The Current Market Mess: Avert Your Eyes

By Jim Wiandt

Unless you're entertaining yourself, avert your eyes or enjoy your ulcer.

GS trading at its IPO price, I'm underwater on my recent XLF and FXI buys, and god knows all the rest of my past 5+ years of invested assets. The kids will never make it to college, we'll have to downsize into a tent during retirement, etc. Matt Hougan, like the rest of us, just can't take his eyes off of this colossal train wreck we're looking at.

But he should and we should. Realistically, the situation does look very, very ugly. We likely have not hit the bottom yet, and we're in for a long ride of flat markets, and worse, a recession-burdened economy. But a Great Depression? I doubt it. And if it is, it's not a war, and if it is, at least you've got all 4 limbs, and if you don't, at least you've got 2, etc.  you do what you have to do.  Goodness knows this society, this country is soft. So a little dose of reality, a little toughening up, is not going to hurt anyone.

So that's it. I'm rebalanced, my portfolio is set and I really don't have a (financial) care in the world, aside from working hard to build my company, make sure everyone is taken care of, etc. Micro, that is the stuff that matters. And it's nice actually feeling like you're out of the froth and into the substance. There's my philosophical stand for the day.

So Matt—I have no idea where FXI stands, or GS or EFA or GLD or SPY or DIA or any of the rest. We'll hit the bottom at some point I'm sure—most likely, the world will not end. And I've got a solid long-term plan in place that I feel good about.

Comments

[babycondor:]

Care to sketch out for us the outlines of your "solid long-term plan"?

2008 Nov 11 02:07 PM

[batmando:]

"Goodness knows this society, this country is soft. So a little dose of reality, a little toughening up, is not going to hurt anyone."
Not going to hurt anyone? You are out of your mind!
Guess you don't personally know any of the 10 millions of unemployed with medical insurance.
Fool.

2008 Nov 11 04:14 PM

[batmando:]

10 millions of unemployed WITHOUT medical insurance.

2008 Nov 11 04:14 PM