Where is the bottom on this boys?

[BoilermakerRT178]

I keep making small adds to positions to take advantage of these "dips" but man alive things just seem to continue downward.

At some point this has to stop right?

On the other hand this could be a great opportunity for those younger investors to start their positions. I hope these younger investors are able to step away from their snapchats and twitter pages to realize the opportunity that is starting to unfold for them. But that might be asking a lot.

Anyways hoping for clearer skies soon.

Signed,

Desperately seeking bottom

[NitroZ7]

I took some time to take a few and calculate their distributions and see at what price their yield would be attractive. I bumped it up over 1% of where they are now and I figure I'm going to add more once they hit those levels. That was about the best way for me to decide where my next purchase will be where I will be happy enough with the yield to make up for further price drops. Its tough to know if things are cheap when they just keep dropping everyday.

[Bearetta]

We were all desperately seeking bottoms back in the 70’s!

[TampaJim]

I wouldn't be overly concerned ... yet. IMO, we will see more back and forth than anything next year, possibly with modest gains.
However, by Summer 2020, I would be sure of my positions and encourage a conservative stance. Tariffs, tax cuts, election, etc.
Overall, the economy is doing well. But the buybacks are ending, the money is getting more expensive and consumers are tiring.

[NitroZ7]

There was an article in Barron's today saying that a lot of Closed End Funds have been decimated. They are trading at huge discounts to their NAV. These are mostly held by retail investors, and likely most of those are retirees given the distributions. I have owned a few of these but not really a fan of them but they may be getting attractive. Some are trading at discounts in double digits and are yielding over 10%. I was taking a peek at ETJ which is a fund that holds stocks and writes options but still a bit cautious on these. I probably will end up nibbling a bit if it drops some more.

[BoilermakerRT178]

I watched an interview on CNBC with a well respected analyst whose specialty is to breakdown market statistics. His worry was the large % of the market purchases being company stock buy backs. Two things in particular is how this has artificially inflated stock prices and also what would happen if companies stopped their purchase programs...so kind of a double whammy.

Either way, not good.

[CigarBasser]

My guesstimate is around 20-25% correction... My current portfolio is down around 13% from its high.. Should be a great opportunity for most..

[Bassin08]

I put our stock mutual funds in cash in the middle of November. I kept our Roth IRA’s that consists of high yield stocks in. They are really getting hammered. I left the bond funds alone thinking that they would just be dead money through this turbulent market. I should have looked closer, because there is one that is getting killed ( BDLAX ). I’m 75, so I don’t ever expect to see that come back in my lifetime. I was told it was a solid bond fund, but when I looked closer it is worse than owning stock right now. I don’t see any way that this environment can outpace the expense fee.

[Ruger04]

Most stocks are still way over priced.There's way to much debt everywhere.Companies borrowed money to buy back their stock and now their stocks are lower than where they bought them,GE is a good example of this mistake and now some hold huge debt to show for that move.Buy the dip is over and thinking you can just wait this one out just may not work as there have been times in the past it to many years for the market to come back.The problems of 2008 never we're fixed so the question you need answered is can they kick the can down the road again?I say no as to many Countries are avoiding using the US Dollar whenever possible.Just beware this just might be the real deal and if that's the case your toast if you hold or buy this dip.

[TampaJim]

I'm losing about 1/4 to 1/5 of the major index losses.
Again, review your holdings for overall stability.
It's not the time to be greedy or attempt experiments.

[TX721]

I wouldn't be overly concerned ... yet. IMO, we will see more back and forth than anything next year, possibly with modest gains.
However, by Summer 2020, I would be sure of my positions and encourage a conservative stance. Tariffs, tax cuts, election, etc.
Overall, the economy is doing well. But the buybacks are ending, the money is getting more expensive and consumers are tiring.

Yep...I’m sure some have seen their portfolio drop quite a bit since October; if you weren’t paying attention. I have to agree with TampaJim on the summer of 2020 (by mid to late summer) to be taking a conservative position. I think buy come January 2019 (keep an eye on the up turn). There will be some ups and downs between the January 2019 buy and the summer of 2020 but as long as you’re out by late summer 2020 I think you’ll grow your portfolio. But expect a down turn come the latter part of 2020. I wouldn’t say a bear market but maybe an extended correction.

[boneil]

When the Treasury Secretary spends his time on Christmas vacation calling bank Ceo's to tell them not to worry, well, that makes me worry a little.

[Bassin08]

When the Treasury Secretary spends his time on Christmas vacation calling bank Ceo's to tell them not to worry, well, that makes me worry a little.

Looks like those calls were not confidence building. Why would he do this, plus why would the fact that he did it become public knowledge? It is just one mistake after another!

[Chautauquanuy]

When the Treasury Secretary spends his time on Christmas vacation calling bank Ceo's to tell them not to worry, well, that makes me worry a little.

Ain't that the truth. All I can say is wow.

[TampaJim]

Looks like those calls were not confidence building. Why would he do this, plus why would the fact that he did it become public knowledge? It is just one mistake after another!

He thought everyone would reinvest once he scared the bejesus out of the general public?

[NitroZ7]

Starting to hit the defensive sectors now like utilities, staples and of course REITS. Keeping my eye on Verizon. If that hits $49.40 it will be yielding 5%.

[Bassin08]

I have AT&T that has a 6.5% dividend, but it will take several years to recoup my losses, even at that rate. High yield stocks are really taking a beating.

Please....put down the twitter phones and stop firing people. We are being run on temps now!

[db220]

I have AT&T that has a 6.5% dividend, but it will take several years to recoup my losses, even at that rate. High yield stocks are really taking a beating.

Please....put down the twitter phones and stop firing people. We are being run on temps now!

I started looking at this last week and they dropped another 4-5%. I like the yield but worried about where it bottoms out.

[Ruger04]

The credit markets are freezing up,as long as the fed keeps selling off their balance sheet the market will not recover.The punch bowl has been removed.All you guys that think this is just a short term dip are about to get schooled The market was riding the feds punch bowl of QE this and that and twist this and that and only if the fed brings the punch bowl back will a meaningful rebound occur.Problem is the fed just doesn't have the same ammo it had a decade ago and they know if they try right now with the little ammo they have and it doesn't work it would be game over.Good luck as only Gold/Silver related and the sidelines will save you right now.

[TampaJim]

I've been watching the high risk defaults for awhile. As noted, it ain't over.
But for today, we can breathe easier. The market is closed ... < 650 points.
Once again ... position is everything. Dow > 2.91% and I'm down > 0.69%.
I'd suggest NOT buying the dip, unless you can guess the correct one.