AIBU to wonder why there isn't a single thread about the stock market ?

[MrGin]

there are threads about knickers, threads about politeness ( or not ) , lots of threads about riots, threads about lunch venues, threads about holiday wardrobes.

But not a single one about the fact the global stock market is currently dropping like a stone.

Is this not an important issue ? Do mums not get involved in these discussion. Or is there a financial section of MN I' missing. Is no one worried ?

Actually there is one thread on chat about banks, but that turned into a personal attack on a personal issue.

I'm by no means a financial wizz ( far from it ) but even when I see stock markets falling 6% , 5% in a day on consecutive days I can't help but thing something rather bad is happening right now.....

[GypsyMoth]

go to 'in the news' and start one then!!

[tethersend]

There is now.

[AuntiePickleBottom]

i just don't undertand the stock market

[LadyThumb]

MrGin - most people only worry about the stock market when it actually affects them, i.e. their house price drops off a cliff, or food prices rise.

[nickelbabe]

the stock markets are falling because it's been on the cards for a long time now.

people are just fed up with finances now, i think.

we're just fed up with being told everything's rosy when we can see it's not, and we're fed up with paying over the odds for things that should be cheaper (and would be if the government would realise that most prices are directly linked to their stupid fuel taxes)

and the stock market is jsut intangible numbers to most people - if the stock market didn't exist, we would be better off as a whole.

[AgentZigzag]

Because most people find this part of the financial world as dull as ditch water

Maybe 'they' made it like that so they can get up to all sorts, same as politics

[izzywhizzyletsgetbusy]

Possibly because it's too depressing and awful to contemplate?

Many of us (myself included) have adopted the typical posture of an ostrich until we find ourselves in that particularly upbeat frame of mind where even the most disastrous news can be processed with equilibrium, if not brio.

[EdithWeston]

nickelbabe: everyone here who expects to be relying on a private pension could be affected by this. The biggest "losers" will be the big pension funds.

If you are young, this isn't an immediate concern - plenty of time for recovery (and if you have canny fund managers, they'll be buying now - but it's August, so will they be there or using an automated system?).

But there is potential - especially if recovery is a long time in coming - for annuities to become much less generous.

[MsAnnThroppy]

I think people care, but feel powerless. The stock market and the machinations of traders is pretty baffling.

Besides, investment banker thugs wear suits and are generally viewed as upstanding members of the community, and they don't get prison sentences for effectively looting someone's pension fund. Personally, I blame their parents.

[MardyBra]

What about this thread?

It's discussion of the day.

[empirestateofmind]

Unless you are going to sell your stock a drop in prices can be seen as an opportunity to buy at better prices.

You get the same dividends but for a smaller outlay.

It all depends whether you are holding shares for the short term or the long term in my opinion.

Of course it affects companies in different ways, but that is how it affects the average private investor.

(I think it is a shame that financial literacy isn't taught in schools as it would help people to make their money work for them)

[MardyBra]

Sorry, just reread your OP and saw that you'd seen that thread.

[CaptainNancy]

There is a 'Money Matters' section, and an 'Investments' section.

[MrGin]

MardyBra

yes , that's the one that turned into an unpleasant argument between a couple of posters about a totally unrelated subject. And to be fair it isn't about the plummeting stock markets, it's about the banking crisis.

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a pessimist. I can't help thinking 'this is it' the second great depression.

[empirestateofmind]

MardyBra- that thread starts off well but seems to degenerate into self sufficiency, rationing, floods and keeping chickens .

[MrGin]

CaptainNancy.

yes. i should have looked in there.

But if the markets keep going down it will affect all of us, not just those with investments.

[MrGin]

It was a fun thread when it was about chickens.

[Callisto]

It is typical of MN though. It used to suprise me too. It's ashame too because there are some really well-informed and insightful posters who know lots about the economy and economics.

However, in this instance, I think that everything in the news has been overshadowed by the riots. The other threads (clothes, gossip etc) are light relief from a terrible situation. I've been hanging around in the tack room far more than usual.

[DioneTheDiabolist]

That's the thing Edith, this has a massive impact on the young as older people will be unable to retire and this will be yet another contributor youth unemployment.

[MardyBra]

DH works in Finance. I do have a business background but am taking a back seat career wise. I discuss the stock market with him when he gets home, but I hang out on MN for entertainment generally so avoid topics like finance and politics. I do, however, recognise that it is a very important issue. There's just not much I can add to the debate apart from "shit the stock market is falling".

[nickelbabe]

Edith - i didn't say it didn't affect any of us - I said that most people don't understand it. :)

I know it affects us - it's just a shame that it's so inaccessible to most people.

[GnomeDePlume]

The stock market is falling because all the proper grown up traders are on holiday. The dealing is now being done by computer programs and the tea boy. The stock prices go a bit haywire every August.

Very shortly the dealers will return tanned and refreshed to sort out the mess.

The vast majority of investors are pension funds which are in it for the long run.

That's my take on it anyway, now back to the lunch, manners and wardrobe threads!

[EdithWeston]

Sorry nicklebabe - I must have over-interpreted the "if the stock market didn't exist, we would be better off as a whole".

And Dione you're spot on about potential knock on and long term effects. (I was thinking more narrowly, about growth of pension pot, in my post).

[chicletteeth]

No YANBU at all.

I've been tracking it and would like some discussion on it but figured if I started one someone would tell me off for having a vested interested when there are rioters looters who are upset with their lot.

[chicletteeth]

Gnomedeplume your first sentence is very true, don't think a lot of people realise that; although to be fair this 'blip' is a bit more than that.


Myself, I'm looking for buying opportunities but really need to educate myself a little better in this area so I can make some good decisions.