Meanwhile, Washington Mutual is in bankruptcy court, and Livejournal is running ads in the margins inviting me to open a checking account and a savings account with them. “4% APR!” the ads announce.
No, thanks… I’ll stick with my ([for now]solvent) bank… at least for the moment.
Doom?
Thanks very much for your thoughtful response. I shall go back to trying to pretend that the money never existed for a while.
I think your portfolio is probably safe. Its value will decline for a while, because this is a bear market that makes other bear markets look like Steiff toys, but it will pass. Eventually, and like a kidney stone, but it will pass.
I’ve sold nothing and bought nothing in the last few days. The value of the stocks I hold (mostly natural gas pipelines and a couple of speculative things that are all long-term) are all down, across the board. I’d look for dividend-paying stocks, as a way of retaining some extra value — but I would also leave dividends in the account as cash, to take advantage of sudden opportunities or to take out as ‘real emergency’ funds in the event things go all pear-shaped.
The current proposal — $700 billion plus a tax cut — is so horrific, I can’t imagine it passing. It essentially fortifies the idea that the US Federal Reserve is bankrupt, because they’re so insistent on getting $700 billion that they’ll try to sweeten the deal with a drop in taxes for everyone else. But it raises the cost of the bailout to around $1 trillion… if that passes, there’s no telling what will happen.
My paranoid non-gambler heart is telling me to yank all my stocks. Everyone and their grandma who knows stuff about the markey says don’t do it. I know you’ve been paying attention. Thoughts? (I have diversified portfolio with reputable investment firm…small, family owned, in business for generations.)