p0ltergeist
we've increased the national debt by 10% in just about a month. you tell me if you think that bodes well for the economy.
indeed, debt will become more of a problem in coming years as people see their secured assets lose value (i.e., classic "underwater" loans). people will all seek to liquidate at once, but since they are underwater they will still be in debt even when they no longer have possessions.
DEBT. that is all you need to know about this crisis. it will take years for our debt situation to be solved. until it does, we are in a secular bear.
no. the dow is going to 5000 (but will likely go to 12000 first) . that is a better time to consider "planting". furthermore oil is going to go over $200 and t-notes will yield 20% before this is all over, because what we are doing now is planting the seeds for hyperinflation (to follow our current deflation) with all of this "50 billion here, 100 billion there, 700 billion here" money printing.
with the google deal dead and no obvious offer from ballmer, jerry is dead in the water
forget all this garbage of now being a great time to max out ten credit cards to build a website. there is only one rule for secular bear markets - preserve wealth. there is no value in planting in an economic winter. don't fight it, wait for an economic spring to appear in the economy and have capital ready for a more appropriate climate. we have years to go. this will end only when all excess debt is deleveraged and governments, consumers and companies alike have healthier balance sheets purged of debt.
the only other route is vanguard which tends to have low fees for index funds
there are ETFs for every risk tolerance of every global stock market, commodity, bond, etc etc etc. there are even ETFs of ETFs