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Good points. Unfortunately, I think the FED and president overestimate the impact and power that monetary policy has. I always like to liken it to using a small car and a cable to stop or alter the direction of a mack truck. Under the right circumstances, you might have an impact, but the...

Things absolutely are bad. The key really is for people not to panic though. But investing is going to be a losing proposition for perhaps the next 1-2 years.

I'm seriously wondering if that post about stops is fake. Nobody can be that stupid. Or at least I hope nobody can be that stupid.:D

I have a small position. I use it as a hedge against my long positions.

Increasing interest rates would have destroyed the US economy. If the dollar was strong, then increasing rates would have made sense. With a weak dollar, the fed would have to have a death-wish to increase rates. You don't heal the economy by bashing it over the head with a stick.

I don't think it will work, because if it was that easy to turn 250K into 5K, then just taking the opposite position would prove profitable and this strategy would be common knowledge. My guess is that you will see extreme swings with no real direction using the strategies you outlined.

Well, I'm going to both agree and disagree with you. First, I'll agree that the value of the USD has to a great degree been based upon consumption, which is precisely why it is in a free-fall. I'll disagree on the impact that cutting interest rates and increasing the money supply will have...

Good points. I actually see the bottom for the dollar coming up soon. Exports increased by something like 4% last quarter. Additionally, with recessionary fears, I just don't see Americans spending money which is going to start reducing imports. This should help stabalize the dollar's free-fall...

The market reacts to the price of oil more violently during bull market tops. It reacts to interest rates more during bear markets. High oil prices stunt growth during good times. During bad times, while oil prices are still important, liquidity in the financial markets is far more important.

The key to the ultra ETF's: Wait for huge swings in a direction (down for a long ETF), and then add positions.

News of small bank failures. Banks writing off huge losses due to impaired securities. No liquidity in the banking sector... ....on and on and on. But here's the fly in the ointment. Those "huge" losses being written off by banks are in many cases paper losses. Many of those write-downs...

Hey Neke, great performance so far. Maybe you're onto something by taking less risk. Just a thought here and take it with a grain of salt :) , but what if you broke your account into 2 seperate portfolios where one continues the method of less risk you're using right now, and the other takes...

Very cool. I personally love space science. space.com is a fantastic space site if you haven't heard of it. They also have some great message boards that I'm a frequent poster on. Unfortunately, they're down right now because they're completely revamping the site, so I'm in a bit of a...

I would normally preface a statement that I'm about to make with "IMO", but since I don't even consider it an opinion, but reality, I'll say this. Both 2cents and stu's posted links about postulations on life evolving are infinite magnitudes more likely than the oxymoron of an "intelligent...

The FDIC is about trust. (deja-vu...have I already said that). :D You're are always going to have companies trying to skirt the laws. The difference is that in 1930, they could do it without consequences. Now, with the SEC, there ain't no free lunch. Sooner or later the pied piper is going...

A legitimate argument. Trust is the key here though. The average person is not afraid of losing their savings account and therefore we shouldn't see a run on the banks. The American banking system is one of the most secure systems in the world. I think it would be highly unlikely that foreign...

If you are 7 seven years away from retirement, you also would be insane to be fully vested in stocks. You should hold about 30-40% of your portfolio in equities. Even if the market drops 20% "easily", that would only take a chunk of 8% of your portfolio. Hardly what I would call "risky". On the...

PE's are low compared to historical averages. Now I'm not saying that we aren't in a bear market (I think we are). I'm not saying we aren't in a recession (I think we are) and I'm also not saying that we won't see a multi-year recession. What I am saying is that for longer term positions...

btw...if one more person compares this credit crisis to 1930, I'm going to throw up. This credit crisis is NOTHING like the 1930's. During the great depression, there was no FDIC protection, there was no SEC and there was no government spending to stimulate a suffering economy. 50% of the...

On the contrary, anybody with more than 6-7 years until retirement would be stupid to not buy stocks at these levels. It's all about risk management and diversity. If you're referring to investing, there are many, many methods for hedging your risk. Stocks are very attractive buys at these...