“Haven’t lost anything until you sell” try telling that to a...

“Haven’t lost anything until you sell” try telling that to a bank when listing your assets. My ten year old car must still be worth new price then I might swap it for a new one. Sorry for being sarcastic but why do you think all these oil companies have been writing down their assets lately. Yes they get tax benefits but do you think the governments would let them do it unless the assets had devalued. You have lost whatever the difference is between your buy price and what the price is now. This does not mean they cannot go up but to try and get a warm feeling by saying I haven’t sold so I have lost any money is well not real wold. At the same time you can get tax benefits for any losses even if you still want to keep your shares that’s why you see a lot of X trades.