GLOBAL STOCKS AND COMMODITIES FALL ON JAPAN FEARS -- THE DOLLAR, YEN, SWISS FRANC, AND US TREASURIES ATTRACT SAFE-HAVEN MONEY -- STAY CALM

JAPAN STOCKS LEAD WORLD LOWER... More shocks coming from Japan continue to unsettle global markets. A 10% plunge in Japanese shares has led other global stock markets lower around the world. Commodity prices are coming under pressure as well. Even precious metals are selling off. Treasury bonds are the day's biggest winners as traders flock to that ultimate safe haven. The U.S. Dollar is bouncing a bit, although the two strongest currencies are the Japanese yen and Swiss franc. Part of the reason global markets are reacting so badly is that they had reached overbought levels and had already started to correct. Last Thursday's message pointed that out and showed a number of global stock indexes (including those in the U.S.) falling below their 50-day moving averages. Except for short-term traders (and professionals who trade for a living), my advice to most investors is to sit tight for the time being. It's usually not a good idea to make a lot of changes to one's overall portfolio in these types of crises. I'd further suggest you turn off your TV before they scare you into doing something you may regret later. You might also want to turn off your computer and not look at the day's charts. That may also prompt you to make some short-term mistakes. Hopefully, we'll be able to make a better assessment of things by week's end.