So by now you know that the past week was the worst first week of a new year for the stock market in something like 1000 years. In a note I put out for my colleagues to send to clients I noted that other than the calendar there was nothing this week that hasn’t happened before.

I have been clear as to what I think is happening. If you have been reading this site for a while I hope you have begun to really grasp the fact that bear markets and the declines that they bring are a very normal part of the stock market cycle and so there is no reason for emotion to ramp up in the face of very normal.

Further anyone reading this site for a while who believes in at least some active management of their portfolio (point conceded that this is not right for everyone) should have some sort action plan for defensive action that they devised long before the market started rolling over.

While it’s unlikely that a blog post can really convey how unemotional I get about these things I hope that in writing over and over how normal this is that you will come to believe it and only act rationally in response…if it even is a bear market which of course is may not be.

Part of my thinking as to why this is a bear market is that we are two and a half months from what I think will turn out to be the high, the drop has been gradual and I feel like most of the commentary on TV and in print is denying the severity of the problem although it seems like that is becoming less true.

Last 5 posts by Roger Nusbaum

• The Big Picture for the Week of November 15, 2009 - November 14th, 2009
• Process Drilldown - October 23rd, 2009
• Sunday Morning Coffee 10-18-09 - October 18th, 2009
• A Little Followup From This Morning - October 8th, 2009
• Wednesday Roundup - October 7th, 2009