The Simplified Investor

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell below 8600 today - bleeding another 7% to continue the incredible losses that have take place all week. It seems like the much anticipated bailout has not had the effect that many anticipated - rather than assuading investor concerns that the worst of the financial crisis was over, it was an inadequate leavy in a flood of capital out of the equity markets and into more stable gold and treasury bonds.

And there’s reason to believe that the markets will keep falling in the great financial crisis of 2008. Some major macroeconomic indicators point to tough times in coming quarters.

Here’s a top 5:
(more…)

I know what you’re thinking - why invest in Apple when its stock price fell 18% today? But think literally about apples, which you’ll find in any outdoor fruit stand on the streets of New York. Today, our sadly ineffective government failed to pass its so-called “bailout” plan. The meaning is clear - our economy is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. People are going to be out of their jobs (some estimate as many as 6 million Americans will soon be unemployed) - so saddle up the push cart, hit the pavement, and get ready to earn a living one apple at a time.

September 29, 2008 Vote, U.S. House of Representatives

What happened today was historic, and the market knew it. $1.2 trillion was erased from the market value of American stocks as frightened investors fled for the safety of gold and government Treasury bonds. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 777 points, the largest one day decline since the index was first published in 1896. The S&P 500 fell almost 9%, a drop not seen in two decades. Meanwhile, Wachovia Bank was bought by Citigroup for $1 a share, making it just the latest financial institution to surrender in a fear-driven downward spiral that has crushed venerable institutions like Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Washington Mutual in recent weeks.

(more…)

As the WSJ reported today, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America is just the latest chapter in a stunning redesign of the financial world.  Stand-alone investment banks are dying rapid deaths, with three down in 2008 already (who can forget the spectacular demise of Bear Stearns?).  In their place, a new king is rising - commercial banks.

(more…)