it turns out george bush's advice on what people can do to help - go shopping. should have been buy stocks. since stocks are really what determines how well the economy is doing.

in fact in a global economy the shareholders may be from outside, buying up the companies in your country. so it could indicate that another country is beating you because their economy is so much better that they are buying up all your assets.

The stock market has almost nothing to do with the economy. The late Steig Larsson had a wonderful quote with respect to this in one of his books, but unfortunately I can't remember it offhand.

Stock market price is not the principal measure of economic performance. It's a measure of how much a company's shares are worth at a given time. What is this "propaganda campaign equating stock prices with economic performace [sic]" of which you speak? I am not aware of any such campaign. GDP is the measure most economic commentators use.

To summarise: What the fuck are you talking about, blankbrain?

Stock value isn't based on just performance though, it's based on perceived future value. My employers stock jumped around 10% a few weeks ago, not based on results (which had been announced a month previously, and were pretty good), but because of someone speculating publicly about what should happen, and buying a load of stock

The stock market is only an indicator of a country's economic performance in broad terms. If the stock market is rising investors generally have confidence in the economy and if it is falling it is because investors generally perceive an increase risk.

One should be careful about reading too much into stock markets generally though. For instance, at the moment quantatative easing and low interest rates are increasing asset prices despite underlying economic conditions remaining difficult. Markets can also be relative, if every country is doing poorly, the least bad economy can still rise.

Pete U's point about the market being forward looking is also true. "Buy the rumour, sell the news."

Perhaps none of you have heard of a 401K or an IRA. You idiotic notion that the stock market it just some ethereal indicator of general economic performance which has nothing to do with the "real" economy is simply ludicrous.

What the hell do you think retirement accounts are? As a matter of fact, as the baby boomers start to retire en mass, they will be living primarily off the stock market once they retire, supplemented by social security.

Good god...what cave do you people live in?

stocks are mostly owned by the rich, not by the average man's retirement account. that is like saying if the government defaults on its bullcrap unpayable debts it will destroy the economy because some retirement accounts hold some bonds.

ok let me put it this way, if the choice is between stealing money from social security that is really a trust or not paying back a debt because you cannot pay it back, which is more moral? obviously defaulting on the debt since it is a debt.

and which will hurt the economy more? obviously stealing money that was supposed to be held in trust primarily for the non-rich who earn employment income. but which will the elites and bankers prefer? obviously taking that social security money because that takes money from the people rather than from the elites.

with respect to it measuring confidence in an economy, that may be true. but a lot of companies are not publicly traded. it could also indicate a consolidation of power by the biggest companies, which is what it is doing now, as the biggest companies in america are able to shut out their competition with the elite-created crisis.

@blankflag - you are 100% wrong on your understanding of stock ownership.

Anyone working or in retirement that has any sort of retirment plan, including 401K and other investment tools, or pensions plans are invested in the stock market.

Just because I don't have a piece of paper in my house saying I own x shares of y stock doesn't mean that I don't own stock indirectly.

But hell...another misinformed statement by the you and the rest of the anti-corporate zombies around here is no big surprise. It's fun to bury your head in the sand, isn't it?

ok here is a breakdown of stock ownership by income level maybe it can enlighten you.
0-20 1.8%
20-40 2.5%
40-60 5.1%
60-80 9.8%
80-100 81%

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s1211.pdf

are you saying you are pro-corporation? that is so extreme and retarded i dont even know what to say. i have met tons of people from the left and the right and i dont think anyone is pro corporation. ron paul certainly is not. so... congratulations, you are the elite's dream, someone who neither believes in a free market nor giving the power to the people.

actually i guess those neo-nazis are pro corporation. or proponents of systems of government where the majority wants to subjegate the minority like certain people supporting the current regime in israel... so maybe you would fit into one of those camps. but you have to pick a side, i heard those guys dislike each other.

@blankflag - are you actually retarded, or is a finely honed act?

What the fuck don't you understand about IF YOU OWN A 401K or have a PENSION PLAN - like teachers and other unions workers - you OWN STOCK via your pension plan WHETHER OR NOT YOU ACTIVELY TRADE EQUITIES.

In 2007, 51.1% of **ALL** families had direct or indirect ownership of stock, you blithering idiot.

Am I "for corporations"? I don't even know what that question means?

Am I for having a power plant that provides me with energy? Am I for having an automobile? Are you "for" having a company that produces a computer that you can purchase so that you can blather your idiocy all over the internet?

Yes, you retard, I am "for" civilization, and the cooperation between individuals that allows for the cheap, hi-volume manufacturing of products that make my life comfortable.

If you are a man of your word, buddy boy, then I suggest you stop being such a hypocrite, trash your corporately produced computer, shed yoru corporately produced clothes and go run naked in the woods until you can figure out how to survive without all those evil corporations.

Fucking nut job...

And...yes...I pretty damned happy with the huge stock market returns I hav had over the past couple years after the crash. I took advantage of the down market, invested appropriately, and have made a lot of money...and me, (gasp!) in the middle class with stock. Just as my parents who live off the stock market. Thank god for profiteering corporations!!!

you are retarded. i just gave you the ownership numbers by income. that includes 401k ownership. that number is TOTAL ownership. and actually even the numbers i gave are kind of misleading, top 20% may own over 80% of the stocks, but people like our '10th percentile' income friend own very little, that 80% is actually mostly owned by the absolute top.

and if you get high enough up the wealth pyramid they not only own the stocks but control the ceos of the company. so they can even have a company go bankrupt and profit from it... when you get to people that rich, that is when you have these laws requiring corporations to only look for profits, because they have enough control to take money from corporations through executive pay or anything else at shareholders expense.