Jitters: Nervous about stocks? Understandable -- but panic isn't the answer

Investors have grown jittery lately as the stock market has shown signs of pulling back from its long streak of gains.

Several downturns, linked chiefly to the low price of oil and problems with the Chinese economy, have caused many analysts say that markets worldwide are due for a big downturn.

That wouldn't be surprising, the markets are always volatile and have been especially so in the first month of 2016. And they have been generally strong for quite some time now.

But it is no time to panic. The stock market habitually adjusts itself and it may well be that it is time for stock prices to drop, in order that they might rise again.

We do not profess to be experts on the market. And no one has a crystal ball. We just don't believe that overreaction does investors any good. Succumbing to a case of the jitters won't help your portfolio at all.

Published in Editorials on January 27, 2016 11:34 AM