Is anyone panicking? Should anyone be panicking? After all, the market did roll over yesterday and it doesn’t look promising today …
I guess none of what the market does matters anyway, especially if you believe the latest wild-eyed wanderer shouting from the nearest hilltop. This one, however, is of the very special ilk, those who continually predict the apocalypse and still get airtime to speak and editorial space to write about their crazy notions. The latest to showcase the crazy is the Daily Ticker, a financial blog on no less than Yahoo.com …
- “We’re in a currency war,” Gerald Celente, the editor and publisher of the Trends Journal, tells The Daily Ticker. “Who are they kidding?” While some argue the potential for a currency war is just one possible byproduct of unconventional central bank polices, which are likely to continue, Celente sees it differently. “I see this as a replay of history,” he says. “I see this as a lead up to world war.”
First, I am particularly sensitive to this wanderer because he has set up shop in the town in which my high school exists. I have fond memories of Kingston, New York and to know that Mr. Celente publishes his Trends Journal from there somehow, in some weird way, bothers me.
Second, clearly we need a higher journalistic standard for our financial news outlets. Just because the Internet makes it possible for anyone to publish or say anything, this does not make that person a reliable or credible source of information. If you get nothing else from my venting (again), get this – just because information is “printed,” or a person is interviewed on a reputable financial news outlet, it does not mean you should pay attention, especially as it relates to making your money work. Always consider the source …
Speaking of currencies … Even though the financial media has a low bar for information sources, it still can produce solid information for helping to understand reality out there.
- The options market is signaling the threat of a breakup in the 17-nation euro bloc is disappearing as the price of insurance against wild swings in the region’s single currency fall to a five-year low.
If you believe the preponderance of professional investors out there don’t know their way around the market, then the above means little. However, if you believe the opposite, then the above is something to consider as you frame your picture of the market, especially the currency market.
Now, if you use the housing market as part of your frame for the overall market, then consider the data below.
- U.S. home resales edged higher in January and left the supply of homes at its lowest level in 13 years, a sign that steam is gathering in the U.S. housing market.
The market is correcting, which is what it is supposed to do when it runs up a bunch in a short time frame. So, take a break, take a nap, or take your kids to an amusement park. Just don’t worry about the market in the mid- or longer-term. It might well get a little worse before it gets even better …
Trade in the day; Invest in your life …
