The Simplified Investor

It seems like the wrong time to be buying stocks right now, considering that every day the market hits a new bottom. On Thursday, markets closed at their lowest point in nearly six years, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing the day at 7,552.29. And its not just stocks that are hurting; oil is below $50 a barrel and 30-day Treasury bonds are yielding less than 1% as investors demand safe havens for their money…its ugly on Wall Street, and people’s savings on Main Street have felt the pain.
(more…)

Last week, things looked bleak for equity investors. As the Dow Jones and S&P 500 slid to historic lows, and the TED spread soared to a historic high (more on that below), it looked to many like the thing to do was pull out of stocks entirely, and enter safer assets like gold, T-bills, and steady bank savings accounts. But on Monday, the market bounced, led by the news that the U.S. government will invest up to $250 billion to shore up the U.S. banking system in a plan similar to measures taken by several European powers, including Germany and the U.K.
(more…)