not having set a proper stop-loss figure, I am now paralysed by the sight of my shares dropping up to six per cent - that's six hundred dollars. do I get out? is this the crash? or am I simply condemned to a long, slow wait for them to crawl back up again? if I sell, it will take a lot of successful trades to make it up.

also, memo to self: never take stock tips from brother again. I bought a few Toll holdings shares. then Toll's courier arm were responsible for a delivery to my home, which was a pain in the ass to organise. then the shares dropped nine percent. I plan to sell them as soon as they regain their old level. if they don't, I plan to keep them as a kind of living reminder of the horrors of the stock market.