With the U.S. stock market hitting all-time record highs again of late, it’d be understandable for some to think strength and confidence has returned to the stock exchange.
But if today’s mid-day “flash crash” — which saw the S&P Index lose $136 billion in a matter of four minutes as AP’s Twitter feed was hacked to announce, inaccurately, that a bomb had gone off in the White House — is any indication, that’s hardly the case…
You’ll be delighted to know, of course, that the same casino, stock market immediately gained almost all of its losses back in almost the same amount of time it took to lose them, ultimately ending the day at another near-record high. Step right up!
Sheesh – it’s almost like “Fight Club” only without all the messy explosions and total economic collapse and stuff.
Why didn’t the programs that are supposed to stop trading when the market hits a large drop in value kick in? This smells fishy.
I love the constant horseshit we’re fed and fool ourselves with when we hear and proclaim “We refuse to live in fear! We’re not gonna let the terrorists win!”
We were a fear-locked society on Sept 10 and the attack the next day sorta sealed the deal.
This market plunge is just another manifestation of our fears. As a society I’d say we’re afraid of sexuality, sensuality, intimacy, honesty, anger, reality, truly different opposing viewpoints, and the “other”, to name a few fears.
I’m absolutely confident we can learn a different way that is not so fear-centric. But to embark on that different path we’d first need to acknowledge the one we’re on. We’d have to start at the beginning by admitting how fucking terrified we are of our own shadows.
And I don’t see that happening next week.
But I plod along in my own fearful and foolish ways dancing with my own demons and looking towards the light.
You know this happened on a much bigger scale when we weren’t looking last Nov 4th. By end of the trading day the market fully recovered. How much you wanna bet a lot of shorts were unloaded by computer trade on these “spikes”.
Hello Brad Friedman,
It’s good to know that Phineas Taylor Barnum dictum “There’s a sucker born every minute” is still spot on. The stock market will make many small fortunes. Those small fortunes started out as large fortunes. Those who invest/play/dabble in the stock market will eventually end up living in “cardboard condos” while wearing paper clothes.
SEQUESTRATION
YUK!
Budget Control Act passed Congress August 2,2011.
The “super committee” did not even submit a proposal to cut spending by $1500 B
over ten years. If they failed, then Sequestration kicked in January 2, 2013.
Now what? Cut backs are being adjusted or eliminated due to damage to services by our government. Hear the rich screaming? No! House reversed the furlough of 15,000 air traffic controllers. Head Start? Chemo for cancer patients? In Arizona, 43,000 work for Defense in 2000
companies. Boeing has 500 local suppliers. The Defense supply chain will be affected.
Sequestration is our Economy Killer. We are still in a Jobs Recession. College grads taking minimum wage jobs. My son works for the Energy Department and they are trying to adjust jobs not to hurt production.
Our budget problems are from one thing only. Cheney-Bush.
Took 1800B Budget to 3500B. Took surpluses as far the eye can see to 1400B Deficit on 9-30-09
Took 5800B of Debt on 9-30-01 to 11,900 on 9-30-09—–Doubled in 8.
Took 237,000 jobs per month to 31,000.
Cut revenue with tax cut for upper class.