Now is the time for stability

Stocks are continuing to fall as investors remain jittery about the uncertainty of American retaliation for last week's terrorist attacks. The already volatile market reached some of its lowest levels in three years this week, and some say recession is a certainty.

Monday, the first day of trading after the attacks, saw the Dow Jones industrial average plunge 684 points. The Nasdaq fell 115 points and the S&P 500 Index slid nearly 5 percent. Two days later, the Dow Jones was down even further, and the technology-weighted Nasdaq composite index was off 40 points. By now, it may be even worse.

As one local broker put it, the market hates uncertainty, and these are the most uncertain of times. Experts say the market will be erratic until American military action is resolved and corporate profits show signs of recovering.

Fed chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress on Thursday that, while the terrorist attacks would temporarily damage the economy, he was "confident that we will recover and prosper as we have in the past."

That's only if investors do the right thing.

Those who are selling their stocks quickly are allowing panic to overtake them, and that's a mistake at the worst possible time. Economic principles alone bear that out. If one has faith in the concept of capitalism, you know that the market has to rebound at some point and that the foundation of our economy remains solid. Most financial analysts say there's nothing to be gained in selling now, and the best position is to hold.

But the best reason to cling to those stocks is that to do otherwise is playing right into the evil hands of terrorists who want to destroy our economy. It was that economy, after all, that allowed us to have a strong military presence all over the world. That's why the terrorists attacked and ultimately destroyed our country's economic symbols of power.

Fortunately, it seems that locally buyers appear to be outnumbering sellers. Two large stock firms, Edward Jones and A.G. Edwards, reported heavy buying -- about 10-1 -- earlier in the week. Hopefully, that will continue. Much of that was no doubt patriotic buying. Some were showing their confidence in America's economy and help boost it.

That's an excellent idea. Now is the time for composure and resolve.