Hot Features
Premium
Register for Free to get streaming real-time quotes, interactive charts, live options flow, and more.
Is the market driving you nuts? Don’t feel bad. You’re (probably) normal. It’s the market that’s insane. It’s days like today that it is especially fun to be writing around midday. There’s so much frenzy, it’s like watching the rear end of a rat race.
- If you are still in a tither from last night’s news that the Board of RBS encouraged Stephen Hester to work on his golf swing . . .
- If you are freaking out over the World Bank’s prognostication that the Eurozone is going to “contract even further” . . .
- If you are shaking in your boots because you are reading entirely conflicting reports by market analysts . . .
- If you are having heart palpitations because so many things that happen with the market that make no sense . . .
. . . RELAX! You’re in good company. Well, maybe not if you’re having heart palpitations. In that case, you need to see a doctor.
I completely agree that some things that happen make absolutely no sense at all. Even ADVFN’s CEO, Clem Chambers, remarked on that issue earlier today. Read what he has to say about it. There’s wisdom to be had. Read it. It will help you regain perspective. At the very least, it will help you to understand that you are not crazy just because something in the markets makes no sense. That’s just the way it is. You’re not out of your mind . . . You’re in the world.
Then there’s the vast difference of opinions on any given subject. Imagine any one piece of market news (like, “Mining Sector Keeps FTSE 100 From Plunging Even Lower.” That’s not a real headline, but it could be one today.) Now think of that news as a single beam of light passing through a PRISM (Did I really sneak that word in here?). As it passes through, it comes out the other side in a virtual rainbow of colors or, if you will, opinions. Some analysts are standing so close that they see only one color. What color they see depends on where they are standing. When they look too close, they miss the rainbow.
Take FastJet for example. Both I and my esteemed colleague Azeez Mustapha wrote articles on this website about FastJet this past week. Azeez is an a pure analyst. He wrote “FastJet Stock Goes Kaput.” My story, on the other hand, was “FastJet on Fast Track.” One of us has got to be wrong. I think I know which of us that is. Read the articles. You decide. I’ll give you a hint: I have proposed a small wager to Azeez. He has been unavailable for comment. He sees red. I see a rainbow. It’s as simple as that.
Now that you are starting to breath close to normal again, but your heart is still racing over the FTSE 100 opening down 1.6% today, have you noticed that, as of 2:00 pm, it is only off by 0.33%? If you do the math correctly, the FTSE has regained nearly 80% of what it lost early this morning.
Here’s my personal opinion. Take it for what it’s worth. You can go to watch Arsenal or Manchester U and scream your bloody guts out during the entire game. Or, you can set your DVR, get a good night’s rest and catch the final score on BBC in the morning. Once you know the score, you’ve got the big picture. If you want to analyze every move, you can play the game back on your telly. There are a lot of big plays during a match. The crowd responds to them all. But not every big play actually changes the game.
The market can be fun to watch. If it’s not fun for you anymore . . . If it’s driving you nuts . . . Take a few steps back and see the rainbow.
By the way, Did you notice how I mentioned Mr. Chambers and his article today? Do you think he’ll give me that (well-deserved) raise now? All I expect I’ll get from Azeez is five quid, and then he’ll want it in U.S. dollars.
