Downturn Update

Article Excerpt

In our July 27 Hotline, I said the market downturn could go on till October. I felt it could ultimately knock another 5% to as much as 15% off the market indexes, from July 27 levels. However, I felt the index losses would be temporary and markets would go to new highs in 2008. I also felt speculative areas would suffer most of the lasting damage. Risk is always higher in speculative stocks, and prices of many speculatives have risen out of proportion to value. That’s still how I see things. The market has had some really jolting down days in the past month, but the overall situation is unchanged. You may wonder if it’s too late to sell. Our view: that depends on what you own. It’s always a good time to sell low-quality investments, or stocks that need a great deal of success to justify current prices, let alone go higher. On the other hand, it rarely pays to sell your entire…