June 1997. Before George W. Bush, before Monica Lewinsky, before Britney Spears. If you were so unlucky as to have invested in the Dow on Friday, the 13 of June, 1997 (before there was even an exchange-traded fund to help you do so), your 11+ years of steady investment has resulted in a loss. Because between June 1997 and August 2008, inflation officially rose 36.7 percent, but the Dow rose only 34.4 percent. And the S&P 500, a far better indicator of how investors are doing, rose only 23.3%.
That's all of this diary I care to write today; the rest will make me too sad.
Happy retirement.