S&P Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating

[Censored by Laurie]

Now is a good time for everyone to refresh themselves on the rules for both GMG as a whole, and this forum in particular.

Also, please be aware that there is a "Report" button on each post. If someone flagrantly crosses a line, please flag the post.

[Green P1]

Now is a good time for everyone to refresh themselves on the rules for both GMG as a whole, and this forum in particular.

Also, please be aware that there is a "Report" button on each post. If someone flagrantly crosses a line, please flag the post.

Good afternoon big brother!

[TheTastyGreek]

Good afternoon big brother!

Don't be a Stiffly Stifflerson.

[oldguystudent]

Don't be a Stiffly Stifflerson.

I'm sorry, did you say something? I was busy tending to my mangled ring finger after a long afternoon of smacking my kid around. She told me the shoes were black, and I was forced to teach her that they are indeed green.

[TheTastyGreek]

I'm sorry, did you say something? I was busy tending to my mangled ring finger after a long afternoon of smacking my kid around. She told me the shoes were black, and I was forced to teach her that they are indeed green.

No pain, no gain, my friend.

It'll make her a better husband and father someday.

[UNT90]

And the other thing to consider is that 2008 was probably an outlier across the board for corporate profits. A more accurate picture of this would probably be to go back, say ten years and see what corporate profits across a random sampling of companies for each year was then trend out the annual increases to smooth out years like 2008.

As an aside, it's a pet peeve of mine when I read "XYZ Corp paid NO taxes in 2010 but made a profit of $XX billion!" Nice sound bites, but nobody's looking at loss carryovers from 2008 that are going to provide tax benefits for years to come. Mmmm...M-3 Reconciliations. Learn them! Read them! Love them!

Another fly in the ointment is figuring out how much of the companies' stock is own by employees of the companies, hence the increase in employee "salary" from the companies' increased stock value (assuming the value increased) and dividends paid to stock holders. Many companies now offer stock options, and not just at the high management level.

Quite the conundrum brought on by the Glick man.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

you know the obamapologists are going to blame this on bush...just like every other problem that america has right now...

---Supposedly 40% of the debt increase since 2001 is credited to the wars, of which Iraq represents the most and was not related to 9-11 (almost all were Saudis, no Iraqis) and they had no WMD either, and 40% of debt increase is credited to the decreased revenue (tax cuts) and the remaining 20% other reasons (ie. about 2% per year or less than the interest owed). The crash of the economy in 2008 has also resulted in less taxes being collected as well which likely represents most of the other 20%...

---So... who do YOU blame.???

..

Edited August 10, 2011 by SCREAMING EAGLE-66

[UNT90]

The guy who has the power to stop it, but instead chooses to make it worse.

[gangrene]

Unless you sold you have not lost a dime. GREAT buying opportunity...since you bought on the way down, you'll do fine whether you bought at the absolute low or not...just like in 2008. Right now on Tuesday the DOW is UP 38 points and both the NASDCAQ and S&P are also both up. The sky did not fall...it won't and there will be buying opportunities for those who do not panic. This is a temporary drop...chill out, relax and enjoy the ride.

Anyone below the age of 65 should be buying!

GO MEAN GREEN!

Amazing day today. So, at the time of your posting the market was only up 68 points? That means it gained an astounding 361 points in about 1 1/2 hours, with the huge late rally driven by the Fed's announcement that interest rates would remain virtually unchanged until 2013. My theory held (this time). Monday was #6 on the all time points loser list and Tuesday was #10 on the all time points gainer list. I lost 8% value on Monday, bought on the drop, and saw a 7% gain today. Still, who knows what tomorrow or next week or next month holds in store?

Even my mother (who knows absolutely nothing about the stock market) saw these latest drops as a buying opportunity. She's 65 and recently retired. She'd be safer in bonds but, with all the blue chips down yesterday, we seized the opportunity to buy and saw a 9% gain in her portfolio today. And there are still a lot of bargains out there to be had.