Marc2b
Posts: 6660
Joined: 8/7/2006 Status: offline
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quote:
Today it rained. Surely this means it will rain forever. The market goes up. The market goes down. It's people trading. And for everyone who sells in a panic, a buyer is happy to snatch up the bargain. For everyone exuberantly buying in a bubble, someone else is happily reaping profit. As long as that happens, we have a market---and its value is meaningless. The real value is in the long term asset and its potential---that doesn't really swing wildly day to day, just the imaginary value of speculative traders looking for short term profit. Wise investors these past few days did what they usually do---nothing but hold. The credit market issue is different, as financial institutions are reluctant to lend to each other----not that the market is down, but rather that there increasingly is NO market (insufficient willing lenders for would be borrowers, despite terms---which are largely set by the Fed in this instance anyway)--i.e., there's money to loan, but not institutions willing to loan it, making credit tight to impossible. Tomorrow's forecast calls for thunderstorms. Later in the week, sunshine. And I'm sure it will rain again. But not forever. The stock/commodity markets are a mirror of short term confidence, nothing more. The credit market issue questions whether we'll still be able to have weather. I’m not sure if you’re agreeing with me or criticizing me since I did say that too much shouldn’t be read into yesterdays “recovery” in the stock market just as too much shouldn’t be read into the previous day’s “crash,” despite a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth that this was the end of the world. The wise investor is indeed holding. Yes the problem is in the credit market and needs to be addressed there but you can’t dismiss the stock market altogether. Stocks are bought on credit, after all. The values of corporations fall if they can’t get credit. In the general public’s mind the health of the economy is reflected in the stock market – they see it going down, they get nervous and start making decisions based upon that (and vice versa). edited to add: Incidentally, the stock market this morning is all ready down 107 points. Some of the bargain hunters are selling in order to get that quick buck. Other people may be selling while the think the getting out is good. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here.
< Message edited by Marc2b -- 10/1/2008 6:59:00 AM >
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Do you know what the most awesome thing about being an Atheist is? You're not required to hate anybody!
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