Dow jones plunges 512 points in one day; nasdaq down 136; s&p down 60

Well AlGore ignored Bill. Dumb bastard.

 

They kept him from prison.
When Trump loses, they will dump him and try to wash off the stench.

 

And 2 and 4 are pretty much contradictory, too...

 

It was a good week for the markets. So what do the doomsayers think? Do we retrace the lows of 18,000? Is 15,000 still the bottom as some predicted? Is anyone making money? Still scared or have all lever pulling at the Fed and the helicopter drops from Congress settled everyone's nerves.

 

I saw yesterday on tv the lines for just filing a request for unemployment support.
There seems to be a staggering back log due to systems overwelmed by the sheer numbers. So what we now now as a number ofunemployment applications is far off the reality.

 

Can go lower. Maybe. Possibly. Some are making money. Still scared just a month into this.

 

Personally, I think we have another sizeable move down.

I think the reopen will happen too soon due to political and business pressures and the results will trigger the next sell off.

 

Last poll I saw 70% of Republicans said better to stay closed and reduce deaths, and of course even more Democrats. Maybe things will have changed by May 1st but I sure wouldn't want to run for re-election in November with that decision on my record.

Of course you may well be right, and it may happen. Trump certainly wishes it.

 

Would that 30% be the Trumpism base by chance?

Honestly though, I think that % wanting to closed on both sides of the aisle will drop drastically inside a month.

The most dangerous time will be when the curve is quite flat, but only for a few short weeks. People will begin forgetting how bad it was or could have been, especially outside the epicenters. That's my speculation.

But, we shall see.

 

Interesting thoughts, I am still surprised how much politics is involved in the board's thinking. It was interesting how well the markets have held up. Made nice paper gains on long term stocks that I don't plan to sell, but I am still very nervous. I am a small fish and don't want to get fried.

 

I find it extraordinarily weird that the stock markets aren't lower than they are. I know the value of the stock market is basically based on corporate profits, and the value of stocks vs. other investments. So maybe the stock market is doing as well as it is because bonds look like an even worse investment. But I think it's more likely that stocks are doing fairly well because the federal government's actions over the last 3-4 weeks have demonstrated that the feds will act to protect the stock market, so the downside risk is minimal.

Which is a problem for capitalism ca. 2020. The rich seem to have immunity from risk. The 99.9% do not. Bernie is being proven right...the game is rigged. But it's even more rigged than he thought.

 

Let me help Dave, the market is forward looking. Simple as that. Sure, the market likes what the government is doing. It also likes the health trends. Your notions of the market are too simplistic, there is still great downside risk right here.

 

As Jules said, allow me to retort.

The market is forward looking about corporate profits, which is not the same thing as the health of the economy. One theory about how this crisis will Change Everything is that it will lead to certain pro-worker, anti-corporate outcomes. The market is betting that won't happen; if anything, the market thinks the reverse will happen, that this crisis, like the GFC, will entrench corporate and .1% interests as central to our politics.

 

Correct. The market doesn't care at all about 20% unemployment, except if such unemployment hampers corporate profitability.

 

Andrew Yang tweet: People get confused when the stock market goes up despite people losing their jobs. The truth is that many companies will be more profitable and efficient with fewer employees. Investors pay for returns not jobs.

 

Mmm, are you suggesting the boards of those companies didnot kick out people they didnot need, but now all of a sudden they do? Really?

 

In my experience, any time a company goes with reduced staff it usually ends up biting them in the long run.

 

I'm trying to figure out how companies are going to make money in the future if personal consumption plummets.

In such times actually, companies know they can keep their good people, pay them less, and get more work out of them because of the fear.

 

Said Bill Gates, "No one should think the government can wave a wand an all of sudden the economy is anything like it was before this happened."

This is exactly & utterly what the consensus thinks, Bill. The economic predictions are for a blowout third quarter. Morgan Stanley says so, JP Morgan says so, Goldman says so. The stock market agrees with those firms, apparently.

But you can take solace, Bill, in that I think you are the sane one and the rest of the rich people are mad. For what that's worth.

 

If you are buying for the long term, this is a good time to buy. Things won't get back to "normal" right away, but eventually they will.

 

I am amused that the investment community has LOVED the Federal Reserve being superactive and a huge stimulus package, when the business press historically has decried such things as being economy-destroying Democratic schemes. So Democrats are great for the stock market then?

 

You know what they call a quarter pounder with cheese in Paris? They call it a Royale with cheese.

I am interested to see how your pro-worker, anti-corporation, new world plays out.