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Letter to the Editor
This article originally appeared in the October 2001 Issue of INSIGHT
9-11 Impacts the USA, the Market, and All of Us
This month's investment page is the most difficult to write that I have worked on since starting INSIGHT 10+ years ago.
The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was something that has profoundly affected all of us.
At the time of the attack, I was at the Cleveland Airport getting ready to get on a flight to Newark. Needless to say, the flight was cancelled and I returned home somewhat in shock to watch the continuing unfolding of this devastating attack on America.
Since September 11th, the Stock Market has been in a steady fall, dropping more than any other time since the Great Depression.
In fact, instead of our usual stock chart closing date of the fifteenth of the month, you will notice that we have decided to use September 17 as our closing date this month. Where the Market ended up after the first day of resumed trading is probably a good place to note for reference.
Will the Market recover? The answer is undoubtedly yes, but not quickly, as it had already been under pressure from reports of lower earnings at major corporations. This is in addition to the meltdown of stock values in the technology sector.
If there can be any good news, it's that stocks of companies relating to the collision repair industry have not been as hard hit as those in other sectors of the economy.
For example, while Keystone dropped to $11.45 on the 17th, it was still far above its low for the year of $6.93. Even those stocks at the bottom of the barrel, namely Driversshield.com and Parts.com are showing a little life.
Although the insider track filings with the SEC for Parts.com show that insiders have filed 144s to sell over a million shares of a stock with total shares outstanding of just over 3 million, not exactly a major show of confidence on the part of the insiders.
This month's investment page is short mainly because it is just not in my mind to be terribly optimistic. This terrorist blow to our country is going to have an impact on our lives that we cannot even anticipate.
If we are not careful, the personal freedoms that we have known, and those which are the true foundation of our country, will be jeopardized and perhaps lost.
Massive retaliation involving the deaths of additional innocents abroad may perhaps plug us into massive terrorist attacks against all segments of our economy.
We can only hope that our retaliation will be both measured and effective and that those responsible will be dealt with for the destruction within our country and at our bases and ships overseas.
(Publisher’s note: See page three for some ways our industry has responded to the call for emergency assistance.)
-Charles Baker-
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