If it often feels like your body is saying yes, but your portfolio is saying no, you are not alone! Over the last several months, endless bullish calls have inundated the financial media airwaves, using arguments such as "bad news is good news," the "fundamentals don't matter," and "we're the best house in the worst block." If mere semantics are the only reason that the domestic equities sector is moving forward the way that it is, we are in for a rude awakening.
Not that the markets will suddenly collapse and we find ourselves in a full-scale societal meltdown : I don't think it's productive to focus our energies on the worst-case scenario and live in perpetual fear. But, we have to recognize when market dynamics are shifting, especially when they run counter to simple logic.
The major equity indices had a solid run this week and perhaps they'll finish it off on a high note. Of interest is the reasoning : after weeks on end of listening to how badly China's economy had decelerated, suddenly, out of nowhere, positive data flashed for month of January, rejuvenating global markets. Then there was the speech by newly appointed Fed chair Janet Yellen, whose remarks were considered "soothing."
Unfortunately, the real economy cannot be sat down on a couch and be psycho-babbled to : in order for a comprehensive recovery to occur, several changes to our stymieing tax laws and business infrastructure need to be levied. Otherwise, we're just drifting along aimlessly, and when this happens, the markets always take notice.
That may take some time : a lot of events can be misinterpreted along the way, but eventually, reality gets priced in. When it does, the results may not be pretty...
Not that the markets will suddenly collapse and we find ourselves in a full-scale societal meltdown : I don't think it's productive to focus our energies on the worst-case scenario and live in perpetual fear. But, we have to recognize when market dynamics are shifting, especially when they run counter to simple logic.
The major equity indices had a solid run this week and perhaps they'll finish it off on a high note. Of interest is the reasoning : after weeks on end of listening to how badly China's economy had decelerated, suddenly, out of nowhere, positive data flashed for month of January, rejuvenating global markets. Then there was the speech by newly appointed Fed chair Janet Yellen, whose remarks were considered "soothing."
Unfortunately, the real economy cannot be sat down on a couch and be psycho-babbled to : in order for a comprehensive recovery to occur, several changes to our stymieing tax laws and business infrastructure need to be levied. Otherwise, we're just drifting along aimlessly, and when this happens, the markets always take notice.
That may take some time : a lot of events can be misinterpreted along the way, but eventually, reality gets priced in. When it does, the results may not be pretty...
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