Hugo Chavez Dead: How do you think this will impact the Venezuelan people & the US.

[ElasticNinja]

If things get so bad that you're left w/nothing then the government is going down at that point anyway so you're screwed no matter where you have your money.

The Cypriot government is going to be fine. However in certain banks 40% of savings over

 

[A.Nonymous]

The Cypriot government is going to be fine. However in certain banks 40% of savings over

 

[sntaylor]

Less risk, more security = returns that don't keep up with inflation. Yeah, that's a good idea.

, if you don't wanna lose any money!


I'm due some inheritance, nd although it is a low amount(I'm very grateful for!) I'm still looking at where/what to invest in, currently I'm considering a few hundred minimum in premium bonds.Very low risk(none) and probably no returns at all, but still a possibility of a million!
Even the best savings accounts are coming up with poor returns after all!

 

[SiempreTuna]

Is anyone talking about Venezuela any more? Nobody?

Have there been any developments? The election's not happened yet, has it?

 

[A.Nonymous]

, if you don't wanna lose any money!


I'm due some inheritance, nd although it is a low amount(I'm very grateful for!) I'm still looking at where/what to invest in, currently I'm considering a few hundred minimum in premium bonds.Very low risk(none) and probably no returns at all, but still a possibility of a million!
Even the best savings accounts are coming up with poor returns after all!

You do lose money though if your return doesn't keep up with inflation. I don't know what it is where you live, but here in the US inflation is ~4% a year over time. Bonds and Social Security return much, much less than that generally so over time you actually lose money.

Here in the US if we get to the point where the stock market has hit 0 and the dollar is worth 0 and our economy has completely collapsed then your money is gone no matter where it is and chances are the government is on it's way out at that point.

 

[SiempreTuna]

You do lose money though if your return doesn't keep up with inflation. I don't know what it is where you live, but here in the US inflation is ~4% a year over time. Bonds and Social Security return much, much less than that generally so over time you actually lose money

Absolutely.

The thing is, people have different risk tolerances and for the last four or five years, unless you've been prepared to accept very high risks, you simply were not going to beat the inflation trap. Sure, a lot of people accepted the risk and put an unprecendentedly high proportion of their money into stocks to produce the current highs, despite the underlying economics: there were no alternatives.

The stock market is at a high now, but it's not that long since it was tanking. If you don't have 30 years ahead of you to make up any losses, it looks like a pretty unacceptable risk - particularly when a stock superstar like Apple can drop 40% while the market is building to an historic high.

With property recovering, how long before enough people start to diversify out of stocks to cause prices to fall?

Here in the US if we get to the point where the stock market has hit 0 and the dollar is worth 0 and our economy has completely collapsed then your money is gone no matter where it is and chances are the government is on it's way out at that point.

Except that, given we only just avoided a similarly cataclysmic situation but 5 years ago, it's kinda hard to make out that it's impossible now

 

[A.Nonymous]

Absolutely.

The thing is, people have different risk tolerances and for the last four or five years, unless you've been prepared to accept very high risks, you simply were not going to beat the inflation trap. Sure, a lot of people accepted the risk and put an unprecendentedly high proportion of their money into stocks to produce the current highs, despite the underlying economics: there were no alternatives.

The stock market has never been an "extremely high risk". Yes there are stocks within the market that are high risk, but as a whole it's a low risk, high reward investment. I laughed and laughed and people who jerked all of their money out of the market as it was going down and I bought more than I ever have before. Stuff is on sale. Why not stock up? I cracked up at the people who pulled their money out when everything was low and then started buying it when the market came back up. Buy high, sell low isn't exactly what you're supposed to do, but people did it.

The stock market is at a high now, but it's not that long since it was tanking. If you don't have 30 years ahead of you to make up any losses, it looks like a pretty unacceptable risk - particularly when a stock superstar like Apple can drop 40% while the market is building to an historic high.

With property recovering, how long before enough people start to diversify out of stocks to cause prices to fall?

People need to diversify within and without stocks. You're a fool if you put everything on one stock.

Except that, given we only just avoided a similarly cataclysmic situation but 5 years ago, it's kinda hard to make out that it's impossible now

Let's be realistic here. The US dollar was not anywhere close to being worth zero and the stock market never came anywhere close to being worth 0.

 

[saptech]

I laughed and laughed and people who jerked all of their money out of the market as it was going down and I bought more than I ever have before. Stuff is on sale. Why not stock up? I cracked up at the people who pulled their money out when everything was low and then started buying it when the market came back up. Buy high, sell low isn't exactly what you're supposed to do, but people did it.

But what good is all that money going to do a person building up if you die before cashing it out or retire 30+ years from now or doing those hard times? That is when alot of people was pulling their money out!

Should one just suffer doing the hard times and leave the money in stocks/401k and maybe end up homeless and wait till retirement?

 

[SiempreTuna]

The stock market has never been an "extremely high risk"

I think I said "very high", but that's just semantics.

If you count the number of stock market crashes in the last 20 years, I think most would accept that it's high risk - "extreme" or "high" is subjective, as I was also trying to point out.

Yes there are stocks within the market that are high risk, but as a whole it's a low risk, high reward investment

Given that most professionals are incapable of producing consistent returns, I would beg to differ

I read a great quote the other day, I just can't find it now. It was something like, the only thing stock pickers can achieve consistently is losses. But better phrased.

I laughed and laughed and people who jerked all of their money out of the market as it was going down and I bought more than I ever have before. Stuff is on sale. Why not stock up? I cracked up at the people who pulled their money out when everything was low and then started buying it when the market came back up. Buy high, sell low isn't exactly what you're supposed to do, but people did it.

I believe most were trying to sell while the price was still relatively high, then buy back while it was still relatively low. Tougher to do, but a good strategy if you can get it right.

People need to diversify within and without stocks. You're a fool if you put everything on one stock.

Absolutely. Thing is people - and some institutions - have been piling into stocks over the last 5 years as it's the only thing that was offering any chance of beating the inflation trap. They're now over-exposed in stocks and will be keen to diversify as soon as there are other viable options.

Let's be realistic here. The US dollar was not anywhere close to being worth zero and the stock market never came anywhere close to being worth 0.

I specifically didn't say anything about values, however the global economy was teetering on the edge of collapse: how much d'you think your stocks and dollars would have been worth had it not been saved?

If in doubt, take a look at what happened in the years after October 1929.

Doesn't have to be zero to be devastating.

 

[A.Nonymous]

If you count the number of stock market crashes in the last 20 years, I think most would accept that it's high risk - "extreme" or "high" is subjective, as I was also trying to point out.

It's not high risk though. Not at all. You're operating on the assumption that when the market crashes (which it will) you lose everything and have to start all over at 0. That's just not true at all. The market averages 10% long term. If you stick with it, take advantage of dollar cost averaging and don't push the panic button every time the market fluctuates you will be fine. The key is sticking with it long term and not bailing every time time the market hiccups which is what a lot of people tend to do.

I believe most were trying to sell while the price was still relatively high, then buy back while it was still relatively low. Tougher to do, but a good strategy if you can get it right.

Not a good strategy at all compared with just sticking with it and leveraging dollar cost averaging. They've done studies on trying to time the market. It never works out.

Absolutely. Thing is people - and some institutions - have been piling into stocks over the last 5 years as it's the only thing that was offering any chance of beating the inflation trap. They're now over-exposed in stocks and will be keen to diversify as soon as there are other viable options.

I don't agree with that, but whatever. Historically there aren't a lot of other things that beat inflation besides the stock market. Real estate will, but that can be very boom or bust and very localized.

I specifically didn't say anything about values, however the global economy was teetering on the edge of collapse: how much d'you think your stocks and dollars would have been worth had it not been saved?

If in doubt, take a look at what happened in the years after October 1929.

Doesn't have to be zero to be devastating.

We weren't anywhere close to hitting a depression. Certainly not anywhere close to hitting anything close to the great depression.

 

[SamuraiBigEd]

Now where did I put that dang original topic???

 

[Caleb L]

Hugo dead ---- hopefully some relief for the people of venu