MARKETS,Anybody even yet?

[notes1]

-current unemployment rate...10.2%
-from 2009 thru 2012 unemployment rate....between 8-10%
-in that same time frame, millions lost their homes, which was the majority of their total net worth
-the S&P did not recover late 2007 levels until spring 2013
-never doubt the usa consumer, they love to spend. our economy is 70% based on consumer spending.
-don't fight the fed
-true, the world will make changes, just like after 9-11
-the current crisis is a direct result of a world wide pandemic, IF a vaccine is found, if people take it and it is effective, the economic recovery will be much quicker
-central banks around the world are largely doing the same as the fed
-true, the usa has farrrr too much debt, i have stated this many times
-i/m/o, no one should collect more money for being unemployed than what they made working
-i'll skip the part about a 'thinker' in the white house. remember 'cash for clunkers, 'shovel ready jobs', solyndra.
-what if no vaccine developed, stay shutdown forever?

the crisis of 2008-???, from a financial perspective was much worse than the one we face today. folks lost jobs, homes, entire savings and were in debt, up to their eyeballs. and, compounding the situation, were banks, teetering on the edge of insolvency. the fed tells us banks are in good shape. the most affected workers today are in the service industries, which typically have not been high income earners.

long before the virus came along, i heard many experts state that, compared to europe, the usa was 30% overbuilt with retail space, and restaurants come and go. a correction was due for both. unfortunate.

agree, too much money in too few hands.

[billryan]

Up 2 percent since Jan1, 2020. Never thought I would see that in this environment and don’t know if it will last. Time will tell I guess. Not too much in stocks shift it out years ago due to age. Mostly bonds or bond funds now or cash positions.

Why wouldn't you expect this from bonds? Thats the whole idea behind buying bonds instead of stocks.
You settle for guaranteed returns.

[olds442jetaway]

I just never expected to be up period considering everything. When the Dow tanked to around 18,000, the bonds were not doing well either. I am earning next to nothing in cash. My 15 percent or so in stocks have mostly recovered. Years ago, I would have been 60 percent stocks, 20 percent bonds, ten percent cash, and 10 percent gold. The exception was in the 1970’s when cds were paying over 18 percent. What limited money we had was all in cash. I am not saying I am any kind of wizard with money, but have done ok on my own and never used a financial advisor. I never had the time to get into covered calls, short sales and the like. I have one regret, but I think I would not have been a good landlord or the stress of it would have done me in. If I had bought every distress sale property on my street and renovated or rented them over the 46 years I have been here, I would have hit many many home runs. That said, health is number one. At least we are debt free.

[billryan]

If you are healthy, debt free and happy, you are way ahead of the game.
It's a shame some people seem to judge success by the size of your bank account or what zip code you live in,but life is too short to suffer fools.

[tech58]

Up 2 percent since Jan1, 2020. Never thought I would see that in this environment and don’t know if it will last. Time will tell I guess. Not too much in stocks shift it out years ago due to age. Mostly bonds or bond funds now or cash positions.

Why wouldn't you expect this from bonds? Thats the whole idea behind buying bonds instead of stocks.
You settle for guaranteed returns.

Guaranteed returns?
Of course far more stock certificates ended up as wallpaper but a distant second might be bonds.
When the many blue states and municipalities that face inevitable bankruptcy, due to mismanagement,
hit the fan, that will help solve the TP shortage.

Excellent point on your healthy--happy post.

[olds442jetaway]

I’m curious BR what kinds of animals do you have out your way that I may not have up here in the Northeast. Also, is the land mostly arid, or do you have lakes and ponds nearby thet you can go to? I know it is off topic, but I find some of the most interesting posts on off topic posts. We may even be able to work in what green industry might be worth investing in. Right now I don’t have any green oriented investments. Tech jump in too on the creatures out your way too if u like. Or anyone else for that matter. I will always be a wanna be Jacques Cousteau and my best childhood friend just retired as a Forest Ranger in the Pacific Northwest, so this stuff interests me. About 15 years ago, my best friend rode his Harley by himself out to Sturgis. On the way, not too far from the desert, he almost ran into a giant Porcupine that was up in a tree. Never heard of such a thing up here.

[billryan]

The wildlife is diverse, but you don't see much of it except rare glimpses.
Javelinas look like hogs but are large rodents, I think. They forage in packs of a dozen or do.
Coyote, rattlesnakes, a ringtailed animal similar to a raccoon, all sorts of birds of prey,lots of migrating birds and insects.

[billryan]

The closest lake is about 45 minutes away by road, but there is a path you can go off road in half that. The San Pedro river is mostly underground but it surfaces every few miles and those areas are waterholes for everything. It,is supposed to be a great bird watching area.

[olds442jetaway]

Thanks. We have coyote too. A big problem for local farmers who raise chickens or rabbits. Of course they eat virtually anything including the family cat or dog if it is small enough.

[billryan]

We hear the coyotes more than see them. I sometimes catch a glimpse of one at dusk and one night, several small ones came pretty close to the bonfire we were having. I don't think they had ever seen fire before.
Lots of lizards, and occasionally you'll see a gila monster but they are very slow moving.