Blogs May 6, 2010 at 1:53 pm

While We Were Not Thinking About the Stock Market This Morning...

Paul Constant
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Comments

1
Accenture went from $40 to $0.01 and P&G dropped about 1/3 at the same time as well. Only the "best and brightest" on Wall Street, amirite?
laterite on May 6, 2010 at 1:55 PM Report this
2
"I still can't believe these fuckwits are basically in charge of my entire life."

That's your choice, dude. You don't have to stake your savings on this glorified casino.
bobbo on May 6, 2010 at 2:00 PM Report this
3
someone typed a 'b' instead of an 'm' and then a bunch of people got extremely rich by being lucky enough to buy P&G at 40~/per
Brian Geoghagan on May 6, 2010 at 2:00 PM Report this
4
Tuttle/Buttled!

Why so surprised Paul? The ruling aristocracy isn't an intellectual meritocracy.
tiktok on May 6, 2010 at 2:06 PM Report this
5
And how are those 401k's working out for everyone? Huh? All feeling safe and secure about your retirement? Or have you all woke up to the fact you are giving around 8% of your paycheck (pre tax though!) to Wall Street to play craps?
Cato the Younger Younger on May 6, 2010 at 2:08 PM Report this
6
Okay! I'll let you in on the big secret... Participating in the Stock Market is gambling. Period. End of story. Always has been. Always will be. Only a complete jack ass ties their entire future to gambling. Grow up people. No one ever promised you a rose garden.
You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me on May 6, 2010 at 2:10 PM Report this
7
@5 There is this little thing called the Bond Market... Check it out sometime.
You_Gotta_Be_Kidding_Me on May 6, 2010 at 2:12 PM Report this
8
Finally, my short positions look like they may pay off.
Westside forever on May 6, 2010 at 2:13 PM Report this
9
Nobody lost anything except for the idiots who were selling in a panic. Look for a rebound tomorrow and continued gains in the long term as we pull out of the recession. And diversify, for god's sake.
crazycatguy on May 6, 2010 at 2:34 PM Report this
10
Mostly it was Citigroup.

If you didn't buy/sell today, nothing happened.

You should be dollar-cost-averaging 10 percent of your salary in your 401(k) or 403(b) anyway, in which case it meant very very little overall. Hopefully that was in a diverse basket of stocks (unless you're older than 50) in something like an S&P 500 or total index fund with a very low cost ratio.

Or if about to go back to school, socking it away in a Roth IRA with t-bill funds that roll over.
Will in Seattle on May 6, 2010 at 2:38 PM Report this
11
Definitely blame the Greeks.

They also invented homosexuality you know.
on May 6, 2010 at 2:47 PM Report this
12
See, this is the advantage to not having any money. Stock market ups and downs have far less effect on me, since I haven't got anything invested, and I expect all my current retirement funds to have been thoroughly looted by the time I retire, anyway. My retirement plan is pretty much cat food and a metal detector.
Geni on May 6, 2010 at 2:57 PM Report this
13
America blames Obama
on May 6, 2010 at 4:15 PM Report this
14
I still can't believe these fuckwits are basically in charge of my entire life.

This is entirely unsolicited, but have you considered making changes to your life to the point where the stock market's oscillations have a significantly reduced effect on you?
Keister Button on May 6, 2010 at 5:15 PM Report this
15
It's not exactly gambling because the long term odds are against the house, okay? However, there are a bunch of sneaky insider fucks engineering these "glitches" and coming out with massive short-term gains while others experience big short-term losses. So, if you play the market for short-term gains, then, yeah, you might as well go to a casino and get some free drinks while you spin the wheel.
on May 6, 2010 at 5:20 PM Report this
16
@14, that's kind of a dumb thing to say. You don't have to have money invested in the stock market for it to have a significant effect on your life. If you invest in anything, you're at the mercy of the market's fluctuations. And if you're not investing anything at all, well, ha ha, the joke's on you.
Fifty-Two-Eighty on May 6, 2010 at 5:29 PM Report this
17
#16: I am not personally responsible for your comprehension and perception restrictions and hangups. Did I make the assumption the poster had money invested the stock market, or did you make the assumption that I made that assumption? (cf. Your Money or Your Life, asset diversification, Coffeehouse Invesot, Solari.com...)
Keister Button on May 6, 2010 at 5:50 PM Report this
18
It's not exactly gambling because the long term odds are against the house, okay?

It's just astonishing to me that people are still willing to believe such nonsense. How arrogant do you have to be to think you're going to get one over on Wall Street just by drawing air for a few decades? How many more years of zero or negative equity returns will it take before you wake up and realize that 1980-2000 was an abberation? Forget the Great Depression, "dollar cost averaging" would have killed you in the 1960s. Stock markets are for traders. Investors buy bonds.
Furcifer on May 6, 2010 at 6:29 PM Report this
19
Maybe there was a relatively small technical glitch, but this was Toto exposing what's really behind the curtain. People are scared shitless and ready to jump at the slightest hint of trouble.

Gubments have debts impossible to pay off. Fasten your seatbelts and stay short.
zombie eyes on May 6, 2010 at 9:43 PM Report this
20
For those unaware, even though someone lost huge today, someone else won. The stock market, especially the US stock market, has proved to be one of the most volatile casino's on the planet. I don't have all my 401k in the states, and I would suggest others do the same, at least until meaningful financial reform is passed.

Haha on second thought just cut a hole in your mattress and vote for anyone willing to keep social security going. I have a feeling my generation is going to need it.
watchout5 on May 7, 2010 at 12:51 AM Report this
21
The huge plummet yesterday was unique in that there was no visible frenzy of selling. In fact, because the drops in price happened so fast (automated stop-loss sales), the majority of the activity on the floor was a frenzied buying opportunity. Can't blame it on Greece. This was an obvious glitch to everyone.
razorclammer on May 7, 2010 at 12:12 PM Report this
22
@17: Get your head out of your ass. If you ever have to deal with anyone who has a loan from a bank, then the stock market has a big influence on your life.
Greg on May 7, 2010 at 7:01 PM Report this

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