The market seems to be selling-off on the back of limited bad news imo, apart from the dollar that is.

If you can hold your nerve and apart from any short term requirements to offload poor performing stocks, I have a couple!!, my advice would be sit tight. This does not have the feel of the tech(mining!) bubble at all. Difference being there are a lot of good fundamentals, unlike in 2000 when there were a lot of over rated nothing companies.

I'd disagree with several points there, PP.

Sept/Oct has often seen steep declines and I'm not certain any economy is fine when it's built on a mountain of debt, re highly leveraged balance sheets, massive mortgage/income ratios, etc, etc, etc.

Sept/Oct has seen some steep declines, but never when precipitated by a steep August decline.

There is always a summer sell off, sometimes it comes late.

If there is a credit problem.......then why is the number 1 credit orientated item (house prices) not tumbling down 10% a month ?

If house prices start to collapse, then I wil believe there is a credit problem, untl then, its just an excuse to push the Fed for a rate cut............manipulative people in the states causing an issue, to get their reward (a rate cut)

2-3 year fixed deals taken out before the majority of interest rate rises are likely to be unwound over the coming 12-18 months. Rightmove have confimred this week that prices are turning and they have a vested interest. They also only look at asking prices, if I remember, and Joe Public still has rose-tinted specs on when it comes to the value of bricks and mortar.

The day is coming, PP, make no mistake.

so is tomorrow - lol!

i lied ..... tomorrow never comes ..... it's christmas that's coming

Don't think this can't happen here. We have our own sub-prime version. A 93% rise in one year!! Also, don't forget what has fuelled the consumer spending boom stateside - yup, massive increases in house prices, which were remortgaged to provide spending money. That reminds me, I must hpnoe Ocean, Nortn, Picture or Greenhill for a loan and secure it on my house. LOL. That's UK sub-prime IMO.


U.S. foreclosures rise sharply in July
AFX


LOS ANGELES (AP) - Foreclosure filings rose 9 percent from June to July and surged 93 percent over the same period last year, with Nevada, Georgia and Michigan accounting for the highest foreclosure rates nationwide, a research firm said Tuesday.

The filings include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. The figures are the latest measure of the ailing housing market, which has seen defaults and foreclosures soar as financially strapped borrowers have failed to make payments or find buyers.

In all, 179,599 foreclosure filings were reported during July, up from 92,845 in the year-ago month, according to Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc.

A total of 164,644 foreclosure filings were reported in June.

The national foreclosure rate in July was one filing for every 693 households, the firm said.

'While 43 states experienced year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity, just five states -- California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Georgia -- accounted for more than half of the nation's total foreclosure filings,' said RealtyTrac Chief Executive James J. Saccacio.

Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate: one filing for every 199 households, or more than three times the national average. It reported 5,116 filings during the month, an increase of 8 percent from June.

Georgia's foreclosure rate was more than twice the national average, with one filing for every 299 households. The state reported 12,602 foreclosure filings, up 75 percent from June.

Michigan reported 13,979 filings in July, a 39 percent spike from June.

California, Florida, and Ohio were among the states with the highest number of foreclosure filings in July, the firm said.

California cities continued to dominate top metropolitan foreclosure rates.

The state reported 39,013 foreclosure filings last month, the most by any single state, but the number of filings rose less than 1 percent from June's total.

The state's foreclosure rate was one filing for every 333 households, RealtyTrac said.

Florida's foreclosure filings fell 9 percent between June and July to 19,179. The July figure represents a 78 percent jump from a year ago.

RealtyTrac did not say if a single property received more than one notice. The company did not break out the exact property count.

In recent months, the mortgage industry has been battered by rising defaults and foreclosures, primarily driven by borrowers with subprime loans and adjustable rate mortgages.

Lagging home sales and flat or decreasing home prices have made it more difficult for homeowners who fall behind on payments to sell their homes and clear the debt, spurring the rise in foreclosure activity.

Draw any trendline at the lows for this 4+ year bull run and oyu must admit it has broken.

Are we in a bear market? ;-))

the trend is broken , nothing else , could go into congestion or another trend either way , imho

for me Al , 12000 on the dow is the figure , we follow them anyway

Not until it breaks through the 200 EMA............now its just a correction.

To me it looks like the correction of late 1998.......which then moved on to create higher highs............for a couple more years before the real bear began.

I'm loathed to go by the Dow, md. Widely followed yet represents ?? ;-0 12k is indeed important however. Have a look at S&P500

I'm afraid the dive under 6k for UKX probably did it for me.

You have to laugh, Buffett is not so worried about things is he........ ;)

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/21/news/newsmakers/buffett_countrywide.reut/index.htm?postversion=2007082108

Countrywide may be attractive to Buffett

Investors bet billionaire investor could buy parts of the battered mortgage lender.

August 21 2007: 8:08 AM EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett could buy parts of Countrywide Financial Corp, some investors are speculating,The Wall Street Journal reported, sending shares of beleaguered mortgage lender sharply higher in pre-market trading.

Countrywide (Charts, Fortune 500) shares initially jumped 10 percent on the news before paring some gains, remaining up nearly 3 percent.

Countrywide's debt-servicing business and its portfolio of mortgages and mortgage-backed securities may be attractive to Buffett, the Journal reported Monday, citing unnamed investors.

Like many mortgage lenders, Countrywide has struggled with rising delinquencies and foreclosures, and unwillingness among bankers to extend credit and among investors to buy the loans it makes.

Panic eases, credit woes persist

Countrywide, which is being closely monitored by U.S. regulators, sought to reassure investors earlier Monday that it is safe to do business with the company.

Buffett has been increasing his stake in financial services companies, including those with significant exposure to the mortgage market.

Earlier this month, Buffett's investment company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Charts, Fortune 500) disclosed an investment in Bank of America Corp. (Charts, Fortune 500), one of the six largest U.S. mortgage lenders, in a regulatory filing.

Berkshire is also a long-time shareholder in Wells Fargo & Co. (Charts, Fortune 500), the second largest U.S. mortgage lender after Countrywide.

Wells Fargo has largely been spared the subprime mortgage-related woes afflicting smaller rivals, helped by its conservative underwriting standards.

Buffett said in a televised interview last week that the worsening credit and housing markets may present some "real" investment opportunities.

Berkshire officials were not immediately available for comment. Buffett does not discuss what Berkshire is presently buying and selling.

He'll be picking up the "good bits", PP. Check out the comment re Wells Fargo. ;-)))

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks edged higher on Tuesday in choppy trading after Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said the Fed chairman told him he was willing to use all available tools to calm market turmoil.

"Billionaire investor Warren Buffett could buy parts of Countrywide Financial Corp"

....Hang on son you might just pick them up a bit cheaper )-:

as comment commented ...... "choppy trading" ...... weaker, firmer, quite strongly firmer, drop off again etc etc ...... Fed announcements and similar traditionally come at about 19:15 UK time, so that may also apply here, if there is anything announced at all

Al , the whole picture on any of the charts looks like a 5th wave has formed and the game is up. However , it is possible that all the indices could drop to the lower less steep trendline(the one before oct 2006) and recommence the advance(this line is presently sitting at 11250 and if this went then it would be all over) .

if any of us could read the top or bottom correctly we,d be in the bahamas and not bullshitting here , correct :-))

or even just shitting - lol!

md - top and bottom picking is particularly tricky, but you just have to weight the odds at the time, I guess. All in all, my current guess is we have more downside than upside. I said the opposite in April 2003!! ;-))

Still, had my best day on the markets for a long time today thnaks to RAY, HAMP and a bit of a punt on UKX, although I didn't take full advantage of that one.