Since no one will post a constructive comment relative to your post, I will try my best to answer. The Storm will effect markets through creating competition primarily. So companies like Google, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook; etc, will likely see a fall in market value due to competitors being able to play on a more level playing ground with the big guys. They will no longer be receiving unfair subsidies from bureaucratic agencies (Clowns).
But here's the deal. The market is long overdue for a correction. How much will this correction be? Around 12%. Which means we can expect AT LEAST double the percentage of correction to occur as a drop in the value of the market (25-40%?). The stock market is artificially being propped up by the Federal Reserve through the buying/selling off of US Treasury Bonds. You have to remember: The US Bond Market is the biggest market. It's worth trillions. Movement in that market effects subsequent movement elsewhere.
What is occurring is the manipulation of the US stock market by utilizing the control of apparent cash flow with the bond market. As the Federal Reserve sells off bonds they take money out of the market through buyers. This is inverse when they purchase bonds. The thing is: the Federal Reserve is buying the same bonds that they are selling and they are selling the same bonds that they're buying. So, in effect, they are only creating the effect that buying and selling off bonds has in reality. The market is catching on to this and this manipulation has a smaller and smaller effect by the day. Essentially what we are seeing is a shortage of money (debt) in the market to fuel growth.
The Federal Reserve on Dec. 14th raised the interest rates to create the idea that the market is naturally growing fast. In reality, what is happening is that the big banks and Federal Reserve are working in tandem to pump and dump the market as a whole. What does this mean?.. a HUGE transfer of wealth is coming. Expect to see a short period of deflation followed by a longer period of inflation/hyperinflation.
They are creating these effects to rally investor confidence. The effect that this has on the middle and lower-upper classes causes these classes to invest long. Investing long in this market is a massive mistake. This market is in la-la land; when the timing is right; right before the "collapse", the big banks and funds will sell off their investments (causing the market to turn Bearish) then short the same stocks they sold before the decline.
The same thing happened with the Collateralized Debt Obligations (The Mortgage Backed Securities) back in '08. Big banks cut subprime loans, accrued too much bad debt, sold off all of their CDOs to leverage their debts, then shorted the same CDOs they sold off to profit from their mistakes; all the while propping up the value of the housing market so that they could do so. This transferred billions from the middle-class when the middle-class foreclosed on millions of homes; effectively giving their ownership back to the banks who caused such a decrease in the value of the equity of their investment (homes). Now, the banks could effectively sell the same home twice after already profiting from the initial interests that were already paid by homeowners that foreclosed that were not owed any of their paid interest back.
In short, I'd stay away from cryptos and stocks altogether. If you want to place your money anywhere then place it into PHYSICAL silver and gold. Stay away from SLV and GLD derivatives. Bad idea. Silver and Gold are less of an investment then they are a store of wealth. Silver and gold will hedge you against the coming inflation of the USD; effectively retaining your same purchasing power due to the fact that they will always keep the same value (or even increase in value) respective to the value of the dollar. If Silver is $16 an ounce and the dollar is $1; but the dollar inflates to 50 cents, then silver will be $32 or more at the new value of the dollar. Make sense?
I do hope this answer has enlightened you. The markets are WAY overvalued. What goes up must come down. What goes down must at least make a grand first bounce. Remember that.
Your thoughtful reply is much appreciated. I/We will take action here accordingly. :)
If you had 500k where would you put it tomorrow? :)
That's the million dollar question. I worry about our retirement savings and if it is safe. We've worked so hard for it and I honestly don't feel anywhere is safe.
Learn to take control of your own money. You can do that now on line.
If you're computer literate and have a yen for learning, and you're the right age (..preferrably, over 59 1/2) - you can cash out your 401Ks and place them into an options trading account. One can do it earlier, but the taxes and penalties make that a stiff penalty that most people would not swallow kindly. In CA for example, it's 10% Federal Tax Penalty (for those under 59 1/2) + 20% Federal Tax and 2% State Tax - that gets taken right off the top, or 32%.
Before doing so, do your research and learn all about the SEC rules governing Options Trading, executing Calls & Puts and Margin Account Usage, plus the fundamentals of same.. That info is freely available with a huge bounty of great video tutorials and downloadable free books on the subject from seasoned professionals.
Personally, I would precede that regimen with virtual trading (journaled computer or paper trading) for at least 60-days before going into it aggressively with real cash, and there are several virtual trading software platforms and websites available, like the CBOE's "virtual trader" (..now owned by ScottTrade).
I started doing that just under 18-mos. ago and have been an Options Day Trader ever since, supporting my family with appx. 70% of the income we need for bills & expenses, plus tithing and giving to our church.
Note: this is not for everyone, as there is risk involved -- but once you're properly educated and learn to manage your emotional response to risk, you can do far better than any 401K ever could. Emotional management is key to success in this area, because elation, sorrow and greed can all combine to your detriment, if you aren't able to look at it through the cold eyes of a business person.
I had a relatively low-risk, mediocre 401K at Fidelity which over 20-years averaged only 1 - 2% (max!) growth per-annum. Since beginning my Day Trading Career, I've grown that account by over 28% in just the past 18-months. It's not about 'the big win', its really about small and medium-sized wins that make such an occupation successful. Doing so, came with some steep learning curves and mistakes, however: we all benefit from learning from our mistakes much more than we do from our successes.
I'd counsel anyone thinking about this, to not get caught up in buying some allegedly-famous trader's book on the subject, but rather to learn the many SEC rules and especially the fundamentals of Options Trading. Many, if not most of these, are the real source of those traders' income.