Still calling a bottom?

You could have bought some WF for 50 percent lower than it is at today, it all depends where you were dipping your toes

a watchlist? how much lower can these things get IF you are looking to buy

anyone who was short the last couple of days lost their shirt in the huge rally

nice points walter and newsmonkey I completely agree

Not me. I would be flat or short anything and everything

I'm sitting in cash until I can really figure out what's going to happen.

anyone who is long and against the trend of the markets is in the S!%T

It is pretty much who is next for the financial.

Somehow, I like a AIG's insurance business... but how much does it worth now????

Guess it (AIG insurance business) is close to 0.

AIG will soon follow lehman they need to raise capital fast unless they get a loan from jp morgan i would suggest playing the ultrashort financials proshares skf

Though I don't believe this is a bottom. The bankruptcies and consolidations are actually a good sign. We're getting closer and closer to the point of maximum pessimism. That's when you pounce, buy and make a killing in a few years. If you think that the banking system is done, then hoard gold bars, food, and water.

AIG and WAMU are next, Citi will have its share of troubles as well

Looks like AIG is saved by the fed bridge loan 85 billion

Will this spark a sustained rally in gold or should I sell into strength now?

Anybody willing to line up alongside Buffett and buy some Goldman Sachs?

i was thinking the same thing biggest dollar move for gold in history also a correction in the euro/usd currency i wouldn't be buying gold at these levels hold and see what happens

When considering weather bottoms are in or not you should first try to understand what is driving the madness. To put it simply the market is wringing the leverage out of the market. The problem with the financial stocks is that they run highly leveraged balance sheets. Since the model is to borrow short and invest long the absence of available credit is causing leveraged balance sheets to contract. Libor spreads have blown out meaning banks aren't lending to banks. The commercial paper market is frozen up so companies cannot roll their CP when it comes due. For companies that must roll CP they have an immediate and sometimes (AIG, LEH, BSC) contraction. How low can they go? The answer is zero because if you have for example a 20 billion equity cap but a 100 billion balance sheet that is short term financed and you can't roll your cp then you rapidly become illiquid. Lenders who are senior to the equity see their debt becoming impaired so they buy CDS and short equity to try to limit their exposure. Since the dollars on the debt side are so large in comparison to the equity the equity gets squished. So just because GS and AIG are fundamentally sound given a normal operating environment they aren't in an environment where credit is unavailable. This can and will get a lot worse. Don't be quick to jump in because it will be hard to tell who was dumber the person who lost the first 90% or the person who jumped in just in time to lose the last 10%. This is no time to be speculating in the equity of highly leveraged balance sheets.

Excellent point, newsmonkey. The truth of the matter is that the U.S. government will not allow this entire sector to be carried out on its shield. Now is the time to start sifting through the wreckage and deciding who will most likely survive and prosper in the new landscape. THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU SHOULD START BUYING FINANCIALS YET! Just put together a watchlist. Also, DON'T WORRY ABOUT FINDING THE ABSOLUTE BOTTOM. You probably won't and if you do it'll be because of luck. They'll be plenty of money to be made without having to get in at the lowest point.

Please share any info on GMAC. My portfolio for the period of 10/1/08-10/31/08, mailed on 10/5/08 listed my investments as 95,394.92. Another statement mailed 10/7/08 (for the same period) showed total porfolio at 00. Being the week-end I am on pins and needles that I will be losing my investment of $116,000.

was your entire portfolio in GMAC?