The Federal Government needs to step in and suspend trading....

[RollWithIt]

And they should keep it closed until teh markets can be calmed. This is completely irrational at this point. The market value is being castrated out of pure fear. There is no basis for a 20% drop in one week after a 20% reduction the month before. This has to stop before it's too late.

[ixion]

1. Suspending trading seals the deal on the confidence crisis

so I really don't think that will help, either.

[HereSince1628]

2. Late depends on your timeline. It's already too late for many.

Folks who have the money and brains to figure out how to build empires from ashes are making plans to reshape the world of the wealthy.

[Subdivisions]

3. Completely irrational...? Please explain. n/t

[Vinnie From Indy]

4. It's just the right ime for the ultra wealthy !

They get to swoop in and buy all sorts of stuff for pennies on the dollar.

[orwell]

5. That's the worse thing they can do...

...They already have a circuit breaker proceedure. That is enough.

[ITsec]

6. Does the Federal Government have legal authority to do that?

As defined by the Constitution?

Not being confrontational, I just don't know.

[Democrats_win]

7. Yes, suspend trading until the exact plan for the bailout is announced.

What's the point of the government and it's bailout if they're just going to sit there and do nothing?

[dysfunctional press]

8. don't worry- in another two hours, they'll halt trading until monday.

nt

[soothsayer]

12. Tuesday, actually. Monday it's closed for the holiday (Columbus day)

[Barack_America]

13. Wow. Columbus day already.

This year has flown by!

[dysfunctional press]

15. only the bond market is closed monday...

according to the stock market bunny on cnn this morning, the stock market IS open on monday...:shrug:

[Trillo]

9. I think your underlying rationale is flawed, there most certainly is a basis for the drops.

The market was highly overvalued, and "exotic derivate instruments" to the tune of quadrillions created a false and shadow supply of money that wasn't backed by existing fiat money. The market is simply recognizing that worthless paper is worthless paper, and that the U.S. government is bailing out the false money derivative losses with fiat currency, aka, chasing good money after bad (if a fiat currency can be considered "good").

People are waking up to the corruption that exists all around them.

[ThomWV]

10. Did it never occur to you that someone is buying every one of those shares that are being traded?

There is a buyer for every seller. Apparently some folks see this as an opportunity to lock in long term wealth at bargain prices. I'd have to say that anyone who had long held the opninion that the market was grossly over valued would not say that now. By some standards the market is now right about where it should be and in fact at a level is should never have risen above.

[Duer 157099]

14. Buyers are often covering short positions

although I don't know what the current situation is.

But someone buying a stock doesn't necessarily indicate confidence.

Also, the buyers are the "market makers" for that stock, financial institutions who have an obligation to buy the shares on the market.

[ThomWV]

16. If every short in existance was covered in one afternoon it wouldn't do what happened yesterday

There aren't that many shorts on the face of the earth.

[ThomWV]

11. By the way - the Market has rules that shut down trading for individual stocks if they fall far/fast

They do shut down trading in individual stocks if they fall to far too fast. I don't know what the rules are but they have been invoked more than once that I can sort of generally recall. I don't watch it myself but I do recall it happening and hearing a brief recap of whater the rules are on the nightly news within the last several years.