Thursday - March 01, 2007

Crash

Just when you thought your portfolio (and your 401k) were doing fine, along comes China with a bad sneeze. What happens? The rest of the world gets a cold. Yep, things were perking along nicely until Monday when the ChiCom market self-destructed.

Now the New York Stock Exchange is dropping like a rock. I pulled out of all of my high risk stock two years ago and moved everything into bonds because I’m at the age when it’s time to take a more conservative approach to your portfolio if you have one.

Hang on tight, everyone. We are going to be in for a bumpy ride over the next week or so as Wall Street investors panic. If you see any of them jumping out of their office windows you might consider cashing in any stock you own. I’m just sayin’ ...

Dow Falls Another 200, Gains Some Back
_{NEW YORK (YAHOO NEWS) - March 1, 2007}

Wall Street resumed its plunge after a one-day reprieve as investors, nervous about the impending release of key economic data, took their cues Thursday from declining overseas markets. The Dow Jones industrials briefly fell more 200 points to the 12,067 level in the opening minutes of trading, having rebounded half-heartedly on Wednesday from the previous session’s huge drop.

In the first half-hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 170.80, or 1.39 percent, at 12,097.83. Broader stock indicators also plunged. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down 21.86, or 1.55 percent, at 1,384.96, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 47.60, or 1.97 percent, at 2,368.55.

Wall Street was clearly nervous as it awaited the 10 a.m. release of the Institute for Supply Management’s assessment of manufacturing activity during February. Intensifying concerns about the health of the U.S. economy fed Tuesday’s skid that sliced 416 points off the Dow. Each of the 30 Dow components was down early Thursday.

U.S. investors flinched following another series of declines in Asian and European markets. They also appeared unimpressed by the
Commerce Department’s report of improved personal income and consumption data.

Bond prices rose as stocks fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note falling to 4.50 percent from 4.57 percent late Wednesday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

In economic news, the Commerce Department said personal incomes rose in January at the fastest pace in a year, fueled in part by executive bonuses and pay hikes for federal workers. Personal incomes rose by 1 percent in January while consumer spending was up by 0.5 percent. The income advance was the largest since January 2006. A confident consumer willing to spend is integral to ushering the economy to the gradual slowdown Wall Street has been hoping for.

- More ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 03/01/2007 at 10:07 AM   
Filed Under: • Economics •  
• Comments (7) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

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It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

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