I can toss a few positives out...but of course this is only MY opinion.
1. The economy WILL recover. Maybe not as quickly as everyone hopes, nor to the levels everyone would like...but it WILL recover.
2. Once the economy does show progressive recovery (which it is now doing in some areas) the market will follow suit and start to recover as well (look at some of the banking stocks today).
3. A precursor to recovery is abating the fear of loss. While more people will lose jobs over the interim, those job losses have steadily decreased, which is actually a positive. People will look for the good in anything...it's in our nature. I do know there are many companies in my area (Dallas)that are seeing growth and will be needing new heads to support that growth. Once that fear eases, people will begin to take a bit more risk again.
4. The various "green" sectors will increase employment as the government pushes more and more money in that direction. Reliance on oil is no doubt a major ingredient to spur funding for new industries. They will require training, R&D, peripheral companies to supply unique/specialty equipment, established companies to provide consulting, mass product development and supply, and a myriad of unknowns which will increase jobs.
5. Once the masses start seeing improvements in the economy, see the "light at the end of the tunnel" so to speak, they will begin investing a bit here and there...and then more and more will continue to invest, which will push markets higher.
6. People are creatures of habit whether we choose to believe so or not. Once the pain and shock of the crashing economy becomes less and less a mainstream part of life, people will return (for the most part) to their old habits and way of life within the constraints of their budget.
6. Right now we see millios of people continuing to "invest" in the markets...albeit most on a much smaller scale due to job/income/investment loss, but for the most part, people WILL continue to invest in the market with the hopes of making a few extra nickels here and there. Many will attempt to recover prior losses...many will invest to chance hitting a multi bagger at bottom prices.
Point is, a recovery is now in progress, and we will see market growth (or much slower losses) in the majority of the business sectors.
What this all means...to me anyway...is that though a recovery may be slow and long, investing in areas that one is positive will recover, is a very very smart thing to do. We all need a place to live....shelter of some kind. Banks are now beginning to hold a lot of properties and are refusing to dump them at "any cost" because most have already written those properties off. They are seeing the economic recovery starting, and are betting values will increase somewhat. They also are facing a liability with supporting those houses, so there are still a lot of good deals out there for those that are starting to recover from job losses, and those able to risk money on investment properties. Some areas are starting to show a good value increase already, and many of the home builders are seeing increased interest again. It may take months..or even a couple years for FNM/FRE to move up to the multiple dollar range, but consider this.
an interst bearing account...money market account...savings account...will at best get you 2% - 3% interest over a years time. If you bought FNM monday at $1.00 pps, and it took 11 months to move up to $1.10 pps, you have achieved a profit of 10%...which is 3x the value of the other examples. Of course it could just as easily drop to under a buck, but that is the risk involved. One must be extremely diligent in their research of prospective investments and weigh that research before investing.
Personally, I have quite a bit invested in FNM, and am quite certain it will move to the multiple dollar range within the next year. Thats MY personal opinion that I base on what I consider a very good understanding of the market, and economy in general.
I know the most dreadful word for investors at these levels is PATIENCE. But considering the govt. will not let FNM/FRE fail, I feel they are both solid investments for at least the near term. (and must be watched closely for entry/exit points). If one gets in at what they feel is a comfortable bottom, they could easily see a multi bag play over a short period of time....if not that kind of profit, at least a good 20% or more.
I'm a big (for me)investor in REIT's...have been for almost 40 yrs. I see that market segment steadily improving on a weekly basis, and paying some very nice returns/divs.
As I said, all in my opinion, and I would never suggest anyone use my opinion for investing purposes. Just some food for thought.
News 
Market Data 
Discover 
AI
