How Low Can You Go....

This is not a roller coaster. Roller coasters get pulled back up the track before you can go barreling down hill again. And roller coasters are fun on the way down.

But be glad that your money - if you have any left - is more likely than not invested in blue chips on the New York Stock Exchange. The above picture is not of the Dow Jones Industrial Average - which has only lost about a third of its value on the year (so far) - but of the RTS Index. The RTS Index includes the major Russian energy, telecommunications, metals & mining and financial companies - many of which are partly owned by the Russian government. Gazprom, Norilsk Nickel, Lukoil, Sberbank, and Rostelecom are some of the marquee companies listed on the exchange. As the chart above makes clear, the Russian stock market has dropped precipitously from its historic highs early in the summer of 2008 and has lost about 70% of its value.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

So which market is better positioned to recoup some of its losses by the end of the year? Place your bets (if not your cold hard cash) by voting in the poll above.