Stop the Bleeding Already!

More bad news from Wall Street again, followed by the usual frenzy of a sliding market. Both New York and Toronto, as well as other world markets, have experienced some major dips in the past couple of weeks, making investors even more nervous and worried than they already were.

There's no question that the bailout of the world's largest insurer, the collapse of the fourth largest investment bank in the U.S., and woes suffered by a number of others is clear evidence that there are some serious issues in the American banking industry. Unfortunately, the punishment for their sins is being passed on us...in our investment portfolios, retirement plans, and pension funds.

As with every other period of market turbulence, eventually it must come to an end, and if history repeats itself, world markets will be at record high levels within the next five to ten years. It is critical that investors do not lose their cool and make rash decisions that simply add more gas to this fire. Already, hundreds of companies who have very little connection or correlation to the financial services industry are trading at 52 week lows and have seen their market capitalization hammered. Has anything changed in the last week that would cause a pharmaceutical company to be worth half what it was seven days ago? The answer is no, and believe me, once the aftershocks start dissipating...large institutional and personal investors will start shopping for bargains...and that's a train I want to be on.

Stay cool....everybody stay cool.