The news often mentions the ups and downs of stock markets, such as the Dow-Jones, NASDAQ etc.

Not directly.   Indirectly it changes the spending habits of the collective and that has an effect on me.

Those measurements STRONGLY affect my chances of getting a loan in the bank. In good times it is easy, in 'bad' times it becomes near impossible.

You might want to check your figures. Half of the American people own stock. Most of them have them as part of their retirement plans. So the answer would be as to how soon or how well one can retire.

I'm not part of the 95% who don't own stock.  In fact, owning the stocks I have will make my retirement just a little bit sweeter.