“Financial experts say the destruction of the twin towers of worldwide commerce Tuesday morning will undoubtedly have an economic impact that will be felt in all corners of the world, sooner or later.It didn’t take long to hit Oak Harbor.Scott Dudley, investment consultant at Edward Jones, said the calls from worried investors started early Tuesday, not long after the news first broke. But while a few clients were looking to liquidate their stocks, he says by and large most people just wanted some comforting words.I’ve done a lot of hand-holding today, he said.The short-term outlook for the economy is not good, no matter what Fed chairman Alan Greenspan does. While President Bush said during his Tuesday night address that the nation’s financial institutions remain strong, Dudley said some rebuilding will nevertheless be necessary. After all, some of the biggest financial companies in the world, including Morgan Stanley, were headquartered at the World Trade Center. If you walk down the street from the World Trade Center, you have every financial company known to man there, he said.The New York Stock Exchange was closed early Tuesday. Dudley says it may not open up again until next Monday, which would be one of the longest closures ever.The truth, according to Dudley, is that wars, disasters and other calamities cause the stock market to plunge. It happened after the Oklahoma City bombing, Desert Storm and Hitler’s invasion of France. It will undoubtedly happen again.What drives the stock market on the short term is usually greed … or fear, he said. There’s a lot of fear out there right now.The good news is in the long term. The economy usually rebounds after big events with unexpected strength.My advice to our clients is to stay the course, Dudley said. This doesn’t change anything for the serious, long-term investor. And those who’ve been sitting on the sidelines are going to have a tremendous opportunity to get back into the market.You can reach features editor Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611. “