10 big worries about this market
The rally that started the year has stalled a bit, but optimism is still running way too hot. I think it's time to take profits, but here's what to watch if you dare to play on.
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There has to be a way to end the boom and bust cycles. Of course this would mean that the few who profit endlessly from ever increasing volatility would instead have to produce a tangible, truly useful product that humanity would find necessary. It seems that exploitation of natural resources and "developing" populations has mostly run its course globally, technology advances offer little beyond "entertainment" and the carrying capacity of the planet has peaked. Did this come up in Davos?
Yes, yes, I am sure this sounds freighteningly like the great fear mongerer and bogeymand of the moment, socialism. But isn't there some form of enlightened post-atavistic capitalism? Cannot something slightly more enlightened than socially acceptable priacy at least be attempted?
There was a time not so long ago when "playing the stock market" was akin to "playing the horses". No serious individual put life savings into something so unpredictable, but then stories of amazing success reached the public. Part time sales people scoured the country to get on the rocket ship headed for the stars. The stock market lost its stodgy old money ways and became a pop icon of its own.
The economic calculus used to predict stock prices became useless as something Oprah said on Monday could move mountains of money from one company to another on Tuesday. The new investors were impatient and their expectations were unrealistic, so new tools were crafted to show glorious progress.
In the mid 1980s the Dow Industrial Average was below 1,400 and it took nearly 100 years to get there; now it's at nearly 14,000. The rate of growth is beyond control and yet we continue to pour money into this struggling beast. If you want to play the market, find a good money manager and be patient. If you can't be patient, play the lottery.
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[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks ended modestly higher as the S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, and the Dow added 0.4% to register its 19th consecutive Tuesday of gains.
The major averages saw little change during morning action, but afternoon buying interest helped lift the indices to session highs. Most cyclical sectors (with the exception of materials and technology) finished among the leaders, but the defensively-geared health care sector settled atop the leaderboard as biotechnology outperformed. ... More
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