Stock Market (to buy, prices, oil)

[accountingfreak]

How long before the stock market crashes? less than a year? More than a year? More than 20 years?

[Futcha]

I give it until next Spring.

[radraja]

I don't think it will crash...not to the extent of the Great Depression. Measures have been haken to prevent that from ever happening again.

And honestly, although the economy is bad, there are still enough people financially comfortable who continue to buy, keeping the economy afloat.

Oh, and it's predicted that the housing market will make a rebound by the end of 2009.

[bchris02]

The Dow will be below 10,000 by the election, guaranteed. I expect the Dow to bottom out about 8000 or so in early 2009. How fast the economy rebounds depends on what is done about oil prices.

[goozer]

Originally Posted by radraja

I don't think it will crash...not to the extent of the Great Depression. Measures have been haken to prevent that from ever happening again.

And honestly, although the economy is bad, there are still enough people financially comfortable who continue to buy, keeping the economy afloat.

I agree with both these points. The federal government will step in and provide a taxpayer funded bailout before it will allow the market to crash. Case in point was the "rescue" of Bear Stearns -- an investment bank, not a regular bank, mind you -- earlier this year. The feds feared that if it allowed Bear Sterns to collapse dozens of other investment banks and mega-hedge funds would follow.

The second point is even more important. As bad as the economy is, the very rich are doing better than ever. And it is the very rich who have the most skin in the stock market game. The market may take its lumps, but a total collapse... I highly doubt it.

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by radraja

I don't think it will crash...not to the extent of the Great Depression. Measures have been haken to prevent that from ever happening again.

And honestly, although the economy is bad, there are still enough people financially comfortable who continue to buy, keeping the economy afloat.

Oh, and it's predicted that the housing market will make a rebound by the end of 2009.

Your reasonable, non-fear based commentary is not welcome here, sir. Take that kind of discussion elsewhere.

[radraja]

I'm actually not a sir.

(The name is misleading.)