i still need to think about this but i'm initially a bit taken aback in having been reading this thread in real time as i've been reading & watching market news. i even saw the market open on tv this morning. don't think i've ever seen that before. i used to watch cartoons in the morning. yes, i realize this is a grown-up financial discussion and i'm not even sure if i have my finger on it, but i'm a little overwelmed by how controlling the market can be in a person's life. it almost seems more influential than a sexual urge. it is as if the market is the very air we breathe and you have to be careful not to blow out a lung. it's a little disconcerting and i don't think i like having my emotions played with like this, especially since no one has even offered to buy me dinner.
Interesting observation. It seems to me broadly speaking there are broadly speaking three types of people with respect to the market.
A. Non or very passive investors. Classicaly this is young people with minimal savings in the market or old retired folks who have other people manage their funds.
B. Active investors. These are the people who actively buy and sell individual stocks, or sector ETF or mutual funds. Do reseach and check their portfolio values a least once or twice a day... I am in this group.
C. Semi Active investor: This folks own primarily index mutual funds but do pay attention to issue like Asset allocation and follow the market reasonably often,and have a good idea how the market has perform every week or month.
The news of the impending market disaster caught the attention of everybody, even my poker "wife" who is generally completely unaware of the market, new what was going on. The news doesn't have a big impact on their life, (even if they own stocks they aren't going to do anything), so it doesn't solicit a strong emotional reaction.
For active and semi active investor this is big news and worthy of an emotional involvement. In many ways I think it is worse for the the semi active investor because while you want to do something you aren't sure what do. An active investor can pretend to have some control over the situation buy stock A, sell stock or Bond B...
For me a better analogy is sports. I am not a big sports fan, but when the local team or my old Bay Area teams make it into a playoff I get interested and start rooting for them. I am far less knowledagble than a true fan so when something unusual happens I feel a bit overwhelmed but still emotionally involved and upset when they lose.
If you want some one to buy you dinner go talk to an Amerprise financial advisor.... I am sure they'll buy you a dinner and assure that you wouldn't have to worry about crazy mr market
