| Around the middle of 2008 the financial markets | | | | 2009. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it's time to |
| started to wobble. There wasn't anything wrong per | | | | invest in the market again for us ordinary people. |
| se, but there was a sense of something jittery in the | | | | It seems like whenever the market goes up, it soon |
| air. People started to whisper amongst themselves, | | | | drops down just as quickly again. The market is littered |
| and everyone started to get nervous. | | | | with a history of highs and lows, peaks and troughs, |
| Summer gave way to Autumn and suddenly the | | | | zigs and zags that would make any roller coaster |
| housing market in the US collapsed and then the | | | | designer envious! |
| financial sector melted down. Banks started to go | | | | I know it's hard to stay away from the market when |
| bankrupt, investment companies such as Lehman and | | | | it's shooting up so quickly but I advise caution at the |
| Merrill folded overnight. | | | | moment. Why is that? Well I've got a very specific |
| And the stock market plummeted. | | | | reason... |
| 2008 ended just about as bad as any year ever did | | | | When the economy tanked towards the end of 2008 |
| excepting the years of the Great Depression, and | | | | and early 2009 the government acted swiftly by |
| 2009 didn't look to be much better. In fact it wasn't | | | | pumping billions, even trillions of dollars into the financial |
| much better till about half way through it. Then | | | | system in various ways. That money took a few |
| miraculously, almost overnight, the market started to | | | | months to filter through the system as it always does, |
| rebound. | | | | which leads us to the middle of 2009 and a quickly |
| Where the year before saw the stock market drop | | | | increasing market. |
| 40, 50, 60% or more; suddenly the market was | | | | 2009 is over, and the government has stopped - at |
| rebounding 40, 50, and even 60% or more. It wasn't a | | | | least to a large degree - pumping money into the |
| straight shot up, there were flows; ups and downs, but | | | | system, which could mean the stock market will stop |
| generally the 2009 market ended massively higher | | | | rising. In fact, without government intervention the |
| than anybody expected. | | | | market may not be able to hold onto the gains it |
| Now 2010 has begun and we're in the middle to end of | | | | received last year. |
| January at the time of writing this article. People are | | | | If that is the case, then we can expect a sharp |
| beginning to ask the question... is it time to invest in the | | | | decrease in the value of the market throughout 2010 |
| market again? | | | | until the recession is well past us... which does not look |
| It's a very tricky question, and one that is potentially | | | | to be the case at the moment. For that reason I |
| very dangerous. Yes the stock market has gone up | | | | suggest, at least for the time being, that you keep your |
| massively since the lows of 2008 and beginning of | | | | money out of the stock market. |