The tides go in and out, and the people debate whose magic men cast the spell.
I came across the quote above this morning during my morning reading. I don’t know if it derives from the mouth of some known thinker, or it simply is from the mind of an everyday Joe. Actually, it really doesn’t matter. Whoever said it is right on the money.
Yesterday, I wrote about my disagreement with the disciple of Dr. Doom. Basically, I disagreed with the notion that consumer spending is anemic and that the inventory build-up phase of this economic cycle would be short-lived. Although one month does not a trend make, the beginnings of a trend seems to be forming. According to today’s news, consumer spending rose in September (1%), as did factory orders (2.1%) for big-ticket items, such as airplanes, boats and heavy machines. In fact, the rise in factory orders was the largest increase since January, and with the holiday shopping season upon us, consumer spending will continue to rise.
Switching gears … Didn’t the market get what it wanted yesterday? I thought bringing back the tax cutters would have had a positive effect on the market, yet, incredibly, even with the roll-over in the House, the coming Fed announcement, and the aforementioned news, as well as the news that some 40,000 private sector jobs were added to the economy this month, the market is weak and looking to go lower. What gives?
Sure, the employment news is hardly the number we need, and, true, with the House roll-over comes a bunch of rhetoric but no real power to affect policy, and, true, the Fed has not actually said what it intends to do. Maybe the market is weary, or maybe it is fearful the Fed might not bring Christmas early, or, maybe, the market is looking for a reason to sell. Whatever the reason for the market decline, I missed the boat. I surely believed the market would be up, up, and away today. Sometimes, what seems so obvious, is, well, just a vision, nothing more.
Well, there’s still time. After all, it is only a bit after opening, and with the way things have been for some time now, the end of the day market could be a whole lot different than it is now. That would be nice, as it would mean my day went well …
Trade in the day; invest in your life …
