I prefer to be specific; general talk about desperation is rarely factual. There are many US manufacturing stocks with solid balance sheets (i.e. negligible debt) trading below book value. It means bottom by investment criteria. It is real economy that counts at the end. Some outfits specialized in making money from hot air can and will go down all times; creative destruction it is called.

>Thats only true if you feel were near a bottom, I believe there is much more downside. Just consider all the desperation moves of the Fed, and it has only (barely) kept things stable.
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>>>>>I took a page from your book and put everything I could into cash for a while. Too bad I wasn't smart enough to do that a year ago....
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>>>>Putting everything to cash is fine, as long as it ain't in US$. To be on the safe side, at least part of your money should be in some foreign currency.
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>>>Really? Everything I buy and earn is in dollars. Foreign goods will become more expensive (already have) as the dollar sinks against other currencies, but I don't understand why I should hold money in those currencies unless I am worried about the dollar becoming worthless, which I am not. If I put my money in Euros, for example, isn't that an investment / speculation that Euros will appreciate against the dollar? I am looking for a safe haven, not an investment. Not forever, just to ride things out for a while.
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>>It is a mistake to look for a 'safe haven' now. Maybe it was a good idea 6 months ago, depending on your investments at that point. However, now, after the facts, you will be just late to the party, and this is usually the worst position.