Hitting the rubarb:
Well said, SandHeads, Metals, and Ancient; couldn't agree more.
Aside from my big (for me) losses in oil and gas, and less losses in banks, but losses nonetheless,
i have to admire those that had stoplosses and stuck to them. Also, those that got out earlier but taking some losses nonetheless. And admire the guts of the few shortsellers in this market.
I kept saying to myself, nah, this market will come back; was i ever wrong.
But did months ago predict correctly 42 bucks for world crude (but thought it would be a fairly quick drop , then a partial recovery.)
That the whole world is doing poorly in the stock market, basically means that the common investors made the big-money-smart guys rich over a few years, and now we are holding the bag.
Well, guess what? The big boys in New York and elsewhere will just buy back into the market and do the same thing over again. They thrive on ups and downs.
Notice how nobody ever talks about "Peak Oil"anymore? No wonder! What a joke that was.
So we wait to see where our dogs bottom out, and how long they stay down;
But maybe today's stock prices just reflect the REAL value of these stocks.
The bank teller was right: i should have kept my money in term deposits, and earned less than the cost of living increases; at least i would still have quite a few devalued dollars.