i'm going to echo mack67's comment (hi again, mack):i read like...

i'm going to echo mack67's comment (hi again, mack):

i read like 2 weeks ago german economists came to an average downturn in EU of 2.something% - so in 2009 Europe will earn 98% of what was earned in 2008. talk about glass half empty, it's had a tiny spill (and was overfull before). we drop 2% in real economy and the sharemarket halves in value, that's real proportional.

if we were to earn say 20% less this year, that would be unfortunate. 50% less and oh dear. 80% less and yep, back to bread and drippin (and may need to stock up on shotgun shells). but 2%. the western world does need a big case of "harden the fudge up".

get back out there and buy stocks you pack of tools, as much as you can lay your hands to. don't worry about financial collapse, there's plenty more of that to come and gov'ts will keep doing what they've been doing in 2008 to stop it bringing the whole structure down- printing money. the 30 odd bucks you'd spend to get a bhp share now is what you'll spend in a few short years on a hamburger, but that share should pay you a dividend most years, and appreciate alongside inflation.