U.S. economy

[ReefHound]

Hasn't affected my travels or diving. One thing for sure is that I am ordering a couple thousand shares of GM and Ford stock when I figure that it has bottomed out. Maybe tomorrow.

For some companies - perhaps Ford and GM - the bottom may be zero.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I feel a little guilty, but we haven't really cut back on our diving or the money we spend on diving equipment. We save for our special trips and don't spend more than we can afford to, however, we have cut back on other things like eating out, magazine and books (I'm a hopelessly addicted reader), and just don't buy as much point of purchase stuff anymore. Diving is a vital part of keeping me healthy so I'm glad to invest in it. There does seem to be some panic, watching the news is just depressing. However, we have worked hard, saved well, and planned for the future. We also recycle and reuse more.

 

[battles2a5]

I am a trader, so I no longer sleep at night. I no longer dive either, because I am too busy .... at the parent company, I should not only survive, but thrive. The short-selling ban hurt, though.

Well sorry you are losing sleep, Vlad. But rest assured the rest of us will get a better night's sleep knowing the the TRADERS will THRIVE in this environment....

 

[potato cod]

My spouse and I also have a looong time to go until retirement. Well, actually, given what they pay academics, we'll probably never retire. I imagine I'll probably just die at my desk one day. Preferably right before class.

No seriously, the economy hasn't cut into our diving at all yet, but until recently we were grad students and we are used to living and traveling cheaply. To deal with rising airfares, we've cashed in a bunch of frequent flier miles to head to the Turks and Caicos for diving next spring (before the airlines further devalue our miles anymore). For now, buying stocks on sale...

 

[vladimir]

Well sorry you are losing sleep, Vlad. But rest assured the rest of us will get a better night's sleep knowing the the TRADERS will THRIVE in this environment....

I didn't really expect an outpouring of sympathy, but you sound borderline hostile. I am not particularly proud of my profession, but the Peace Corps didn't pay the bills. And as I always say to my junior traders, "it beats real work." The saving grace is that I make a sizable contribution to the US Treasury each year, and although I understand that is no longer considered patriotic, we can still use the money.

 

[NOVIZWHIZ]

let's be nice - it's a mess but no one person's fault - although I think I can blame some of it on my ex-wife....somehow...

I asked my dad once what it was like living during the great depression of the 30's - he said they were so poor, they never KNEW there was a depression...sounds kinda like me now...I'm looking at retirement in 3-4 years, got nothing, never had anything in the market...got a pretty good plan at my work where I can retire and come back to work (state employee thing) so I can actually double dip, build up a little nest egg and then fish for a living with a little diving on the side.

 

[swifttank]

I've taken up organized crime. It's good to be the boss! They work, I dive, they don't work, I still dive, just pay someone to break their legs. Then they magically work again, and I continue diving. :cool2:

 

[Web Monkey]

I am a trader, so I no longer sleep at night. I no longer dive either, because I am too busy at work to take a day off. After averaging about 50 dives a year for a decade, I have no dives in '08. Most of my trading falls under the broad category of statistical arbitrage, so as long as markets are open and nobody does anything stupid at the parent company, I should not only survive, but thrive. The short-selling ban hurt, though.

The entire concept of the stock market as an investment vehicle for small investors is unbelievably bizarre. It's no more of a sure thing than going to Las Vegas, and when more of the Baby Boomers hit retirement age and find out that retirement consists of standing behind a counter asking "Do you want fries with that?", there will be a huge restructuring of the entire market process and if we're lucky, a lot of investment company execs in jail.

Warren Buffet invests. Small investors "spin the wheel" where most of the slots say "You Lose".

Terry

 

[ReefHound]

Once upon a time in a place overrun with monkeys, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each. The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest, and started catching them.

The man bought thousands at $10 and as supply started to diminish, they became harder to catch, so the villagers stopped their effort.

The man then announced that he would now pay $20 for each one. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. But soon the supply diminished even further and they were ever harder to catch, so people started going back to their farms and forgot about monkey catching.

The man increased his price to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so sparse that it was an effort to even see a monkey, much less catch one.

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys for $50!

However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on his behalf.

While the man was away the assistant told the villagers. . . .
'Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has bought.

I will sell them to you at $35 each and when the man returns from

the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each.'

The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys. They never saw the man nor his assistant again and once again there were monkeys everywhere.

Now you have a MUCH better understanding of how the stock market works.

 

[k ellis]

Ummm hmmmmm. Interesting story I think.