2015 came to a close with a whimper and 2016 opened with a bang! The stock market is down 5.9% after eight days of trading in the New Year. China’s stock market took a nose dive before trading was halted on two separate days. World markets followed, worried about slowing global growth and the dramatic fall in oil prices. Panic selling is hard to watch! Fear that China’s economy is slowing added to the drop in oil prices as they have been a huge importer of oil and other commodities. There have only been three other instances in history when crude oil prices declined 50% in six months; 1986, 1991 and 2008. Today’s decline resembles 1986. It is rare for oil prices to drop this much without a recession. Like 1986, our economy is relatively strong while worries persist that global growth is declining. In 1986 small, undercapitalized energy companies[more…]