Crash ‘08: Should You Be Scared?
Posted on 10. Oct, 2008 by Money Talks News in Investing, Video
If you’ve been watching the news lately, you might’ve seen something about the economy… but in case you’ve been living in a cave, things are bad. Are we on the verge of another depression? Should you be scared by what you see happening in the stock market?
Let’s take a stroll through history… all the way back to the golden years of the late 80’s. It was a simpler time: disco was a fading memory, 3 Men And A Baby was sweeping the box office, and anything seemed possible. Then came October 19th, 1987, the day the stock market saw it’s largest single day decline in history. 22% of the market was wiped out at once.
Fast forward to the 21st century, take a look at the past 100 years as a whole, and you’ll barely notice a decline on the graph; the market simply recovered as it always has after hard times. So in retrospect, October 20th would’ve been a great day to buy. Why? Because unless you believe the US economy is going to hit 0, it will come back up (eventually).
So should you be scared? Without a doubt, we may be facing hard times ahead, but it’s no reason to panic. Just keep things in perspective, always have a level head, and you might even profit in the long run.
Related stories:
- Wall St vs Main St: Who was right in 2008?Every year experts predict what’s going to happen in the year ahead, including things that will affect your money. Last year money reporter Stacy Johnson talked to one of Wall Street's top economists, as well as people just like you. Now it's time to see w
- Fear Factor: Taking Shocks Out of StocksExperts estimate that trillions of dollars of retirement and other savings have now been wiped out by the stock market meltdown that began last year... and that's got lots of investors worried that stocks aren't for them. But we explain how to take the sho
- Investment Lessons Learned The Hard WayIf you have money in a 401(k) or other retirement plan, 2008 was probably a down year. But there are ways to make 2009 better. One way? Become more knowledgeable when it comes to investing.
- Wall St vs Main St: Economic Predictions for 2009Comparing 2009 economic predictions on the stock market, price of oil, and housing market from an expert on Wall Street and people on Main Street.


Steve
10. Oct, 2008
Really? Your headline is amazing and I get 3 short paragraphs, a closing sentence? No references to sources other than that VERY helpful link to a stock chart, a ‘fast forward to the future’ and no insight offered other than “chill”?
Just “Chill” in big blue letters, maybe with New York Times font would have been more profound.
Did you have something on the stove when you started writing this?
Dan
11. Oct, 2008
Steve… The text is just a companion to the video.
We work very hard to produce the best personal finance news on television. Unfortunately, this doesn’t leave a lot of time for crafting detailed blogs (but we’re working on it).
Stay tuned and thanks for watching