SURVEY SAYS – Are We Past The Worst?

The responses, of course, were varied – but there WAS a clear consensus!  

In fact, the most common response – cited by 46.3% – was “I HOPE we’re past the worst of it…”   OK, so that might be categorized as cautiously optimistic.

The next-most common response (cited by 16.4% ) was the slightly more optimistic (to my ears, anyway) “I think we’re past the worst of it.”   However, roughly 12% said they thought there was another sharp drop coming this year – and a matching 12% said that there was at LEAST one more drop coming.  

Six percent said they had “no earthly idea”, though 3% said they were buying a crash helmet, and a matching 3% said “if I told you, I’d have to kill you.”  

There were some interesting verbatims:

Seems like the markets are currently stabilized for some number of months, but at some point all the deficit spending will create another period of market correction. Worded another way, any perceived market stability is being artificially propped up through deficit spending on a order of magnitude that can't be sustained. Eventually the economy will need to correct again.

I think we're in for multiple disasters going forward. How could confidence ever reign again?

We're not going to see an S&P of 600, as some have predicted. I think we'll go up to 1100+, down to 900-950 near year end, then back up.

Since January I have told everyone that has asked me that the worst would be over before the fourth quarter and that the "bailed out companies" would be profitable.

I hope we are past the worst of it. I don't foresee a sharp drop, but I don't think we are going anywhere soon.

Sharp drop but not this year.

Hope so, but there are too many chicken-littles pressing too many buttons.

If future drops are more severe, I don't think I'll feel it as much since I've lost so much already.

But this week's Editor's Choice goes to the reader who said, "If I knew the answer to this question, I wouldn't be working here."

Thanks to everyone who participated in our survey!