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South Florida Investors Watch Big Board Plunge

MIAMI (CBS4) - From New York's Wall Street to South Florida's main street, investors and brokers anxiously watched the Dow drop Monday, watching for a glimmer of hope as 634 points slipped off the big board. There was little to be found.

"It's brutal. With the exception of gold and gold minors," said broker Geoffrey Kraft of Vision Brokerage Services, a South Florida trading firm.

He watches the market daily. Monday, he was seeing red, meaning most of the stocks on his screen were down.

A market watcher for decades, Kraft blames Congress for waiting until what seemed like the last minute to reach a debt deal.

"So you've got ripple effects. It was unnecessary," he said.

CBS NEWS: DOW DROPS 634 POINTS OVER DEBT DOWNGRADE BACKLASH

Kraft believes the stock market reflects the harsh debate in Washington.

"With the world watching, with our debt payment to the world in the balance, cause it makes it seem like we're playing a game of, oh well we may not pay you because we might not make the right deal," said Kraft.

South Florida politicians aren't as concerned as investors.

"Everyone can compromise and say 'sure we'll all do what the President wants' which is to raise taxes, we're not going to do it," said South Florida Congresswoman Ileana Ros Lehtinen." Once the market sees we're going to hold our ground we're not going to increase taxes, I think you'll see a real improvement in the market."

"It scared a lot of Americans. It scared a lot of people, which it should," said Joe Conway, a market investor. He tried not to watch the minute-by-minute changes, without success.

He believes people in the market should not go it alone.

"Get some advice from your broker, because they're the ones that are in it daily," said Conway.

One piece of advice from experienced market hands? While things look bad, this is not the first time the market has tanked, before turning around and heading back up the chart.

"I feel like I've seen it all, and I do feel like we will recover," said Kraft.

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