Gold is a strong deterrent to Economic growth and once it is watched closely like Crude Oil the Dow will continue to struggle.

I happen to agree with the headline conclusion that the US market is soft. However, this column trips the baloney meter on a number of grounds.

1. Most of the downside risks are old, old stories. Everyone knew once Washington started running massive deficits that we were headed for a weaker dollar and inflation. And consumer debt? That has been headed up for a quarter century.

2. Equities historically tend to do better during Democratic periods of dominance than under Republican, a fact which anyone can prove to themselves by examining the Dow over any reasonably long time frame. That doesn't mean that the next Democrat will do the same and it doesn't mean that some Republicans might outperform some Democrats. But if people are betting that more Democrats in Washington = worse stock market, they are betting against the odds and anyone who invests without ideological blinders on will be happy to relieve them of their money.

3. The link on Bernanke contradicts what Mr. Cohan claims it says. It says that Bernanke was suitably vague about Fed intentions and that some speculators have a case of sour grapes because their mind reading skills aren't as good as they think.

Investors ought to look at what their holdings are worth in constancy international currency terms. Inflation demands that stocks return more than ca. 3% annually after fees and taxes, fees usually being the larger concern. But the weakening of the dollar has meant that any investment that failed to rise by ca. 6% annually actually lost ground.

That means that anyone who held the Dow index is down about 40% since summer of 2000. Even if one accepts that there was some froth in the market then, this is a serious hit, one that compounds every day.

The real question, though, is not where we have been. It's what is on the horizon to turn this around.

That's what worries me. The political leadership of this country--of either party-- doesn't seem to have a plan to address the twin deficits, especially the failure of the US to produce goods and services the rest of the world wants to consume. What event can one name that would really turn this around?

The old but very timely advise is
Sell in May and go away. There is
just about two weeks left in May.

downside comments are old lines... a static economy is BS fluctuations, corrections and investor uncertainty is commonplace.

THERE IS MUCH GLOOM WHEN ONE READS ABOUT THE OVER 2,400 SOLDIERS KILLED IN IRAQ, THE BILLIONS THAT IS SPENT ON IRAQ, AND PRESIDENT'S BUSH APPROVAL RATIO. THE KEY TO THE STOCK MARKET NOT TAKING A NOSE DIVE IS EMPLOYMENT. IF COMPANIES CAN RIDE OUT THE NEXT PERIOD OF A DOWN TURN IN THE ECONOMY BECAUSE OF THE HIGH OIL PRICES, THEN THINGS WILL BE O.K. UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD BE A DEATH BLOW TO THE STOCK MARKET.

I believe that when the stock market takes a tumble based on assumptions that we are heading for inflation shows how rediculous we will follow any small bit of news and have it influence our lives.

As far as 2400 soldiers dying for our freedom if you have not served then you should not have a say in it, and second, we have not had any attacks on our country since we took the war to them instead of them being allowed to bring it to our homes. When I served in Germany just before the wall came down in Berlin, I was led by the belief that my life was put on the line so that My family could live peacefully. That is a Soldiers job.

And finally, I just took part in a poll in which President Bush had a 74% approval rating. We again are led by false numbers and assumptions. who are they polling to get the low numbers? Who are they calling? Are they getting more then 1000 people in this poll and is this really a fair representation of our entire country for us to all blindly follow their opinion?

Seems silly that Adults are behaving so foolishly.

I agree with your comments regarding avoidance of taxes and I held my stock positions. I was able to buy stocks I had sold too soon at up to 20% less than recent prices. I traded shares in VTI for GLW, RIMM, SRT and TEVA. Although they are all higher than when I prematurely sold, I expect it was a good opportunity in the long-run. Generally, I like corrections for this purpose since I tend to hold everything for at least 1 year and ideally longer.

I am starting to believe that "political uncertainty" is what is behind the selloff.

The story that Rove has been indicted has received independent confirmation. It's still maybe/maybe not, but at this point the odds look to me that we will see an earthquake in the Executive. I found it interesting that Halliburton was down 10% as of yesterday's close.

So the market is dropping. Where are you going to invest? Real estate? May as well buy a train ticket after the train has left the station. Gold or other precious metals. Does the name Nelson Bunker Hunt ring a bell? Bonds, CDs? You'll get nearly as good a return under a mattress. Look for established companies with significant exposure to overseas markets.

I've made a few bucks and lost more than a few
bucks in the market... I'm no whiz kid who thinks he knows it all.. but few of us are knowledgeable about the economics involved in tryiong to gage the market... know what to buy.. when to buy it.. and when to sell it...how long to hold a stock before taking your loss.... and so forth... best bet for the Joe Six-pack on the street,buy government bonds and bills and take less income but sure income... stay away from the market.
hen