I'm trying to figure out of this was a joke. Above is a screen shot of two weeks of Dow data taken after market close today. Note how the blue line dives so far after July 29th, it actually dives off the chart.
Obviously this pic isn't accurate, because the market wasn't that volatile on July 29th. Since August 2nd, a lot of panic has generated. I guess it's a combination of things - the Euro debt (Italy in particular has experienced some insane market shaping happenings in the last 24 hours, including elected officials busting into rating agency offices and tossing the places around), the U.S. debt ceiling fight, the growth report have each triggered panic.....and panic, triggers more panic which leads to these extreme up and downs. It might be market contraction. It might be insanity. One thing is for sure, volatlity like this is not good for you or me.
I'm trying to find some deeper lesson in this insanity. I'm trying to remember how last July and August felt. The market dove back then, and people panicked. H's firm reduced hour allowances and started laying people off. I know things are worse now. I'm deciding how much of me I'm willing to give up to worry. I guess there is just something about gettin a lip split by the worst market crash in 70 years that makes this current contraction 3 years later seem like a slap across the face and drunken joke at the same time.
I'll be on the job market in a few months. H and I are down to one income now. All I can do is try to stick to our budget, reduce our debt, keep an eye on our stock holdings and wait this out. I'm pretty confident that the companies I've put money in will be okay in the end. That said, in the market can stay volatile longer than any company can stay liquid.
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