- We are experiencing a once-in-several-life-times market. Most indexes were down 3%++. Volume was 1.6 billion on the NYSE with only 319m on an uptick. Another devastating day. We have given back more than a decade of growth.
- It is unlikely we will continue straight down. There should be a snap back rally……sometime.
- We live in a gated golf course community with about 1300 homes. We bought our house five years ago for $440,000. Early last summer it was probably worth $640,000. Last week the head of our largest realty company spoke to homeowners. He suggested that prices have fallen about 15% since last summer and are likely to fall another 20%. And, would probably not bottom until November, 2010. That would put us back to where we started five years ago. We consider ourselves lucky.
- A deluge of selling hit every sector but banks. Investors were relieved banks were not going to be completely nationalized, only 40% for Citi, for example.
- The decline in GE’s shares continued. Seemingly, the company has been borrowing to pay their $13 billion dividend. They should hold a special board meeting and cut the dividend by 75%. Cutting it to zero would take the stock down dramatically as many institutions cannot hold shares with no dividend.
- Buy-n-hold investors are paralyzed. Most believe it is too late to sell and too early to buy. Without buying portfolio insurance using inverse ETF’s these investors are likely to be disappointed.
- Not even infant formula stocks were immune to the onslaught as Mead Johnson (MJN) declined a whopping 7.6%.
- Gold was down but only by $4.40/oz.
- After the close Nordstrom’s reported a better than expected quarter. This could help the retailers tomorrow.
- The overnight trade is becoming less important. Asia was up last night and our market opened higher but could not sustain itself against waves of selling.
Try to make it a good, or at least reasonable, evening.
