Yes, sure, a stock index is not an exact reflection of the economy — the market is usually about six months ahead of what’s actually happening, which is why unemployment can take so long to catch up with a sell-off, which is why the continued plunge of ALL major stock indices (worldwide!) is, um, terrifying?
It’s increasingly difficult to imagine what Obama could possibly do or say to pluck the iceberg out of this particular Titanic’s hull, and then patch it, with Magick. $800 billion dumped all over the country for every sort of infrastructure and aid? Nah dood. Cut the incredible Bush/Cheney deficit in HALF in the first term? What else ya got? SEVERAL TRILLION pumped into the banks? Sell!
Anyway, the S&P500 and Dow Jones indices are now down to 1997 levels. Monicagate!
Stock-Market Pullback Isn’t Just ‘Financial’ Now [WSJ]
{ 54 comments }
Woohoo! I’m long on UltraShort Dow30, and getting f’n rich!
I’m glad I invested my few remaining pennies in Hobo Beans, Colt and Smith & Wesson.
Betcha wish ya had voted fer ME now. Muslins. Also.
-SP
I think he can inspire the economy to reach new heights, with his pretty words.
Prosperity…just around…corner.
Bah, it’s all a red herring to allow companies to downsize at will. Right?
But Citi is up! Yay Citi!
The stock market is back to where it was in 1997? Quick, somebody hand me a cocktail napkin and a ballpoint. I want to draw out a rough sketch of this idea I’ve got on the napkin. Call it ramdomidea.com and sell it to a venture capitalist for $10,000,000.00. My financial troubles are OVER!
…1997? Time to invest in some worthless DotComs!
Well, I guess it’s time to cut taxes even more for really rich people.
[re=249357]AngryBlakGuy[/re]: [re=249356]Serolf Divad[/re]: Gentlemen, your mind-meld is complete. Go forth and conquer!
This is happening because we have failed to heed the dire warning of Rick Santelli and tried to bail out our neighbor with the extra bathroom.
Where did I put that piggy bank, dammit?
re: the catch-up thingy. Does that mean we’re really worse off or really better off? If you don’t have an answer then why tell me that in the first place?
Yes, but soon we’ll all be able to get us some of those fine, fine sexy depression ladies!!!1!
This is my advice people: hop in your car and drive around your neighborhood and find the nicest, biggest house with the most expensive cars parked outside. Then either you or your spouse bake this person a pie. When it’s finished (warm, but not too hot) take it and give it to your rich neighbor. Be super nice to them from now on. Because in 18 months he will be your feudal Lord. Also, if you have a pretty young daughter above the age of 12, hide her in the basement and don’t let your rich neighbor know of her.
1997 was alright… I was seventeen and my girlfriend was sixteen. For old times sake I’m going to listen to Fatboy Slim and flip on the blacklight for a little while. Pass the Zig Zags please.
…why don’t they just ZERO the damn thing out and stop procrastinating!
No junkie gets better until they hit rock bottom. I think finance majors are still seeing babies crawling on the ceiling.
At this point, I’m net short the world.
I think about six months of depression would do America good — lose that extra ten to twenty pounds to come back as a leaner, meaner America. An America that can compete with slave labor and somehow, miraculously, come out on top. All we have to be is optimistic!!1!
What does Wallstreet want? I think anything less than golden wheelbarrows of cash, carted in daily by cabana boys serving martinis will cause them to panic and sell!!!!!
Here’s the problem – I’m not ready to blame Obama for this crisis, but there have been two, maybe three significant missteps so far in his economic policy, which justify a market correction:
1. Tim Geithner’s non-plan for the financial industry; continuing uncertainty and weaseling around Citi and BofA is not helping anyone. Just put them out of their misery already.
2. Stimulus was too small – China’s GDP is considerably smaller than ours (in absolute terms) and their stimulus package is nearly as a big; as a percentage of GDP, $800 billion is small potatoes. Also, the spending plans are not very ambitious – no really big infrastructure undertakings. Lots of drips and drabs of transfers to state governments, which may help avert a depression, but won’t help to restart growth. The tax cuts are a joke – if you think tax cuts are effective, make them big enough to be stimulative, not this $8/week nonsense. Otherwise leave them out altogether and direct the money to SUPERTRAINS.
3. Suddenly, yesterday, Barry starts making noises about cutting the deficit. WTF? Why would you want to cut the deficit at this time? What we need is for the government to spend money to shore up the economy. If he follows through, it’s going to make this crisis worse than it already is.
[re=249372]Serolf Divad[/re]: Ha ha, those people with the big McMansion and the many cars are just as fucked as we are. Their jumbo ARM mortgages will explode, their breadwinner has gotten laid off from his job at Merrill Lynch, and their credit cards are nearly maxed out.
Ken. Why are you always the bearer of bad news? You are the boss. Can’t you delegate that to one of you minions.
I’m just saying
In honor of this time-bending plunge, I am starting a blog, on Geocities, about the Napster trial.
[re=249397]jagorev[/re]: Yeah, but…I’m still scared.
[re=249390]jagorev[/re]: “China’s GDP is considerably smaller than ours (in absolute terms) and their stimulus package is nearly as a big…”
Overcompensating IMO.
[re=249372]Serolf Divad[/re]: I am supposed to hide her? There goes my retirement plan.
[re=249390]jagorev[/re]: …Barry’s primary problem is that he is afraid of being called a socialist. Well I got news for him; the Rethuglicans have been calling him a pinko commie for almost a year now AND HE STILL GOT ELECTED in a landslide! He doesn’t realize that the reason he got elected was because people want a little socialism in their lives.
1) They want SOCIALIST health care
2) They want SOCIALIST regulation of banks
3) They want SOCIALIST oversight of food and drugs
4) They want SOCIALIST redistribution of wealth(downward)
Someone’s a little upset that their nest egg is being wiped out by the hour…Sheesh.
Zom-bie banks!
Zom-bie banks!
People. Ideas. Technology. Snark. Working together.
Wonkette.
[re=249411]AngryBlakGuy[/re]: Hobos for lyfe, baby!
A lot of this is just little kid stock traders crying ’cause they don’t want to take their medicines. They just want everything to back to its derivate-driven, credit default swap self. You know, the good old days.
What’s good for Wall Street is not good for average Americans. That’s my conclusion. The two are mutually exclusive.
I think the main reason we’re at ’97 levels is because the only reason the stock market shot up is because we had the dot.com bubble followed by the housing bubble and we are currently bubbleless. Obviously, this means if Obama wants to get the stock market back up, he needs to quickly come up with some sort of useless thingy that will make everyone think they’ll become really rich fast by investing in it. I’m thinking blankets with sleeves.
[re=249437]Hooray For Anything[/re]: OMG YOU’RE A GENIUS. Someone create a Snuggie ETF and get on this already
Aren’t there any Ponzi-style crooks taking money from the far-right? I keep hoping to hear that Limbaugh has been wiped out. Can’t I have one Peggy Noonan column where she cries that she’s flat broke and doesn’t know how to face the future?
[re=249410]Come here a minute[/re]:
Ooh, that’s cold.
[re=249437]Hooray For Anything[/re]: You, sir, are fucking hilarious. And insightful.
[re=249431]The Cold Sea[/re]: That’s cursed commie talk and will get you elected to higher office.
It’s happening here, now. With Wonkette, you have the power to make it all happen.
The power within.
Wonkette.
The world is changing. Business requirements are changing. Babies need changing. All happening here.
There’s a new era in blogging services, and Wonkette is ready for it. Delivering technology snark blog solutions that are relevant now.
Why? To help our clients become more profitable. To help them grow their snark.
Let’s take a look at a few of the innovations from the new Wonkette.
Ok, I guess I’m ready to sell my body now. Any takers?
[re=249479]snideinplainsight[/re]: I am loving your dead-on impersonation of 1990s marketing speak, btw.
[re=249390]jagorev[/re]: Ima disagree with you on the tax cuts being too small. Here’s an article that explains why the drips and drabs of $8/week all year long are mo’ better stimulus than $600 at the end of the tax year kinda rebate. (Basically, the $8 gets spent now, the $600 goes in the savings account; maybe gets spent for Christmas two years from now, or when junior goes to college.)
[re=249508]Hedley Lamar[/re]: I just want yer insides. Is that rude of me?
[re=249532]jagorev[/re]: Except snideinplainsight needs to work “paradigm,” “metric” and “thinking outside the box” into it somehow.
[re=249540]Lascauxcaveman[/re]: I agree. I think it’s a really interesting idea. As in, “Okay, I’ve been depriving myself of Q Tips and Pine Sol, but I’ve got this extra 8 bucks. Why not?” Or in my case, “I’ve been drinking this Carlo Rossi but I’ve got this extra 8 bucks. I’ll splurge on Almaden.” At any rate, chances are it’s much more likely to get spent fast.
Woo-hoo! Dow closes lowest since 1997! Could close below 7,000 this week! I say we form a Poor Peoples’ March on DC! But I can’t walk that far so can I get a lift from Austin?
[re=249554]FMA[/re]: ‘Brother, can yous paradigm’?
As long as Rick Santelli lands on his feet, I’m willing to put up with any indignity.
[re=249437]Hooray For Anything[/re]: Nah. All signs point to edible cockrings.
[re=249580]TGY[/re]: Dang, that there is whole great big gobs of Win.
1997? then that means just hang on and soon we can party like it’s 1999! Hobo beans and spam for everyone.
Since stock prices are a leading indicator which our gracious Wonkette overlord mentions and they have been falling steadily for months and will probably continue to do so,
WE ARE SO FUCKED
Comments on this entry are closed.