In the long run, a diversified investment in the stock market will very probably give a greater return than any other normal investment.   History proves that this is true.  

The problem is, no one can predict how long "the long run" will be.  

In the meantime, you have to have a lot of discipline to ride the roller coaster up and down.   A lot of people say they can withstand the pain of a protracted decline, until it happens.  Then you see who really has nerve and discipline.

Exactly.  I'm still up for the year even though the major indexes (DOW, S&P, NASDAQ, Russel 2000) are flirting with their 52 week lows.  Bonds are up and I've still reaped in some gains due to dividends and re-investment.  I'm toying with the idea of buying right now, but the market seems just a bit too volatile at the moment.  

I'm staying mostly in cash right now with the exception of a few long term investments that are still up 20% + since my initial investment and up around 8% for the year(disappointing, but it happens).  I'll probably not look at buying until after the 1st of the year.

Look for a big sell-off tomorrow should The Fed (as expected) announce another interest rate hike of around 1/4%.  This goes against what The President wants, but The Fed is (supposedly) non-political and does what they think is best for the economy.

On the other hand, should The Fed announce that they are holding interest rates where they are right now, look for a big rally in the market.  The announcement comes at 2PM Eastern Time.

The bottom line though as The Real Marty pointed out is having a diversified portfolio and riding both the highs and the lows.  Trying to time the market is pretty much just gambling not investing.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Who ever said having a democratic president is a bad thing? It is a good change of pace every 8 years in my opinion because their policies typically bring rate drops and flooding the television with 0% car interest advertisements.

It is hard to not think "the Fed" isn't just another branch of the deep state. 2019 will be telling.

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Who ever said having a democratic president is a bad thing? It is a good change of pace every 8 years in my opinion because their policies typically bring rate drops and flooding the television with 0% car interest advertisements.

It is hard to not think "the Fed" isn't just another branch of the deep state. 2019 will be telling.

Oh, now the Fed is a part of the Deep State? Things so bad that you're going to the dark side, where people like Byron reside? I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.

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The sun's not yellow, it's chicken.

Who ever said having a democratic president is a bad thing? It is a good change of pace every 8 years in my opinion because their policies typically bring rate drops and flooding the television with 0% car interest advertisements.

It is hard to not think "the Fed" isn't just another branch of the deep state. 2019 will be telling.

Oh, now the Fed is a part of the Deep State? Things so bad that you're going to the dark side, where people like Byron reside? I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.

The deep state is the unelected bureaucracy that lasts from term to term and makes 90% of the policy decisions, irrespective of who was elected. The Fed definitely fits that definition.

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"Why should I give information to you when all you want to do is find something wrong with it?"

Oh, now the Fed is a part of the Deep State? Things so bad that you're going to the dark side, where people like Byron reside? I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.

The deep state is the unelected bureaucracy that lasts from term to term and makes 90% of the policy decisions, irrespective of who was elected. The Fed definitely fits that definition.

Hahahahahaha - hey Byron, you've got another convert here. "Unelected bureaucracy" - that's a good one. You'd think the Fed Chairman wasn't appointed. He was? By Trump? Man, Trump's always at war with the very people he appoints. And the Trumpettes always want to blame someone else. Priceless.

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The sun's not yellow, it's chicken.

Rothschild-style banking is the cradle of the worldwide Deep State. Watch what happens to leaders who threaten to use another kind of monetary system. They become very dead very quickly. Recent victims are John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi.

It doesn't matter who the Fed Chairman is. The system itself is dishonest.

Counterfeit = made in imitation of something else with intent to deceive.

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Rothschild-style banking is the cradle of the worldwide Deep State.  Watch what happens to leaders who threaten to use another kind of monetary system.  They become very dead very quickly.  Recent victims are John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Saddam Hussein and Muammar Gaddafi.

It doesn't matter who the Fed Chairman is.  The system itself is dishonest.  

Counterfeit = made in imitation of something else with intent to deceive.

There you go! I knew you'd come through - although I was expecting some kind of Ron Paul rant about people in Middle Earth controlling our monetary system.

And blaming the Jews - added bonus. You're nothing if not predictable.

You can't beat this for free entertainment. Thanks.

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The sun's not yellow, it's chicken.

Right on cue.  The market was in the green all day until the announcement was made that the prime interest rate was going up by 1/4% as expected.  The Fed also lowered future interest rate hikes in 2019 from 3 to 2.  Like clockwork there is a sell off going on right now.

Just my opinion this is probably a good time for long term investors to buy.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

The deep state is the unelected bureaucracy that lasts from term to term and makes 90% of the policy decisions, irrespective of who was elected. The Fed definitely fits that definition.

Hahahahahaha - hey Byron, you've got another convert here. "Unelected bureaucracy" - that's a good one. You'd think the Fed Chairman wasn't appointed. He was? By Trump? Man, Trump's always at war with the very people he appoints. And the Trumpettes always want to blame someone else. Priceless.

The Chairman is appointed by The President, but doesn't make the decisions.  He simply is the "mouthpiece" of the board.  You really need to educate yourself regarding how our monetary system works.

Also, just because it's called The Federal Reserve (The Fed) it is not a government entity and the board members up to and including the chairman are in fact unelected.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

The Fed will not be happy until nobody can qualify for a mortgage anymore and another recession happens. These people are truly despicable.

Also for the majority of Americans, offsetting their economic gains with rising credit card interest rates. 2 more hikes in 2019 will be devastating for our economy.

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The Fed will not be happy until nobody can qualify for a mortgage anymore and another recession happens. These people are truly despicable.

In all honesty, this should have happened sooner.  In my opinion it should have happened around late 2014 or around 2015.  Mortgage interest rates need to be higher, savings rates should be higher and it should not be so easy to qualify for a mortgage.  People making $30k or $40k should not be able to qualify for a $150k plus mortgage or an ARM, especially with little or no money down.  That's what led to the housing bubble of the early 2000's.

The economy has been doing well, especially in recent years, but the rate of growth does need to slow down and balance out.

As it relates to this thread, the current action in the stock market today has nothing to do with The President.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

The Fed will not be happy until nobody can qualify for a mortgage anymore and another recession happens. These people are truly despicable.

Also for the majority of Americans, offsetting their economic gains with rising credit card interest rates. 2 more hikes in 2019 will be devastating for our economy.

You might want to look at a chart that goes back prior to 2001.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

Hahahahahaha - hey Byron, you've got another convert here. "Unelected bureaucracy" - that's a good one. You'd think the Fed Chairman wasn't appointed. He was? By Trump? Man, Trump's always at war with the very people he appoints. And the Trumpettes always want to blame someone else. Priceless.

The Chairman is appointed by The President, but doesn't make the decisions.  He simply is the "mouthpiece" of the board.  You really need to educate yourself regarding how our monetary system works.

Also, just because it's called The Federal Reserve (The Fed) it is not a government entity and the board members up to and including the chairman are in fact unelected.

All seven members of the federal reserve board of governors including the chairman are specifically appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

Hahahahahaha - hey Byron, you've got another convert here. "Unelected bureaucracy" - that's a good one. You'd think the Fed Chairman wasn't appointed. He was? By Trump? Man, Trump's always at war with the very people he appoints. And the Trumpettes always want to blame someone else. Priceless.

The Chairman is appointed by The President, but doesn't make the decisions.  He simply is the "mouthpiece" of the board.  You really need to educate yourself regarding how our monetary system works.

Also, just because it's called The Federal Reserve (The Fed) it is not a government entity and the board members up to and including the chairman are in fact unelected.

You really should stop acting like you're the only one with a clue. Otherwise you'll be as insufferable as StroudCrowd.

If you don't think the Chairman of the Fed doesn't have influence over policy you really need more education. It's not a governmental agency? OMG - is that a breaking news story or did you just figure that out. And how could anyone think the Chairman is elective if he's appointed by the President.

How dumb do you think most posters are. On second thought - don't answer that.

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The sun's not yellow, it's chicken.

The Fed will not be happy until nobody can qualify for a mortgage anymore and another recession happens. These people are truly despicable.

Also for the majority of Americans, offsetting their economic gains with rising credit card interest rates. 2 more hikes in 2019 will be devastating for our economy.

That's rather melodramatic, don't you think?

Yeah, we should rely on a politician who is more concerned on the short term (i.e., the next election) than a group that is specifically concerned with the long term fiscal health of the nation. No guarantee of infallibility of course, but I'll go with them of Mr. Bankrupt.

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The sun's not yellow, it's chicken.

The Chairman is appointed by The President, but doesn't make the decisions.  He simply is the "mouthpiece" of the board.  You really need to educate yourself regarding how our monetary system works.

Also, just because it's called The Federal Reserve (The Fed) it is not a government entity and the board members up to and including the chairman are in fact unelected.

You really should stop acting like you're the only one with a clue. Otherwise you'll be as insufferable as StroudCrowd.

If you don't think the Chairman of the Fed doesn't have influence over policy you really need more education. It's not a governmental agency? OMG - is that a breaking news story or did you just figure that out. And how could anyone think the Chairman is elective if he's appointed by the President.

How dumb do you think most posters are. On second thought - don't answer that.

Can someone with a bright red forum reputation call someone else insufferable? Asking for a friend.

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The Fed will not be happy until nobody can qualify for a mortgage anymore and another recession happens. These people are truly despicable.

Also for the majority of Americans, offsetting their economic gains with rising credit card interest rates. 2 more hikes in 2019 will be devastating for our economy.

That's rather melodramatic, don't you think?

Yeah, we should rely on a politician who is more concerned on the short term (i.e., the next election) than a group that is specifically concerned with the long term fiscal health of the nation. No guarantee of infallibility of course, but I'll go with them of Mr. Bankrupt.

Trumps policies and slashing of Barry's crippling regulations are solely responsible for the economic turnaround, which in turn is solely responsible for the rise in interest rates. So yeah, I kind of take Trumps concern serious.

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The deep state is the unelected bureaucracy that lasts from term to term and makes 90% of the policy decisions, irrespective of who was elected. The Fed definitely fits that definition.

Hahahahahaha - hey Byron, you've got another convert here. "Unelected bureaucracy" - that's a good one. You'd think the Fed Chairman wasn't appointed. He was? By Trump? Man, Trump's always at war with the very people he appoints. And the Trumpettes always want to blame someone else. Priceless.

Are you that ignorant that you don't know the difference between appointed and elected? The Fed Chairman was not elected. No member of the Fed was elected.

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"Why should I give information to you when all you want to do is find something wrong with it?"

The Chairman is appointed by The President, but doesn't make the decisions.  He simply is the "mouthpiece" of the board.  You really need to educate yourself regarding how our monetary system works.

Also, just because it's called The Federal Reserve (The Fed) it is not a government entity and the board members up to and including the chairman are in fact unelected.

All seven members of the federal reserve board of governors including the chairman are specifically appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Again, they are all enelected and a bureaucracy.  The federal reserve board of governors does not make up the whole Fed.

The Chairman is appointed by The President, but doesn't make the decisions.  He simply is the "mouthpiece" of the board.  You really need to educate yourself regarding how our monetary system works.

Also, just because it's called The Federal Reserve (The Fed) it is not a government entity and the board members up to and including the chairman are in fact unelected.

You really should stop acting like you're the only one with a clue. Otherwise you'll be as insufferable as StroudCrowd.

If you don't think the Chairman of the Fed doesn't have influence over policy you really need more education. It's not a governmental agency? OMG - is that a breaking news story or did you just figure that out. And how could anyone think the Chairman is elective if he's appointed by the President.

How dumb do you think most posters are. On second thought - don't answer that.

The ignorance is strong with you.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

So does Trump get blame for starting a trade war which the market hasn’t liked, if he get praised for slashing regulations. He should get some heat for putting up barriers as well.

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So does Trump get blame for starting a trade war which the market hasn’t liked, if he get praised for slashing regulations.  He should get some heat for putting up barriers as well.

To be fair, he's talked tough on trade, but he hasn't done that much yet.  What he has managed to do is spook the markets.

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