Cover to Cover: A Shock Felt Around the World

time_thecrash“The Dow, now falling, is at 2103. Long lines of people form to take turns in the N.Y.S.E.’s spectator gallery. Heather Walker, 27, wants to “tell my grandchildren I was there.” But she wonders if the crash means she will never be a mother. “Even in good times, men are scared of getting married,” says Walker. “In the coming depression, forget it.”—Time, November 2, 1987

Despite the ‘87 crash, we did not experience a depression. One of the stock market’s greatest strengths is its ability to bounce back. Yes, the Dow closed today below 7,000 for the first time since 1997. It may drop even more. But do we really believe that’s where it will stay?

By Carl on 03.02.09 > Link

Tagged as: Dow, market cycles

  • Spot on - thanks for offering the quote, it keeps things in perspective. Many people are reeling from the "this time it's different" syndrome. Economies experience downturns, that's just the reality of a capitalistic society. They're usually followed by periods of growth.
  • Nice perspective Carl.. I appreciate it.
  • I think most Americans believe that eventually our economy/stock market will recover and things will get better.

    The most pressing questions today are:

    - How much further will the market dip
    - How long will it take to recover and
    - What investment strategies should I implement to mitigate losses and expedite my personal financial recover.
  • Lafate, peoples greatest fear is that they can't tell what the future will hold. So they try to look for experts, gurus, withdoctor, anyone who can can give them this information in advance. People will also act irrationally and make not so prudent investment decisions in order to try to get them ahead sooner.

    Unfortunately, there is no one who can answer your question with any real sort of accuracy. No one knows and if they say they do, RUN.

    Find a CFP you can trust and plan as best you know how to. Even this has no 100% accuracy and nothing will. BUt you will be far ahead of most and at least have better confidence going forward.
  • Lafate, I completely agree with you. We can answer all these questions based on the past.......

    People have so much emotion right now they are not willing to listen.
  • @Lafate: As much as I try to offer actionable advice on BehaviorGap.com it
    is really important to understand that the application of my general advice
    will vary greatly from person to person. That is why it is so hard to give
    "specific" advice to a "general" audience.

    I think that the best thing you can do is find a good CFP you can trust. I
    know that had proven to be a difficult task, but they are out there. They
    can help put all these question into the context of a financial plan that is
    designed for your personal situation.

    I will be writing a post in the next day or two with some thoughts about
    what to do now and hopefully it will help provide some context, or framework
    for making some really tough decisions. But again at best I can provide
    "things to think about" the application should be done by someone who really
    knows your situation.
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