Stock Market Crashing

[EddieAngel 508]

I think liberals and conservatives both (leaving specific parties out of the mix) are having trouble endorsing a candidate wholeheartedly. It is a systematic failure of the political system. Most "good" candidates are not generally interested in getting involved with the slapfight that is the current US political climate. Why would you?

 

TO me, it is a matter of picking the best of the worst. There are so many holes in our country's infrastructure, and there are only so many fingers to plug them. When the country is facing economic problems, people tend to favor candidates with a track record of business acumen, or at least marginal success. When the country is failing in international relations, people tend to look for a diplomatic minded candidate. When the country is under threat of attack, people generally look for a militaristic candidate.

 

So it really boils down to where an individual thinks the country is A) in dire need and B) can actually be fixed.

 

The caveat, of course, is that there are some candidates that an individual finds so morally reprehensible that they are impossible to vote for.

 

This particular election is a tough one, like I said, picking the best of the worst. That being said, Trump has the biggest chance of actually inciting change because, as Echo pointed out, he is not really attached to partisan politics and he really doesn't seem to care about the opinions of just about anyone. Something needs to change, I think we need to elect a politician who actually has some kind of background outside of politics.

 

Whatevs though, no matter who is in office there will always be room for a good monkey s**t fight right here in the open forum.

[TheRizz 5]

I love how everyone says this country is falling off a cliff. The drop has nothing to do with Obama and everything to do with China, oil and a correction (which markets are supposed to do!). I hope you all panic and sell low so I can buy on the downturn.

 

Where else are you gonna invest? Communist/Thief China? Dictatorship Russia? Socialist Europe? Crashing Brazil? Corrupt Africa? How are those countries working out for ya? Quit being doom and gloom and realize we have some problems but America is a rich young country with tons of talent and natural resources under a great democracy.

 

Best place to invest against inflation / deflation is gold and real estate

[Soko 128]

Marco is absolutely my first choice. Seems very knowledgeable on the Middle East situation. Some question the 94 million out of work and that number is put out there by Fox. I certainly don't trust the main stream media run with liberal agendas and when a liberal disagrees with you all they can do is call you names.

 

I am certainly not a Trump fan but he may be hard to stop and he certainly wants to rebuild the country. Most interesting election of all time.

 

 

Dude, ask yourself how 94 million people can possibly be out of work from a population of 321 million people.

 

That equates to an unemployment rate of over 60%... even without factoring the elderly and people under 18 it would 30%. This drives me insane!

 

You really need to do a little digging and not take these stats at face value. They are pawning you on a daily basis. I don't trust anybodies stats, I like to fact check myself. This number is so out of whack it is mind boggling anybody could believe it is true.

[Handsome Jack 0]

Cuba and North Korea have 0% unemployment

[nickman54 0]

Dude, ask yourself how 94 million people can possibly be out of work from a population of 321 million people.

 

That equates to an unemployment rate of over 60%... even without factoring the elderly and people under 18 it would 30%. This drives me insane!

 

You really need to do a little digging and not take these stats at face value. They are pawning you on a daily basis. I don't trust anybodies stats, I like to fact check myself. This number is so out of whack it is mind boggling anybody could believe it is true.

 

Under employed is a huge stat that should be in the equation though. I'm not barking up the 94mill tree but there are a lot of qualified people that are sitting on their a$$es for 20 hours a week. I blame the subsidization of college on that though. Plus the fact that sitting at home pays better than some ****** jobs.

[Soko 128]

Under employed is a huge stat that should be in the equation though. I'm not barking up the 94mill tree but there are a lot of qualified people that are sitting on their a$$es for 20 hours a week. I blame the subsidization of college on that though. Plus the fact that sitting at home pays better than some ****** jobs.

 

 

I agree with you. The current unemployment rate of 5% does not mean everyone is in full, gainful employment by any means.

 

 

It is the completely false numbers quoted as gospel which **** me.

[OklahomaIrish 0]

No need to generalize all liberals Okie. I mentioned this on another and I think it rings true here. Most of us are out to improve the nation, and that's what we are looking for in our political leaders. A difference of opinion in how to do that should not be just that...a difference in opinion.

 

There is no need to slander or create so much hatred toward the other side of the argument. Just a general statement, this is not toward you directly.

 

Maybe I watch too much Fox news. They do show the ugly side of liberalism but I know not all liberals are bad. My own brother is a staunch liberal but he says he is pro life. I have associated the abortion issue with all liberals and that isn't fair. However, every single politician I have seen that votes democrat is supporting abortion and the selling of baby parts. Not one of them spoke up.

[DTCBND03 0]

I agree with you. The current unemployment rate of 5% does not mean everyone is in full, gainful employment by any means.

 

 

It is the completely false numbers quoted as gospel which **** me.

 

That is because employers are skirting Obamacare 30 hr limits and prefer flexible staffing. I feel bad for most workers who simply want to work one job 40-50 hrs/week.

[Pregame 291]

Maybe I watch too much Fox news. They do show the ugly side of liberalism but I know not all liberals are bad. My own brother is a staunch liberal but he says he is pro life. I have associated the abortion issue with all liberals and that isn't fair. However, every single politician I have seen that votes democrat is supporting abortion and the selling of baby parts. Not one of them spoke up.

And every single Republican votes for capital punishment despite it violating Pro Life and being way more expensive than housing a prisoner for a life term despite that violating party policy of minimizing government expenditure.

 

Also, what does your little diatribe on abortion, again, have to do with the stock market?

Edited January 23, 2016 by Pregame

[NDhoosier 1,229]

And every single Republican votes for capital punishment despite it violating Pro Life and being way more expensive than housing a prisoner for a life term despite that violating party policy of minimizing government expenditure.

 

Both liberals and republicans are hypocrites in that regard:

Most Republicans: Dont kill an unborn infant, but kill that criminal

Most Liberals: Women can do what they want, but dont kill that criminal

[Irish_Convert 1]

The markets going up had nothing to do with Obama's policies, the market crapping the bed has nothing to do with Obama's policies. It's all about The Fed stopping QE in 2014. It's policies devalued the dollar and after it quit QEing, it began to strengthen. That was the beginning of oil prices dropping. The Fed still kept rates low though which means that companies, who took advantage of low interest rates to borrow and engage in stock buybacks could continue to do so.

 

Now one area where he/Congress F'ed up was his deficit spending on steroids. It was relatively cheap to do because rates were so low, the interest required to service the national debt stayed relatively low, even with the increase. If rates go any higher, which I doubt, the cost to service the interest on the national debt will go up because all that debt has interest charges, just like your mortgage, credit card or car loan. BTW, car loans have become increasingly subprime, which means they're in their own bubble right now.

 

Once the Fed decided to hike rates, even by a little bit, it made it more expensive and less profitable to engage in buybacks. People say the markets are up, yay! However it's mostly larger stocks that are carrying the markets. Last year there was an article that mentioned that the S&P 500 was being carried by less then ten big stocks, the rest were red for the year.

 

As the dollar gained strength, it helped drive the price of oil down more. That eventually led to the fracking companies, who were about the only industry to really thrive in the last several years, to start downsizing operations once the price of oil fell below the break even price, which ranges from around $40/BBL to $90/BBL. One reason why fracking never really thrived is because the cost of extraction was too high to be profitable. Once it was, it took off and helped drive the economy. These companies funded a lot of their operations through borrowing so even though the cost of extraction is below the break even point, they have to keep pumping to sell oil to service the interest on their debts. China's economy has been shaky so their demand has gone down. Consumption here has been down for years compared to years past. Plus, with sanctions being lifted on Iran, their supply will be entering the market as well, contributing to more oversupply.

 

A popular theory says that the Saudis keep pumping despite lower global demand because they were trying to shut down the frackers here and the oil sands business in Canada, who have to pay more per barrel in extraction costs. They also have to sell oil to finance their own welfare state, which they expanded several years ago to keep the local yokels happy when half the Middle East went all Arab Spring.

 

The dollar's strength is weighed against a basket of currencies, particularly the British Pound, the Euro and the Japanese Yen. When the dollar is strong, their currencies weaken and vice versa. Another tactic these other countries use to improve their economies is to devalue their currencies, which also causes the dollar to strengthen. This is good for consumers because prices go down but it's bad for exports because it makes our products more expensive to export. It also affects stock earnings, which helps contribute to market instability.

 

There are numerous other factors in play but I am being paged by my better half.

 

It's never as simple as one person or even one country's policies. Welcome to your globalized economy. Enjoy.

[jimbo 377]

Very well stated, sir. I applaud you.:clap2::clap2:

 

 

 

The markets going up had nothing to do with Obama's policies, the market crapping the bed has nothing to do with Obama's policies. It's all about The Fed stopping QE in 2014. It's policies devalued the dollar and after it quit QEing, it began to strengthen. That was the beginning of oil prices dropping. The Fed still kept rates low though which means that companies, who took advantage of low interest rates to borrow and engage in stock buybacks could continue to do so.

 

Now one area where he/Congress F'ed up was his deficit spending on steroids. It was relatively cheap to do because rates were so low, the interest required to service the national debt stayed relatively low, even with the increase. If rates go any higher, which I doubt, the cost to service the interest on the national debt will go up because all that debt has interest charges, just like your mortgage, credit card or car loan. BTW, car loans have become increasingly subprime, which means they're in their own bubble right now.

 

Once the Fed decided to hike rates, even by a little bit, it made it more expensive and less profitable to engage in buybacks. People say the markets are up, yay! However it's mostly larger stocks that are carrying the markets. Last year there was an article that mentioned that the S&P 500 was being carried by less then ten big stocks, the rest were red for the year.

 

As the dollar gained strength, it helped drive the price of oil down more. That eventually led to the fracking companies, who were about the only industry to really thrive in the last several years, to start downsizing operations once the price of oil fell below the break even price, which ranges from around $40/BBL to $90/BBL. One reason why fracking never really thrived is because the cost of extraction was too high to be profitable. Once it was, it took off and helped drive the economy. These companies funded a lot of their operations through borrowing so even though the cost of extraction is below the break even point, they have to keep pumping to sell oil to service the interest on their debts. China's economy has been shaky so their demand has gone down. Consumption here has been down for years compared to years past. Plus, with sanctions being lifted on Iran, their supply will be entering the market as well, contributing to more oversupply.

 

A popular theory says that the Saudis keep pumping despite lower global demand because they were trying to shut down the frackers here and the oil sands business in Canada, who have to pay more per barrel in extraction costs. They also have to sell oil to finance their own welfare state, which they expanded several years ago to keep the local yokels happy when half the Middle East went all Arab Spring.

 

The dollar's strength is weighed against a basket of currencies, particularly the British Pound, the Euro and the Japanese Yen. When the dollar is strong, their currencies weaken and vice versa. Another tactic these other countries use to improve their economies is to devalue their currencies, which also causes the dollar to strengthen. This is good for consumers because prices go down but it's bad for exports because it makes our products more expensive to export. It also affects stock earnings, which helps contribute to market instability.

 

There are numerous other factors in play but I am being paged by my better half.

 

It's never as simple as one person or even one country's policies. Welcome to your globalized economy. Enjoy.

[echo88 74]

Maybe I watch too much Fox news. They do show the ugly side of liberalism but I know not all liberals are bad. My own brother is a staunch liberal but he says he is pro life. I have associated the abortion issue with all liberals and that isn't fair. However, every single politician I have seen that votes democrat is supporting abortion and the selling of baby parts. Not one of them spoke up.

 

Any Fox news is too much Fox news. Just like any CNN is too much CNN. They are propaganda machines aligned with political parties and, therefore, unqualified to deliver unbiased news to the public. The differences in how the same news stories are reported are embarrassing. As I've said before, if you're interested in what is going on in the world and within the U.S., tune in to BBC.

Edited January 24, 2016 by echo88

[Irish_Convert 1]

Bottom line, the stock markets as an economic indicator are a joke. Market fundamentals used to be be based on a company's economic health and tangible projected growth. Over the course of the last twenty years (Really 30-40 years but the last 20 years in particular), fundamentals went out the window. Actual physical trading went by the wayside years ago. Now, most trades are executed by high frequency trading that respond to numbers reported by "official" sources which are more often than not "seasonally adjusted" based on numbers that are smoothed by a computer algorithm. The seasonal adjustment creates a facade of continuity because they do not reflect economic reality.

 

When I was a young guy living in NJ, I had a fascination with numbers. We watched the NY news, which always mentioned stock reports. The DJIA was accepted, as it is now, as an economic indicator. My fixation with numbers would wait for it to eclipse that magic 1,000 number. It happened now and again but could never maintain it. That is, until the early 80s when it passed the 1,000 mark and never looked back. The DJIA, which took 100 years to eclipse 1,000, surpassed 2,000 a few years later. A few years after that, it passed 3,000. Then 4,000. Then, in the 90s, it went off the rails.

 

Two things happened in the 90s: The emergence of the housing bubble and the tech boom. They were the driver of the economy, the last truly tangible example of physical production in the US. The reason why the 2001 recession was not as extreme to the regular guy is because most of the losses affected the tech sector. The now several years old housing bubble was already in play and was the primary source of the post 9/11 "recovery".

 

Subprime/ARM loans helped fuel that "recovery" and when The Fed decided it was cool to hike rates, they did and people that wouldn't qualify for a loan in 1970 saw their rates rise to the point that they couldn't service their debt. The Fed took a bunch of those "bad assets" onto their balance sheets and here we are.

 

It is not a matter of "left or right" or "right or wrong". It all comes down to monetary policy and the globalization of the economy.

 

[ame]

[/ame]

[Tenacious_ND 0]

Ugh. Nevermind. Pointless to get in any debate with you. Go read a non fiction book. You keep using that 94 mill which is a false number that I proved false countless times. You are like a wall, "no actual that number is false" you-"94 million" me- "no really here's proof" you "94 million".

Me "no the economy has grown gnp is at a level that is fairly normal" you-"Obama ruins it all" me"no really look at a chart over the past 100 years" - you "Obama ruins everything". Me " there are cranes everywhere building" you- "Obama ruins everything".

 

You must be miserable.

 

Isn't he the guy that believes chem trails are real? If so, you're wasting your time .

[OklahomaIrish 0]

Any Fox news is too much Fox news. Just like any CNN is too much CNN. They are propaganda machines aligned with political parties and, therefore, unqualified to deliver unbiased news to the public. The differences in how the same news stories are reported are embarrassing. As I've said before, if you're interested in what is going on in the world and within the U.S., tune in to BBC.

 

What is a good source for the BBC??

 

Market down over 350 points today. Government regulations are taking their toll.

[TDUB 0]

What is a good source for the BBC??

 

 

Lexington Steele.

[DTCBND03 0]

great time to be buying stock right now. perfect buying opportunity.

[nickman54 0]

Lexington Steele.

 

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af36/nickman54/Hestonlaugh1_zpscug5ucc7.gif

[jfschellcrna 11]

http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af36/nickman54/Hestonlaugh1_zpscug5ucc7.gif

 

i needed a good laugh.........