re: the stock market

[hiphopnation]

for a complete and total ignoramus when it comes to economics (the little i know comes from having two kids which forced me to know how to do the basics like balance a checkbook, bargain shop, etc.) can any duer give some insight as to how just how foreboding the current market fluctuations are? i know the country, in general, is holding on by a thin thread and that china holds many of the pink slips on our livelihood (but we're also one of their biggest clients).

i have no stocks, i have decent credit, but couldn't get a mortgage right now (not sure i want one) but i'm just wondering how bad the credit crisis and housing crunch will continue to affect the market. any economy mavens on du wanna offer some insight about how bad it will get before it gets better?

when it comes to my finances, there are times i feel like i'm walking over the grand canyon on a very thin piece of plexiglass on a windy day and all it would take is a wee pebble falling from the sky to crack the glass and send me, and my family, plunging into the depths. a melodramatic metaphor I know, but like i said, i'm no economist, i'm an artist, my life is lived in metaphors like this.

help!

:scared:

[StrongBad]

1. As far as how the market goes, right now things aren't bad yet aren't good either

It's definitely not as bad as the melodrama others on DU have proclaimed. Earnings are average, inflation is average, real estate market sucks, economic growth is average. So overall, the investment outlook in the near future is mediocre. There is about a 50% chance that a recession will happen which will be bearish as well.

If a recession doesn't happen, the housing drag will probably extend through next year, but things really aren't all that bad right now.

Keep in mind the indices are up around 5% this year, and may be up even higher by the end of the year.

[halobeam]

2. I'm sort of in the same position.. I read the daily threads of US stock market

I read the Economics group thread, and try to understand them as best I can. Reading them ALL the time is the best way here on DU, I find myself learning.

I don't know how much information you (I, or anyone) who doesn't understand the markets and the economy can get from ppl here on this thread. I don't believe they could help if they wanted to do, and many still do try to put it all in layman's terms. It's all so complex, it seems almost impossible for those in the real "know" to break it down the way I think we need it to be (but like I said, there are many sweet ppl that still try to help us understand).

If you have specific concerns, all I can say is go to the specific threads that talk about money, personal finance, etc. and weed through to find what may be concerning you.

Thats what I do. I know I'm not much of a help here to you, but I hope this is something anyway.

[grasswire]

3. I think, from what I've read....

...that the stock market should not be the sole indicator we consider when assessing our economy. Stocks could be sky-high because CEOs are making decisions that hurt American workers. When a company makes a profit for its shareholders, other consequences of that might drive down other indicators.

Does that make sense?

Example: Jim Cramer from MSNBC was shreiking the other day that the best thing for the stock market would be if the auto labor unions were smashed so that U.S. auto workers would lose their benefits, particularly their health care.

Also, the real estate sector seems to stand alone from the stock market (to me). It's contracting, still. And yet the market remains okay.

[louis-t]

4. I still say market increases are shaky.

I'm no expert, but it seems to me that recent market surges are based on layoffs and cost cutting. Those kinds of gains can't be self-sustaining. Companies still have to sell their products. Who are they going to sell their products to when no one is left working in this country.

edit: Besides China.

[Zywiec]

5. What decision is Google making that hurt American workers?

Their stock is sky high based on a wonderful technology. I don't equate a good stock with necessarily hurting workers.

[grasswire]

6. no, of course not

But you're cherry-picking a stock that is highly valued for something positive -- innovation, leadership, etc. Not all stock increases are based on positive decisions -- decisions that are good for the earth, the nation, the workers.