Quote:
Originally Posted by geetrue
Where does the money go anyway? The money that they get from selling on fear stories?
Where does it rest while not in stocks? Gold, silver, oil or is just numbers in a bank transfer account to collect at least some interest?
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While it's true that every stock trade has a buyer and a seller, the stock market is not necessarily a zero sum game. Some sellers may move the sale proceeds to cash. Others may move it into bonds. Others may move it to foreign stocks. Others may move it from one stock to another. The total amount invested in the stock market can and does change day to day.
When they say "the stock market was down" on the nightly news, they're usually referring to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, or "The Dow" which is made up of 30 stocks that are supposed to be representative of American industry as a whole. It's really a kind of antiquated system and I don't see it as really that great of a barometer of the country's health as a whole.