What a topsy-turvy game playing the stock market has become. In the past (don’t ask me how far) signs of a strengthening economy would point to the likelihood of stocks rising, now it is the reverse. (At least at current, in the short term). As soon as reports are out showing even marginal improvement, the fear that Bernanke will begin to taper the huge monthly bond purchases leads the stock market to plummet (like yesterday). Every time he whispers, let alone speaks, about easing out of the “easing” at some future point, the market drops precipitously. It’s almost as if traders don’t want the economy to start recovering too much, lest Ben stop the feeding. With interest rates low, companies borrow to buy back their own shares, keeping their prices afloat. I’m sure there are other theories, and I’m not any kind of expert[1]—just an outsider, playing from the sidelines. The other strange twist is that the game nowadays has much less to do with predicting the economy or human psychology, than with figuring out the “psychology” of the high speed computers that run the markets. What words would be frequently out there in the news today to trigger the programs to buy/sell (at 2p.m., say)? The high-frequency traders have a huge advantage (but don’t get me started on that)[2].
[1] “The 3 reasons why stocks have skyrocketed”
[2] What are a couple of telecoms low this week, you ask? I will answer only if you remember the PhilStock rule: never, ever act on anything I say on PhilStock.
[A solid, high dividend a few points down: A,T&T (T): $35:47 (pays 5%); S&P 5 star (semi-speculative)unusually low this week: windstream (WIN) $7.89 (pays over 12 %).
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