To kill the US market - which is not the Dow - you have to kill most major corporations in America. In effect, you have to kill the American economy. I'd be curious to see what "asteroid" you have in mind that will manage this.
When you start thinking of stocks as pieces of paper, you cease to be an investor and become a speculator. I am an investor. I invest in companies that I believe are capable of increasing their intrinsic value, and thus the value of my shares. If I cease to believe in them, I sell them. I don't love my WLA, LU, and DELL shares. I do like them quite a bit. Who wouldn't? Take the profit and run? Run where? I already took enough profit to cover my initial investment in each of those. Where could I run that would offer better potential for long term gains? Philip Morris is down because people don't believe in its future - for good reasons. They sell a product that is rapidly declining in popularity, and have massive legal problems. Not a good investment.
Obviously, we have very different approaches to these things. You do it your way, I'll do it mine. I'll be curious to see how it all works out in 10, 20 years.
"Where Asia goes from here is all up to the Dow Jones."
I'm afraid you lost me on that one. Asia's problem was not caused by anything the Dow - or the US market - did. It will not be solved by anything the US market does. Asia is washing a load of dirty laundry that has been accumulating for some time. It's a messy process, but it needs to be done. And recovery will come. It may take a decade, but what's a decade, in terms of Asian history? It may drag the US into a slowdown, or perhaps even a recession. We've survived them before, if I recall. And bounced back to new highs every time.
Steve |
