the dow jones index is currently sitting at the same level it was back in july 1997

WAH!

the canadian stock market is also down by a similar amount despite the fact that canada:

- has over a decade of trade surpluses
- paid down the national debt by 20%
- created 100,000 new jobs in september 2008
- has the best rated banking system in the world (according to world economic forum oct/08)
- has a stable real estate market (so far)
- new car sales *still* increased above record levels in september 2008

why is canada taking a beating on the markets?

SPECULATION!