What's the obvious thing I'm denying? If it's "Republicans are the devil and to blame for the state of the world", I disagree. The causes of the current situation span law, government, and business decisions.

The executive branch didn't start this, and won't end it. The world economy isn't a banana republic dictatorship where the decisions of one leader ripple throughout changing the whole market.

I'll get back to you here on this when I'm up to par.

2-11-2009 Wal-Mart cutting 700-800 jobs at headquarters

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will cut 700 to 800 jobs at its northwestern Arkansas headquarters as it builds fewer new stores this year and makes other operational changes, the world's largest retailer announced Tuesday.

The cuts are in Wal-Mart's real estate, apparel and health and wellness departments, spokesman David Tovar said. Wal-Mart would not say how many jobs will be cut in each segment.

Tovar said employees will be told of the cuts in the next couple of weeks and there was no immediate plan to make other positions within Wal-Mart available to them.

Stimulus bill could have $100 billion for Tech related initiatives...

http://www.informationweek.com/news/ind ... ction=News

"The final package could spend at least $75 billion on IT and up to $100 billion on tech-related issues like broadband expansion, cybersecurity, smart energy grids, health care, and green IT."

The House and Senate will "compare notes" at the end of this week on their respective versions of the bill, with direction to get a bill for signature on the Presidents desk by Feb. 16th. The final details will be known then.

Should encourage spending on tech and create some jobs.

EK2K

It's not just irresponsible people in trouble with this economy.

I've said the Real Estate system was a House of Cards for years and now the media is using the same term:

2-27-2009 House of Cards: The Faces Behind Foreclosures

In the one-strike economy, it's not just the subprime suckers going down. Trouble stretches beyond the province of liar loans, condo-flipping and the collateralized debt obligations that no one fully understands.

There are about 75 million homeowners in America, according to the U.S. census. The latest gloomy estimates suggest that upwards of 6.4 million homes are at risk of sinking into foreclosure by the end of 2012. That number has no precedent, and its impact is only beginning to register. Populist pundits have struck a nerve with angry denunciations of Obama's plan. "See if we really want to subsidize the losers' mortgages," CNBC's Rick Santelli demanded.

It's a brutal game, though, in which a single strike makes you a loser. And that brutality explains another strain of anger beginning to bubble up from the newly bankrupted. People like Paula Stevens and Joseph Zachery weren't flipping houses or lying on their loan applications. They didn't pile up mountains of credit-card debt. They worked hard for what they had and shared their modest portions with others. Each readily admits to making occasional mistakes with money, but even Warren Buffett has made occasional mistakes with money. Their bitterness stems from a feeling that they've held up their end of the social contract, but now the terms of the deal have been rewritten by malign forces. "It's a different world and a different time," Stevens said ruefully. "Even if you work hard you get laid off." Zachery put it this way: "It's not the United States anymore. Those at the top have sold out the bottom for money."

Not everyone who has fallen behind on a mortgage is a loser complicit in the housing collapse. And not every solvent American has broken faith with those who are struggling.

6800 today

Don't forget I predicted 3600 last October

3-2-2009 DOW falls below 6900

The Dow Jones industrial average plunged below 7,000 Monday for the first time in more than 11 years as investors grow even more pessimistic about the health of banks, and in turn the economy.

A staggering $61.7 billion in quarterly losses at insurer American International Group Inc. touched off fresh fears about the health of the nation's financial system.

The worries pushed the blue chips below 7,000 for the first time since Oct. 28, 1997 and then below 6,900 for the first time since May 1, 1997. The credit crisis and recession have now slashed half the average's value since it hit a record high over 14,000 in October 2007.

Investors are fleeing financials after the government said it would give AIG another $30 billion in loans, besides the $150 billion it has already injected into the company. Investors are worried about European financial companies, too. HSBC PLC, Europe's largest bank by market value, reported a 70 percent drop in 2008 earnings and said it needs to raise $17.7 billion and cut 6,100 jobs.

HSBC Holdings fell $6.82, or 19.6 percent, to $27.98.

Other financials also fell sharply. Bank of America Corp. fell 56 cents, or 14.2 percent, to $3.39. Regional banks lost ground as well. Fifth Third Bancorp fell 18 cents, or 8.6 percent, to $1.93, while Huntington Bancshares Inc. fell 14 cents, or 9.6 percent, to $1.32.

Even banks that investors consider to be in better shape took hits. JPMorgan Chase & Co. slid $1.32, or 5.8 percent, to $21.53. Wells Fargo & Co. fell $1.41, or 11.7 percent, to $10.69.

Im loving it! There are 3 companies Ive been waiting for a threshold they finally hit. Ive been on a buying spree Sucks for anyone relying on stocks for income though. For the rest of us its f**king AWESOME.

How "well" did you do today?



i am still waiting
.. we ain't hit bottom yet

IF California is the indicator for the rest of the USA, there is a long way to go

I didnt buy today. I dont consider anything lost until I sell, so I dont worry about it. An unrealized loss is not really a loss I *am* ahead of where I was 9 years ago (quite a bit), which is about how many years the market cycles. This is the 3rd major cycle since I started investing. I lose zero sleep.

cool .. i intend to start investing when it hits about where Dave originally predicted
.. i think we have a little while to save