have 50% of the money left in case it drops further, but patience is the key - while understanding that my base of 9,000 on the DOW is still my base line number. My last transaction: 8,400/14,000 = 40% drop.

I bought some CAterpillar and Procter and Gamble on Wednesday. Those are too good to miss.

Good move farmerman. Many of my friends wished they had the cash to buy in just about now.