Wall Street
25 Mar2009
I never really trusted Wall Street, but lately it just seems to be in total chaos. It is acting shell-shocked. It jumps at everything! CitiGroup says it made a dollar and the market goes up. Bernanke eats a bad shrimp and the market goes down. A report comes out saying unemployment is up and Wall Street drops to its knees in agony. Hell – they need a report for that? Was the report a surprise?
What is God’s name is going on? Whatever happened to investing for the long term? What about all the garbage they taught us about 401ks – always with a condescending look in their eye? Talking to children about big finances. “We know you don’t understand, but trust us. We’re experts.” Where are those experts now?! At least we laymen thought they would better understand a company’s worth and value. That doesn’t seem to matter anymore. What matter is how Wall Street feels. Does it feel good or does it feel uneasy? I swear – the government is acting like a parent with a stubborn child, offering treats for good behavior. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO FUNDAMENTALS??
Aren’t we glad they didn’t put our Social Security money in there?
2 Responses to Wall Street
Tommy
March 26th, 2009 at 6:24 am
I think the funny thing is that because Wall Street is doing what its doing, up one second, down with the bad shrimp, economists are saying that the stock market is the worst indicator of how the economy is reallly doing for the exact reason you mentioned in your first sentence, they cant be trusted. yet whats always the first thing reported on the news or on the front page of the paper, ‘Dow up 1,000 points only to drop 600 points moments later because Tim Geitner isnt a charismatic speaker. Its ridiculous. I thought all this doom and gloom crap was going to go away. apparently not.
Mike
March 26th, 2009 at 7:26 am
Don’t worry, it will go away. The problem with the market now is that the smart investors are not investing. Their money is on the sidelines or just coming back in. The wild swings in the market are caused by speculators and individual investors, the “E-Trade” group, who know about as much about the economy as Patrick’s daughter Krista (no offense to Krista, she might know more). They buy high and sell low, the opposite of making money in the market, and panic every time someone at CNBC sneezes. When the market becomes dominated by smart investors (and they are still out there), the wild swings will go away. Until then, look at the fact that new and existing home sales rose in February, as well as sales of durable goods. Once companies get rid of the inventories they have had for a while, including the inventory of unsold houses, things will start to improve. I say around July/August, but I am the enternal optimist. I only watch CNBC to check out Melissa Lee, who is very hot.