Category: Investors

South Korea and Indonesia move on currencies

The Bank of Korea has become the latest central bank to step into the money markets in a bid to stabilise its currency.

The Korean won has declined by 10% against the US dollar in the past month, and the bank said it was taking appropriate steps to stem the falls.

The move follows a similar action by the Indonesian central bank on Thursday to shore up the rupiah.

$2.8 trillion lost in market turmoil so far

If stock market gyrations make you queasy, you may not want to read on.

The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index has lost $2.8 trillion in value since the stock market slide began on July 22. Some $600 billion of that went up in smoke on Wednesday, when the index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both dropped about 520 points.

Not surprisingly, the stock market’s wild swings in recent weeks have sent investors and retirees scurrying to their financial advisors for some hand holding. The main message they’re hearing: Stay put.

“Try to take a step back from the day-to-day,” said Chris Philips, senior investment analyst with Vanguard. “Reacting to these ups and downs and sideways swings can actually do more harm than good for most investors.”

Investors lose a trillion dollars in one day

EW YORK (CNNMoney) — Investors lost a trillion dollars in the in the stock market Monday as the debt crisis in Europe, lackluster economic news and a downgrade to the U.S. credit rating spark fears of a double-dip recession.

The Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index, the broadest index of U.S. stocks, lost 891.93 points, or just over 7%, Monday. This represents a paper loss for the day of approximately $1.0 trillion.

Wall Street to brokers: Investors should buy, not flee

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street’s advice to investors battered by plunging markets: Keep buying stocks.

With markets plunging for more than a week, and no relief in sight, some of the biggest brokerages on Thursday afternoon and early on Friday told their advisers that clients should not flee but instead buy into the panic.