Advice Amid Market Turmoil: Don't Panic!

Investors starting to panic that nobody has answers

(NEWSER) - What's behind the market meltdown? Some on-the-fly observations:

• Ezra Klein, Washington Post : The market is "diving because of forces Washington can’t control, and in many cases, doesn’t understand very well. How many members of Congress do you think could give a coherent account of what has happened to oil or steel prices over the last three years? Or what’s happening in the Eurozone? Or to the yuan?" Nobody knows where the recovery will come from, and the markets are reflecting that panic.

Dow up 61% since the low point in March

(NEWSER) - Stocks have rebounded mightily since the dark days of March, though analysts warn the dazzling recovery could make for a lackluster 2010, or even auger a double-dip recession or '30s-style yo-yoing markets. The good news first: Barring a disastrous close today, the Dow will be up around 61% since March lows, and 20% for the year, the best showing since 2003. The S&P and NASDAQ are also on track to have their best year since then. More»

Better-than-expected unemployment news pleases traders

(NEWSER) - This morning's better-than-expected unemployment figures sent markets up in a hurry at the opening bell. The Dow rose about 130 points in the opening minutes on news that employers shed just 11,000 jobs in November, the fewest since 2007, notes MarketWatch . The figures brought the unemployment rate down to 10% from 10.2%, when most forecasters thought it would hold steady. More»

Be grateful for new skepticism on financial industry

(NEWSER) - There won't be a lot of people thanking the financial industry this Thanksgiving, and that in and of itself may be cause to be thankful, writes Thomas Frank. There's been a shift in thinking and newly skeptical Americans no longer believe that the market is omniscient or that colossal Wall Street bonuses are good news for everybody, Frank writes in the Wall Street Journal . More»

It's decent news, but let's not get carried away

(NEWSER) - The Dow hit 10,000 today, but most analysts aren't exactly falling off their chairs in excitement:

• Mark Hulbert, MarketWatch: "It would be entirely in investors' rights to feel pretty good about it. But they're not, on the whole. That's surprising, and suggests to contrarian analysts" that a "strong wall of worry" still exists.
• Brett Arends, Wall Street Journal: "Hold the cheering. The rally in US share prices only looks impressive if you ignore what's happening overseas." Our surge pales in camparison, and "investors should be more cautious now than they were a few months ago."