Shares, Frozen Money, Markets and Bank Bailouts - Oct 2008
Trying to time the bottom of this bear market is proving very difficult. A couple of weeks ago I thought we were close to the bottom with shares looking cheap, investors in panic mode and shares having had typical bear market declines.
However, I have been proven wrong with shares taking another big hit last week as problems in money and credit markets intensified. From last year’s highs to last week’s lows, Australian shares have fallen 42%, US shares 43%, European shares 49%, Asian ex Japan shares 52% and Japanese shares 54%. Commodity prices were also hit hard and this knocked the Australian dollar (A$) to as low as US$0.6450. Yet it is interesting to note that the Australian share market has fallen less recently, helped by the aggressive Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate cut, the fall in the A$ and the improved state of the Australian financial system.Click the attachment below to read the entire article...
