But it's hard to avoid some information and it's enough to scare the bejeezus out of me--someone who has another 30+ years until retirement. I cannot imagine how anyone in their 50s or 60s who planned well feels right now.
As an example of what I am referring to (assuming you're like me and have avoided the financial stories out of confusion, fear and avoidance of feeling completely ignorant):
GM stock is down from $40/sh last year to $5.50 today.
Last year, Apple was at $167. Today: $89.
Today's chart for Citibank stock looks like this:
*GULP*
5 comments:
I was going to tell you that chart is not a good indication, and that what you really need to be looking at is the long term trend.
Then I got the 5-year report for Citibank stock (see below).
http://tools.morningstar.com/charts/MStarCharts.aspx?Security=C&CountryId=USA&ExchangeId=NYSE&TimeFrame=Y5&Totals=&Types=&bSize=299&Legend=Yes
Oh my god!
I know, but I did think the 1-day chart was pretty amazing. You look at it and can hear the *trailing whistle*
I'm also still trying to take the long view, reminding myself that -- even with lots of intervening ups and downs -- the market has proven to do well over the long term(e.g., the 30+ year time horizon ahead of me before retirement). It is depressing, however, to think that the Dow is now as low as it was after the attacks of 9/11. It's like the last 8 years of economic growth never happened. We're in some serious doo-doo.
For a pictorial illustration of my point about the long term, see this post at Gawker: http://gawker.com/5061306/deep-breath
Oh dear GOD. I just checked my Fidelity account and this is what I found.
"Your personal rate of return for the period 01/01/08 through 10/10/08 is -37.4%"
*faint*
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