Brutal Losses on S&P 500

The brutal losses of the stock market are very depressing. Every day I turn on CNBC, it seems that it is doom and gloom. THe AP reports sales for the S&P 500 companeies are down by 9%.8 and companies lost $10.44 a share.

Will it get to the point where that investors will see terrible numbers with relief just because they did not meet the worst of expectations? I have no idea. All I know is the losses are staggering and death-defying.

All this wants make me is give up and throw in the towel. There is no way to make money unless I keep my money in a 1% interest-bearing savings account. Oh well.

Market

Ugh! CNBC reports the Dow lost 400 points today. More of my TSP shread

Thoughts on Las Vegas

With this economic downturn, will Vegas come back. Or it is good that Vegas might be in decline. With our savings tapped out, a decline in the gambling industry would result in a decrease in debt and an increase in the savings rate. The money is not spent on the casino should be used to pay down debt and pay for a nest egg.

I have gotten over on the allure of Vegas. This is not a lot for me to do other and especially if you want to escape the booze-filled nightlife of Vegas. The only thing that I like to do in Vegas is play cheap craps at Slots of Fun.

People need to save for their retirement instead of dropping quarters in a slot machine. The slot machine is a vampire. It sucks your money like a vampire sucks your blood.

Gas Prices

CNBC is reporting that oil has dipped below $40.00. If oil has dipped below $40.00, than this show how messed up our economy. This economy is enough to make me gloomy even though I have job

Trying to Understand the Federal Reserve Balance Sheet

Trying to read the Federal Reserve Balance sheet  is very complex task.  It shows all of the assets and liablities of the Federal Reserve.  Most people will not understand unless you have a basic understanding of macroeconomics.

Economix provides an excellent guide for understanding the Federal Reserve Balance sheet and how it is impacted by the current financial mess.    I believe that all of the money printed by the Fed could result in rampant inflation and could result in a significant decline in the standard of living for most Americans.  The raises provided by employers will not keep pace with inflation and therefore, that will result in a decline in our standard of living.

Baltic Dry Index

Sometime, I watch a show called Mad Money on CNBC.   The host of the show, Jim Cramer, does an hour of giving stock advice to the viewers.    While on the show,  Jim Cramer told his viewer to watch the Baltic  Dry Shipping Index.

 

Thi is  an little known index used to track the shipping rates of bulk commodities.  Why is this important?   What it does tell you shipment rates of bulk commodities.  As the shipping rate increases, the amount of manufacturing business is increasing and therefore, the economy is healthy.  A lower index tells you is that the economy is contracting and the demand for hard goods is decreasing.

 

In my investing, I can use it as a method to know when to put more money back into the funds and instead of putting into government funds.    If you want to track the price of the Baltic Dry Index on a daily basis, you can go here

 

If you track the index on a daily basis using Excel and see a definite upward trend, that it is pretty good bet to your money in the market.