The Baldwin County, Alabama, investment club was formed in 1994 as the bull market for US stocks took off. The club folded last month.
"When the market started to go down, interest was waning, so we said let's just disband," said Maurice Johnson, one of the group's founders. The 69-year-old retired engineer from Elberta, Alabama, said he has lost US$800,000 in the past two years.
PHOTO: AFP
Started as a way for retirees to swap stock picks over cookies and coffee in church parishes, Baldwin County club members have little to show for their efforts after a two-year slump in shares. The group's average annual return since 1994 has been just over 1 percent.
With US stocks having shed about US$6.9 trillion since benchmark indexes peaked in March 2000, investors say the fear of losses and the anger over accounting abuses is prompting many to withdraw from the market. A speech by President George W. Bush on Tuesday, aimed at curbing corporate malfeasance, failed to re-instill confidence, they said.
"There is no quick fix," said Leo Grohowski, who oversees US$450 billion as chief investment officer at Deutsche Bank AG's US money-management operation. "For any investor hoping for a quick recovery, you are not going to find it. What ails investors in terms of psychology is not going to be quick to go away."
The pessimism showed yesterday in the biggest one-day rout in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index since the first day of trading after the Sept. 11 attacks. The S&P 500 slid 32.36, or 3.4 percent, to 920.47, its lowest since Nov. 13, 1997.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 282.59 to 8,813.50, its first close below 9,000 this year. The NASDAQ Composite Index dropped to its lowest since May 1997.
The S&P 500, down 19.8 percent this year, is headed for its first three-year losing streak since 1941. The NASDAQ, loaded with computer and telecommunications stocks that plunged when the Internet bubble deflated, has dropped 73 percent from its high.
"I'm the type that stays fully invested no matter what the hell happens out there, but I'm concerned," said Bobbie Rooker, a 66-year-old housewife from Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Some investors have found ways to profit.
Michael Parness, the author of Rule the freakin' markets: how to profit in any market, Bull or Bear, said he made US$125,000 Wednesday by shorting stocks and stock indexes for his hedge fund, the US$3 million Play to Win Fund
"Most people got slaughtered, but since we're picking our shots it doesn't matter. By definition, a market means you can make money both ways."
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS