Everyone OK?
Stocks took another beating this morning, with the Dow falling more than 350 points. Red has been the norm lately: if stocks hadn't squeezed out a last-minute gain yesterday, and if they finish down today, it would mark one of Wall Street's longest losing streaks in history, including during the Great Depression.
What's going on, and what does it mean for your investments?
First, keep things in perspective. Market averages are down about 10% from recent highs. That's a fairly normal pullback by any definition -- it just might feel terrible because it happened so quickly.
Second, all fear creates opportunity. These pullbacks are what patient investors with long-term views should live for. "The future is never clear; you pay a very high price in the stock market for a cheery consensus," said Warren Buffett in 2008. "Uncertainty actually is the friend of the buyer of long-term values." And how right he was.
Still, we know you have questions. We're here to help. From now until shortly after the market closes today, a team of Motley Fool advisors, columnists, and editors will be fielding questions about the market -- just join the chat below to ask questions and share thoughts about the market's slump.
