Posted Monday, October 6, 2008 --- 9:20 a.m.

A local financial expert says things may seem bleak but what ever you do don't panic!

Brent Lindell says,"The biggest thing is emotion is taking over right now. "

Emotion this Capital Manager at Savant in Madison thinks comes from information overload.

He says, " You see it. There's headlines everywhere. The Internet splashes the news out there the media splashes the news out there about how the markets have done."

Lindell says most of the talk about the financial world is negative.

He says, " There's a lot of talk about depression right now."

But he doesn't think we're anywhere near another depression.

Lindell says, " The unemployment would have to basically triple from where it's at right now to reach what we saw in the great depression."

Also during the great depression Lindell says banks and other financial institutions stopped lending and no one stepped in to fix the problem.

He says we don't have to worry about that.

Lindell says, " The bailout right now is putting credit in to the market to see if we can unclog those pipes that are out there."

Lindell says another sign that the economy isn't doing that badly and that things will turn around is that companies like Citi Group and Wells Fargo are making a play for Wachovia.

Lindell says, " They're wanting to buy them. That's a positive thing and they're arguing with each other over who gets them because it's on a bargain price."

The best piece of advice Lindell says he can offer to those who are panicking is, "The old rule of thumb is to stay the course. Let it ride. See it through because the market moves in cycles and will recover."

Lindell says that we are not in a depression.

But, he does say that two-thirds of the nations economist believe we are in a recession.