We get to hear regularly of the woes of our times. When good news happens it seems to be a secret.

Have you heard the dow rebounded today and almost every segment of the maket ended up?! I didn't think so.

Have you heard that oil pricing has dropped $9. a barrell in just two days?! Just two days! That remarkable! I didn't think you'd hear that on the news so thought I'd share it.

Have you heard the housing problems are recovering in many parts of the country and in many markets home values are on the rise and forclosures are declining? I didn't think so, that's not the type of thing that makes headlines like the housing bust is.

Have you heard the latest reports on the situation in Iraq? Thing are improving darmatically! Casualties are down, their economy and political stability have dramatically improved. Sectors that were once plagued with conflict are thriving. Schools are rebuilt and open. The power shortages that were common are a thing of the past. Clean drinking water is now available in regions where that wasn't the case a short time ago. Of course you probably hadn't heard the good news. It seems to be a secret. Only body bags and IED's make the news. Good news apparently isn't worthy of coverage.

I love good news! I just thought I'd share that this is a day to celebrate. Bear markets usually last 18 months or better, this one lasted a couple of days and is over already. I'm certain you've heard we're in a recession. The fact that a recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth seems to be not worth reporting. Have we had two consecutive quarters of negative growth? Nope! The more they talk about it, the more likely it'll happen so the talk is rampant. The fact is, we've had some negative pressures with gas pricing hitting records. With a housing crisis and other things that have hurt over the past several months it's hard to find any good news at all, especially if you watch and read the news. Today, the news is good on every front. Let's talk about it, lets celebrate some good news and the hope for much more to come!

Cheers, Neil

Thank you for that, Neil. I was thinking along the same lines, but you actually took the time to put it into words. Ever thought of starting your own blog? I'd read it.

Rick

You are correct.. we hear and spread the bad news first.
I would like to share this.
My Son finally got Married.



Might not be the right place but it was good News to us.
back to the New.. We had reporter all over the place when the firs near us broke out... none of them reported the fires were out now. They left and continue to report new fires. One would think that they are all burning.

Gary, congratulations on your son's marriage; they make a beautiful couple. And I'm so glad to hear you are safe from the fires.

Rick

Gary, my congratulations on the big event as well! Rick's is right on the mark, what a great looking couple.

Good news may be more rare than the predictions of doom and gloom but it sure is more fun to read. Thanks for the pics!

P.S. Rick, thanks for the note but I'm no writer.

Cheers, Neil

Congrats, Gary! They do make a wonderful looking couple.

Great pics as always, glad the fires are out near you.

Dwayne

Gary, thank you for the photo share. They make a beautiful couple. Congratulations to all!

Congratulations from me as well, Gary! They do make a gorgeous couple.

My son is getting married next week!

Sandy

Congratulations Gary, you're going to have gorgeous grandchildren. What a beautiful couple! I sure hope they went on a cruise for their honeymoon Thank you for the great pictures, too!

Congrats Gary! I'm almost there myself!

And thanks for the good news, Neil!

But I need to be selfish for a minute - I hope the housing market stays down for another year or two. I will hopefully (fingers crossed) be purchasing a home in that time frame, and I don't want to miss out on this buyers market! We unfortunately need to rent for a bit first - which kills me! It's throwing money out the window!

I don't think you'll have to worry about the housing market skyrocketing any time soon. And there are sometimes when renting isn't such a bad idea. The one thing to remember is, don't get too much house too quickly.

Well, much of the good news from yesterday was washed away today. Ahmadinejad seem to like high oil pricing for obvious reasons and his missle tests sent oil back up and the market plunging. Bad for our economy and good for Irans. We still have Gary's good news to celebrate.

Funny how our market hinges on bad news from the middle east. Clowns like Ahmadinejad can create bad news anytime they want with a simple speach. They can also test a few missles or worse. Our market allows these sabre rattling things to reward those who produce the bad news. This keeps the bad news barrons wealthy with their life blood (oil) at high market rates. They get on the tube and spew some doom and gloom and we react in a way that hurts our best interest and helps theirs. There just seems to be something wrong with that whole equasion.

Oh well, I'm still optomistic that things will improve. They always do after a storm.

Cheers, Neil

Just remember, Neil, "it's not a bear market; it's a buying opportunity".

And Carnival plc has not looked so good in a long time.

A bear market can actually be a good thing since history has shown things always turn around after the bear chews up the place - at least for longer term investors.

Most financial advisors would prefer their clients not look at the market constantly. Some even suggest only looking at your account statements once or twice a year. Too many people get nervous and want to sell and lose money because they think the market will not turn around.

quote:

Originally posted by f-mattox:
Just remember, Neil, "it's not a bear market; it's a buying opportunity"

Good point. It was hard to watch my 401(k) dip when this all started, but I'm hoping it will rebound even better once the market turns around and all the low priced stock my funds are buying return to normal prices.

quote:

The one thing to remember is, don't get too much house too quickly.

Penny - want to elaborate a bit? I'll take any advice I can when it comes to this stuff. Is it simply so that I don't fall behind on payments?

But in my area (Long Island), EVERY house is priced beyond what I can afford

I'm in it for the long haul, no day trading here. I will confess that it's very tempting to buy more heavily when things hit these rough patches. I probably should but I just stick to the standard withdrawl amounts I've set in place and let things take their course.

I'm not nervous, it's not my nature. I know there are those with little tolerance for risk who bail or move to bonds or gold. They try to find the right things and change as one segment slides they try to time the next. That's where all the volitility comes in. If I wanted to be a full time gambler instead of investor, I'd move to Vegas.

Cheers, Neil

quote:

Just remember, Neil, "it's not a bear market; it's a buying opportunity".

Rick, on that note, I live in Houston. The last investment advice I got from a trusted friend here was when Enron was exploding and everybody around me was getting rich off their stock. I heard things like it's a local company, it helps our local economy to buy it. Plus it's been the best performing stock in the world for several years now! Why don't you quit pushing $$$ into that 401K and buy some Enron stock? They all had good intentions with that advice and it had served them well. Well, it did for a long time.

I'm one of those guys who sticks with relatively safe things like mutuals with long track records. I've missed some great opportuinties that were sage advice from those wiser than I. Compaq was the best one when they filed for BK here. A different friend told me I should invest heavily and I thought he was nuts. I'm still working for a living and he's retired early living well. No regrets though, if I jumped on the hot items, I'd have put my Compaq earnings into Enron a few years later and been worse off today. I got bitten by a previos employer and owning too much company stock when they went under. From that day to now, I stick with safe.

Cheers, Neil

An interesting statistic that pops up every once in a while: the average stock mutual fund over the last 25 years has averaged about 11% a year; the average mutual fund investor over the same period has averaged about 5%. What do you suppose happened to that other 6%? Buying high and selling low.

Neil, it sounds like you are on the right track. That's what I've done for 25 years--slow and steady--the tortoise, not the hare.
I had friends maxing out credit cards to buy computers and fund day trading accounts in the late 90's, telling me, "come on Rick, you're missing out." We all know how that ended.

Mike, I think what Penny was alluding to was, don't make the same mistake so many have--taking on a mortgage that leaves you no wiggle room financially--even a fixed. As a homeowner, there is always going to be that unexpected repair or expense that, if you live right at your income level, will put in a hole that you may never get out of. Start modestly; then trade up as you are able.

Mike, stay on track with your 401-k; don't get spooked and take your money out; and don't borrow against it. I watched my account lose one-third of its value in 2001; and even worse, half its value in 1987.

Just focus on how many more shares your contributions are buying. Believe me, it's worth the pain. It will bounce back.