I am seeing a general pattern in the market as of the last ten days and it is shaped like a skier climbing a semi-steep hill then skiing down a 30-degree slope, then coming up to a ski jump, going off, landing, then shooting off a cornice virtually straight down the face, then skiing across the flat, then climbing a small but steeper hill, dropping down a short face, then a climb up, a climb down, a climb up, and a climb down, an then beginning another climb up. I call this the “Crazy, Drunk-Skier Pattern” or The CDS Pattern for short.
Seriously, when you look at a 10-day chart (1 hour) for the Dow, the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ, the above “pattern” is what you see in all three. Talk about consistency …
What does my pattern portend? Well, it could mean a crash is imminent, given that historically, crazy-drunk skiing ends up this way, or, it could mean a breakout to the upside is coming. Okay, so the latter is a stretch, but it is my pattern after all, and interpretation is the art of it, right?
So, the market is up this morning. Shocker, right? It only makes sense. The Chicago PMI softened for September, US home price gains slowed, China manufacturing slowed, and the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index pulled back in September.
Okay, so now, some three hours into the market day, the market has reversed its earlier gains; rather, it has dropped off another cornice …
I guess the best thing is just wait this craziness out. I don’t know when the market will settle, but it will. My advice to the market is it is never a good idea to mix drinking and skiing, even if the drinking is termed social responsible.
Given the above, it only makes sense for me to write about socially-responsible investing. No, I don’t mean just putting money into “green” stocks. I mean there is a concerted effort to change the world through investment in companies with a goal to change the world and make money doing it.
- According to the definition of the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN): “Impact investments are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social and environmental impact alongside a financial return.
There it is, an official network set up to foster publically-traded companies that have both a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders and a commitment to bettering the world on their way to profit.
- Impact investors actively seek to place capital in businesses, nonprofits, and funds that can harness the positive power of enterprise. Impact investing occurs across asset classes; for example, private equity/venture capital, debt, and fixed income.
Currently, and unfortunately, though, there does not seem to be a way for retail investors to get in. One might get in through a 401k or a registered investment firm, I suspect. The fact that it is not available to the retail investor just yet might be a good thing, though, as the jury is still out on the efficacy of this concept. How does one measure positive social impact, after all?
Trade in the day; invest in your life …
