OT-be careful

[SFP]

Maybe we need to start a BUfinancialFan.com site!

[Bravesfan]

I am normally as conservative as they come with investing my money, but I don't agree with this outlook. I don't see the issues of the earthquake or the nuclear problem, or the middle east affecting things much now.

In fact today's Dow Jones is way up-
http://finance.yahoo.com/

I agree we have been way overdue for a correction as well. That's very different than a crash though, and there really is no indication that the Dow would go down anywhere close to the levels of a couple of years ago. And even 10,000 might be a stretch. But I can see perhaps a short term drop of another 5 to 10%, which these days does not take very long to accomplish anyway. It will go back up like it always does, but the fact that the Dow has managed just a 1500 point gain in over a decade shows the market has been stuck in place for awhile. And I don't think $4 to $5 gas will help at all. But regarding the Japan earthquake and the history of the stock market after events like this, the stock market usually recovers quickly. It won't happen though until the threat of radiation subsides, but I think the media has overblown this as well, save for the people who live near the reactor, who are still in imminent danger.

[Beninator]

I'm fairly conservative and rarely sell because of Uncle Sam loves to take their fair share of your gains. I always take my taxes into consideration before I click sell. I even bought some 30 year Treasury bonds 20+ years ago!

Same here... That is why I like my dividends as well. There were some very nice "accidentally high" dividends in 08-09 like CAT that I feel very fortunate to have added to my portfolio!

[Braves4Life]

I'm fairly conservative and rarely sell because of Uncle Sam loves to take their fair share of your gains. I always take my taxes into consideration before I click sell. I even bought some 30 year Treasury bonds 20+ years ago!

You need to be saving your money in one of these plans SFP. That way you won't have to let the tax man hold a gun to your head every time you need/want to make a change......

http://moneywatch.bnet.com/retirement-planning/blog/retirement-roadmap/retirement-plans-for-the-self-employed/2936/

[Da Coach]

I'm not telling anyone what to do because I could be wrong...so don't listen to me...that's my disclaimer, but I've been following the markets for many many years and it sure seems to me that we may be setting up for a major sell-off. The tragedy in Japan, our own debt, what's going on in the Middle East....I don't have much so I've gone mostly conservative...to cash and set up a couple short positions. Don't get caught-up in basketball and not follow the news.

Go Braves

Has anyone noticed that since this thread started last Thursday, the Dow has skyrocketed each of the last 3 days of trading. It was up 178 points today to 12036.53, and up well over 100 points each of the last 3 days of trading, the best 3 day gain since last September.
Caterpillar set an all time high today, and closed at 107.59.

[electricmayhem]

That's why those of us that do this for a living preach not to react to short-term trends...

[tornado]

Here's another thing to be careful of given the misinformation and hype surrounding fears of radiation dangers........

There's been so much talk of radiation and radiation sickness, and illnesses that might come from radiation...
and in many, many stories on TV and in the press - they talk about distributing potassium iodide or "Iodine tablets" as some stories say and they hint that it gives protection from the radiation...

Time and time again I have read and heard this kind of talk...and it is almost always discussed as if the iodine has magical protective capabilities from all kinds of fears of radiation effects!!!

BUT -- almost the entire uninformed press is totally ignorant about this and are stating horribly incorrect facts...

FIRST the potassium iodide - as I am sure some know -- is ONLY an inhibitor of your thyroid taking up the iodine currently in your system. SO in the most OPTIMISTIC thinking -- the ONLY thing it MIGHT do is to reduce your chances of having your thyroid gland get exposed to radioactive iodine if you are in an environment where the radioactive iodine exists...

It still doesn't mean you won't suffer from the exposure, and I suppose the postassium iodide MIGHT have no effects and you'd maybe still get exposed...

BUT......... even if you did get exposed to radioactive iodine, the risks of getting thyroid cancer is the ONLY thing you'd suffer and even then the lag time or delay might be years or decades and even then THYROID cancer is rarely fatal or dangerous and easy to monitor, find, and treat!
So the only "protection" you are getting is a remotely minimal protection from only one illness that even in the worst case scenario won't strike for decades and is still treatable and rarely fatal.

So this whole iodine thing is like worrying in the middle of Hurrican Katrina that your 6th grader's baseball game might get rained out!!
It totally ignores the fact that iodine has ABSOLUTELY NO EFFECT on 99% of all the MOSt damaging and fatal of radiation's harmful effects!

BUT -- all the articles are literally promoting a panic and a run on pharmacies to get and take potassium iodide...

"... take potasium iodide as a preventative
medication against possible radiation fallout from
Japan's nuclear generating plant crisis."

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/51472727-76/iodide-drug-nuclear-utah.html.csp

http://www.bnet.com/blog/clean-energy/a-new-low-in-panicked-us-history-hoarding-potassium-iodide-pill/4535

Here's the catch in many of the articles about iodide....
-- they all make it sound like it protects your whole body from ALL the bad effects of all the radiation -- even the pluitonium's effects that might kill you or wipe out your bone marrow...

Beware -- there's a lot of misinformation!