Jesus Christ! The Dow is dropping a point every 2 or 3 seconds!

[karlrschneider]

Now down 541!!!
:scared:

[phantom power]

1. remarkable. Any commentary on what's causing it?

[Warpy]

2. Dumb people are getting panicky

and that's triggering a lot of computerized automatic sales as prices fall below a set point. Expect an early closing to prevent the computer stuff from causing a bloodbath.

[patrice]

3. That'd be me!!!

I'm going to have to sit on my hands . . . !

[RebelOne]

7. Me, too!

I have investments in stocks through a 401K and an IRA.

[patrice]

8. Yep. Our "retirement" - and it ain't far off!!

Money makes my stomache hurt.

[progdonkey]

5. according to S&P, it's China...

Stocks Slide after China Sell-Off
Stocks were broadly lower in heavy trading at the midpoint Tuesday, as a plunge in China's stock exchange rippled across global markets. Stronger readings for home sales and consumer confidence helped stem losses, while a disappointing report on durable goods orders fanned concerns about a slowing economy.

Near midsession, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 171.12 points, or 1.35%, to 12,461.14. The broader Standard&Poor's 500 index dropped 20.94 points, or 1.44%, to 1,428.43. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite was down 51.32 points, or 2.05%, to 2,453.2.

Shanghai's benchmark index tumbled 8.8% overnight Tuesday amid worries about possible government action to cool the market. The benchmark closed at a record high a day earlier. According to a Bloomberg report, the State Council, China's highest ruling body, has approved a special task force to clamp down on illegal share offerings and otherbanned activities in the market.

Regulators clearly responded to the frothy gains in Chinese exchanges. Beijing must pay attention to "bubbles" in its stock market before they get out of hand, Cheng Siwei, vice chairman of the Nation's People Congress, wrote in a commentary published in the Chinese-language Financial News.

[brooklynite]

4. CNN: Stock selloff picks up steam

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stock selling accelerated Tuesday afternoon as falling markets in China and Europe and a steep decline in durable goods orders sparked a rush for the exits on Wall Street.

News that Vice President Dick Cheney was the apparent target in a Taliban suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan added to the day's worries.

...snip...

Chinese stocks slumped 9 percent Tuesday - the worst one-day selloff in a decade - on concerns that the government would interfere to cool the speculation that drove the Shanghai market up nearly 130 percent last year. (Full story).

Other Asian markets slumped in tandem. European shares also tumbled.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/27/markets/markets_0130/index.htm?cnn=yes

[deadmessengers]

6. "The only people who get hurt on a rollercoaster...

...are the ones who jump off."

Stay put, invest for the long haul not the quick kill, and you'll be fine.

[Midlodemocrat]

9. I just sold some options last week before all of this.

The price has dropped $4 on a 30 dollar stock.

:scared:

[Cleita]

10. I'm glad I switched all my retirement funds to CDs.

But I wonder how safe they are going to be in the long run.

[GreenPartyVoter]

11. As a non-stock-owning person I am not panicked yet, but I know this will screw with the economy

one way or another. Could someone better versed in these things lay it all out for me?

[Cleita]

12. On the bright side it will screw the Bush administration in a big way

if we have a crash similar to 1929.

[lectrobyte]

17. One of the blogs I follow claims this is China firing a warning shot on Iran at us.

I don't know enough about international finance to really say, but looking at all the deficit and debt figure things have to come due one way or the other sooner or later.

[Cleita]

18. Looks like it was a mistake however the DOW is still down 3.2%

and that's still not good.

[lectrobyte]

19. A mistake? I'm not sure I understand... Is it back up now or something?

[Cleita]

21. It was a computer glitch, but the DOW is still falling anyway.

It's down to -$415.70 or 3.3% now at closing. All thirty DOW stocks are lower. So there was a sell off of some kind anyway which dropped the DOW this much.

CNBC says that the DOW posts the lowest closing in five years. I hope I have the figures right because they go by pretty fast.

[lectrobyte]

22. Thanks, I think. That's not as bad, but still bad. A computer glitch?

What's the old joke: if houses were built the way software is constructed, the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization.

[Goblinmonger]

13. How much you wanna bet

that what we hear from the white house is:


Terra! Terra! Boo! Terra!

[lectrobyte]

14. All the vampires walkin' through the valley

Move west down Ventura Boulevard
And all the bad boys are standing in the shadows
All the good girls are home with broken hearts

And I'm free, free fallin'
Yeah I'm free, free fallin'
Free fallin', now I'm free fallin', now I'm
Free fallin', now I'm free fallin', now I'm

I wanna glide down over Mulholland
I wanna write her name in the sky
Gonna free fall out into nothin'
Gonna leave this world for a while

And I'm free, free fallin'
Yeah I'm free, free fallin'

-- Tom Petty

[Generator]

15. That "mad money" guy must be going wild!

I've never trusted the stock market at all myself. But historically, that is, IF YOU CAN OUTLIVE the bad times, it does well.

[mcscajun]

16. Jim Cramer's show should be very interesting tonight.

That's for certain!

[PhilipShore]

20. More

:bounce: