Re-opened American stock markets tumble 5%, stabilize.
September 17, 2001 8:15 AM   Subscribe

Re-opened American stock markets tumble 5%, stabilize. As of 11:06 AM, Dow down 481, NASDAQ down 75.
posted by tranquileye (16 comments total)
 
The stock market is the most advanced and devious trickery ever used to simultaneously make the rich richer and the poor poorer. If President Bush stubs his toe or Alan Greenspan blows his nose, investors, day-traders, stock brokers, and others of their kind piss their pants.

I'm not surprised that such a finicky group of opportunists didn't get even more shaken by the deaths of thousands of their colleagues. Apparently the possible denial of a merger of two mega corporations by the EU has a greater effect on their trading and negotiating than does the destruction of the World Trade Center.
posted by Hammerikaner at 8:56 AM on September 17, 2001


Go buy something.
posted by SandeepKrishnamurthy at 9:00 AM on September 17, 2001


The Plunge Protection Team is reported to be working in the shadows to prevent a meltdown.

Well maybe...
posted by LimpBizKid at 9:01 AM on September 17, 2001


Let's not get all over the financial community because the stock market hasn't crashed, ferchrissakes.
posted by jpoulos at 9:17 AM on September 17, 2001


hammer:

sure it could. the denial of a merger between two corporations is a matter of economics; the attack on the WTC is an offense to it. although, i suppose, the merger of AOL and time warner might be considered offensive in some circles.
posted by moz at 9:21 AM on September 17, 2001


I'm not surprised that such a finicky group of opportunists didn't get even more shaken by the deaths of thousands of their colleagues.

A lot of companies and invididuals are taking actions today to support the market -- rules have been loosened to make it easier for companies to buy back their own stock, Americans have been encouraged to show support by buying stock in significant companies, and there's some kind of institutional effort to stave off a catastrophic day.
posted by rcade at 9:23 AM on September 17, 2001


some circles? give it a while and that group will try to take over the world.. I thought it would go down more than that - I guess that they took the pres's words to heart and are engaging in 'patriotic buying' of shares - how long before their wallets intervene though?
posted by Mossy at 9:24 AM on September 17, 2001


For every buyer there must be a seller, and the "opportunists" would certainly appreciate the chance to buy up stocks at a bargain rate. This is really not something we need to worry about.

If you want to go long for sensible reasons, I would suggest INVN
posted by username at 9:36 AM on September 17, 2001


Call me an idiot if you like, but I just don't get this "patriotic" buying of shares. Doesn't this just put more money into the pockets of those people trying to liquidate their positions - rewarding exactly the behaviour that we'd want to discourage?
posted by pascal at 9:41 AM on September 17, 2001


I'm a moron when it comes to the market, but a lot of patriotic buying would put upward pressure on the price of the stocks.
posted by rcade at 10:28 AM on September 17, 2001


I'm a fool when it comes to the market.
posted by dagny at 11:05 AM on September 17, 2001


It was really funny when Lou Dobbs (CNN's deity of the dollar) read messages from investor types on-air during his Moneyline show a few days ago. These messages somehow turned buying and selling stocks into some sort of patriotic action that would work for the good of everyone. I'm sorry, but if there's one thing you can't do in this world is claim that the obvious self-serving action of making money through handling other people's money is some sort of virtuous, patriotic act.
posted by Hammerikaner at 11:18 AM on September 17, 2001


Oh, and now the airlines are basically threatening to layoff thousands of workers if the US Federal government doesn't step in and help. If this isn't opportunism to get corporate welfare, I don't know what is.
posted by Hammerikaner at 11:19 AM on September 17, 2001


rcade - yes, I realize that. But who would benefit from that upward price pressure? Most directly, it would be the person who sold you the shares. Sure, a company's share price dropping has other effects - it may make the company a takeover target, and it loses flexibility in other areas. It just seems to me the best way to directly help a company you want to support is to buy its products.
posted by pascal at 11:27 AM on September 17, 2001


I'm sorry, but if there's one thing you can't do in this world is claim that the obvious self-serving action of making money through handling other people's money is some sort of virtuous, patriotic act.

You're just full of harsh judgments today, Hammer. The last thing the U.S. needs at this point is for the bottom to fall out of the stock market. There's no more direct measure of confidence than money, and I think there's a measure of patriotism in buying stocks to support the market.
posted by rcade at 11:42 AM on September 17, 2001


The market has been and continues to be overvalued, both by historical standards and by any sane projections for future corporate earnings growth.

As far as "patriotic" buying goes, this reminds me of the "buy american" campaigns in the 1970's which, by insulating the american auto companies from actual consumer needs, set them back 10-15 years.
posted by electro at 1:58 PM on September 17, 2001


« Older Onion saving new jokes for another day   |   'Suicide hijacker' is an airline pilot alive and... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments