OK, somebody PLEASE explain: DOW under 10,000 - what does that mean?

[jojo54]

I know some about the market, but I don't know what the ramifications are with this situation. Thanks.

[NC_Nurse]

1. Means I've lost a shit load of money in the last few months.

:(

[lostnotforgotten]

2. It Means The Bailout Did Not Work As We Were Lied To Believe

eom

[DemoRabbit]

10. Broad statement not based in fact (at least not yet)

The bailout is approved, but not in play yet. It'll take two or three weeks before the money actually gets to people it needs to.

Friday, there was a big jobs report... more massive amounts of jobs lost in September. Also factory production is down.

The WORLD Markets are also suffering.

The credit crisis is only one piece of what's going on.

[stillcool]

24. I don't understand

much about financial institutions, credit, and the stock market. I don't know how the bailout is expected to ease the credit freeze, but at the same time I don't understand why value in the stock market would change because of the government buying bad debts from some banking institutions. Maybe you could explain to me how this bailout was supposed to prevent the global market crash that is going on?

[av8rdave]

3. absolutely nothing. It's a psychological barrier only

In general terms, it merely means the market sucks right now.

[John Q. Citizen]

4. It's a psychological benchmark.

[DS1]

5. It means it's less than 1,000 x 10

[ixion]

6. for starters, it means that any market gains over the past 8 years are gone

and then some.

[jojo54]

9. What gains?

LOL. Thanks for that explanation.

[DemoRabbit]

15. Translated to real-world savings...

My brother-in-law was saying that he's lost 6-7 years worth of 401K savings in the last month.

[jojo54]

22. Yup.

Hub and I are only about 10 years from retirement, and the $3,000 we lost in the last 1 1/2 years, really, really, hurt. By the time it's all said and done, we'll have enough to live (the basics, I mean) for about 2 years. :scared:

[the other one]

7. It means that the global economy is in free fall

and the markets, which look ahead 6-9 months, cannot see the bottom.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. Reaganism is dead.

[ClassWarrior]

13. Yup. It's the failure of "Reaganomics."

NGU.

[ClassWarrior]

11. Thom Hartman said Hoover bailed out the banks and they failed anyway within 12 months.

FDR bailed out the borrowers -- the American people -- and that brought us out of the Great Depression.

NGU.

[jojo54]

17. Which proves that banks are not the axis that keeps

this country going.

Maybe now the remaining sheeple will turn their backs on the repukelican party.

[MindPilot]

12. It means there will be a run on magic markers and cardboard

"Will work for food"

[Robbien]

14. That recession every pundit and almost every politician is denying we are in

They are officially caught out in their lies.

[radfringe]

16. pychologically, it's very traumatic

any "round" numbers are perceived as being significant..

speaking of psychological -- wonder if mccain or his buddy gramm are whining???

[gordianot]

18. It also means my wife is not questioning sending supplies to our farm.

My son and I are stocking up for the winter. Time to get ready.

[jojo54]

20. I got a part time job, just for Xmas.

It's going to be a very scant Xmas, I'm afraid. Getting our pantries stocked (like you said) is more important. I have 5 grand children and I want to make sure they eat.

[TechBear_Seattle]

19. It means very, very little, actually

The Dow Jones Industrial Average contains only 30 stocks, all representing major industries. It is a "weighted" average, which means that some tracked stocks influence the average much more than other tracked stocks, and the make-up of the average is changed every couple of years, making historic comparisons meaningless.

The NASDAQ composite is a better indicator of the stock markets' strength, as it is a true average of all of the more than 3000 stocks traded on the NASDAQ exchange. But even that gives a poor view of the economy, as there are tens of thousands of publicly traded stocks, and the composite does not include the debt market (corporate and government bonds.) That money is leaving stocks and being moved into bonds is not necessarily a bad thing, especially given as how the vast majority of stock investors are speculators (who seek to cash in on a stock's short term increase in perceived value) rather than fundamentalists (who seek to invest in strong companies that pay regular dividends.)

The markets represent the pulse of the economy. You cannot judge the health of a patient by only taking her pulse. Just because the patient's pulse is running a bit fast right now does not mean she is terminally ill. :hi:

[jdlh8894]

27. Thank you!

If only the "chicken littles" understood this!

[supernova]

21. It means that the markets are still roiling

Not everything "bad" has been shaken out of our financial trees yet.

[WCGreen]

23. It just means that as of today, equities were overvalued....

The credit crunch is putting downward pressure on all companies and there is concern that consumers will retrench as well.

I would buy into the staples today if I were a trader, which I'm not...

[On the Road]

25. It's a Reaction to the Perception

that the country is moving into a recession. Probably based more on production and employment numbers than on the bailout package.

The market reacts to so many different kinds on news that "why" is always a tricky question to answer.

[Bonhomme Richard]

26. I'm in a very strange place. I have very, very little in the market because...

I never had much discretionary income. I always payed myself what I needed to get by and kept my money in the business (it's small). Now I am going to see, within the next couple of weeks, an influx of cash from sales well into the six figures. Most of that profit.
Maybe, for once, I will be on the top side of things.
It's a strange world.

[kentuck]

28. I would predict...

that if the DOW finishes above 10,000 today, the correction in the market is mostly over. After the 777 point drop last week, a 2-300 point drop today might indicate that the worst of the market fall is over? That is just my opinion and do not make any investments on that opinion. :-) However, it would seem that the market would be down much further if it was as dire as some may think?

But, if it drop 600 or 700 points today, you may want to follow Jim Cramer's advice?

[Geek_Girl]

29. I think the US stock market is responding to the Global Markets

The bad part is there are major joblosses in certain sectors of the economy and when the market drops companies don't hire as much. Also many baby boomers are depending on their 401K retirement for income.


The good news is oil and commodities are down and the dollar is up.