DOW PLUNGES TO (best) WORSE DAY OF THE YEAR

In terms of types of financial wealth, the top one percent of households have 35% of all privately held stock, 64.4% of financial securities, and 62.4% of business equity. The top ten percent have 81% to 94% of stocks, bonds, trust funds, and business equity, and almost 80% of non-home real estate. Since financial wealth is what counts as far as the control of income-producing assets, we can say that just 10% of the people own the United States of America; see Table 3 and Figure 2 for the details.
 

 QUIZ: How much do you know about the stock market?

A weaker-than-expected manufacturing report showed a steep drop in factory orders last month, adding to concerns over the strength of the U.S. economy’s recovery.

Monday’s stumble in the stock market follows the Dow’s 5.3% drop in January, its worst monthly performance since May 2012.

Investors have grown increasingly worried over growth in emerging markets as the Federal Reserve scales back its massive stimulus program.

The Fed program, known as quantitative easing, has been pumping easy money into the global financial system. It helped lift the Dow 27% in 2013 as it lured investors into riskier assets such as stocks by keeping a lid on interest rates.

Developing countries benefited too, but investors are now worried the liquidity papered over underlying economic problems.

Read more; http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-dow-plunges-326-points-in-worst-day-of-year-20140203,0,4456953.story#ixzz2sIx9VZfQ

The stock market grew by $4.7 trillion in 2013. A wealth tax of just a one-tenth of 1 percent (one dollar out of every thousand) would have provided the $4 billion needed to shelter every homeless American for 365 days.



But we have no wealth tax. And the wealth just keeps growing for the wealthiest Americans.