posted on Apr, 27 2010 @ 09:22 PM
The meltdown, so to speak, is not over. Even so, during the grimy years ahead there are sure to be periods of upward spikes, ugly lurches downward,
and sideways grinds alike. If significant inflation kicks in (which it may or may not), you may see what at first look like impressive gains, but in
the end they won't really mean all that much.
But guess what? If you are smart, lucky, and know which way the wind blows, its ALWAYS time to make money.
(At least unless they somehow ban options and futures. Or, this being ATS, perhaps until our omnidimensional mantoid Annunaki overlords arrive once
again and transform us into genetically-altered mining slaves).
By the way, as an aside, I saw an interesting stat in the most recent issue of Fortune mag. Looking at the metric for the year-over-year change in the
total market valuation of all Fortune 500 companies, the figure relaesed this year shows the largest gains in history in both real and percent terms.
Only one year earlier, the EXACT OPPOSITE was true -- the previous year, the same two stats (real and percentage) showed the steepest drops in
history. Looking at static valuation rather than change, despite the big gains this year, we are still 17% off the all-time market valuation high for
the Fortune 500 companies-- which itself was only two years ago. I know you can't judge everything by the blue chips and lage caps, but
wow...volitility: it's not just for breakfast anymoree.
Actually, the Fortune 500 index static valuation is still lower than it was a decade ago. I knew "buy and hold" was a crock of **** even back in the
90s, when everyone from the shoe-shine boy to Warren Buffett considered it gospel. In reality, its more like, "Buy, and then hold still, because
it's easier to pick your pockets if you aren't squirming around so much."
When you toss in their generally-gutted house values on top of the limp performance of their generally conventional portfolios, it looks like Mr. and
Mrs. Average Prudent Baby-Boomer Investor may be dining on Fancy Feast rather than at the Pebble Beach Clubhouse in their fast-appraohing retirement
years.
[edit on 4/27/10 by silent thunder]