Friday, August 3, 2012

Friday beaver? To market to market now don't get all jiggey on me


Combination pussy and beaver pic for Friday

I've given up on market information and trying to figure out exactly what happens on a daily basis. I used to follow them on a day to day basis until the advent of computer trading. Some wizards with supercomputers figured that they could squeeze fractions of cents out of a deal without so much as a verbal buy or sell order. The algorithms and mathematical equations used I'd be sure would have Einstein stumped. They say you can make a mistake but to really screw thing ups use a computer. Truer words were never spoken. A couple million here a few hundred million there and soon you're talking real money. But it's all paper and an idea unless of course that was part of your retirement check that just went up in smoke metaphorically speaking. Value you see only has value if there is a seller and a buyer. Real worth is only determined by that factor. That concept has been rudely perverted with the advent of computer auto trading. No need for horse trading here. Computers have no emotions as they carry out their programmed instructions. Where's the fun in that? And what exactly is the job of a broker now that so much of his work is carried out without him/her lifting a finger. After all most investors tend to use the set it and forget it method. They too know that decisions are best left to non emotional machines when trying to get ahead of the game.

Money is an odd concept when you think about it. A seemingly worthless piece of paper representing goods and services traded the world over. Yes I know the alternative could be quite messy. I'd hate to have to carry around a pocket full of melted cheese just because my barber wanted to make cheese cake for desert. Then there's the more expensive items like a house. How many fresh eggs would that take? But then I'm more of a pay as you go person. Maybe I don't want the fruit of the month this month. And I surely hate subscribing to anything that would have me as a member. Don't forget to register we're told. And why is that when the offer/information is free? I really don't want all your spam in my email box. I just wanted to read the damn article not give you my entire life history. And the last thing I really hate is having word verify just to leave a comment. Come on! You get maybe two dozen comments in any given day. Are you too lazy to delete the spam? You think your blog will become the next Firedog Lake? Think again sparky we're all just small potatoes in this chip factory.

Bank fails later
UPDATE: One bank in IL failed this week.
Parking lot index was at 7 (I suspect an anomaly here this being the first week in August)

8 comments:

Randal Graves said...

This planet's lucky the cosmos doesn't permit payment only for actual work done, or the janitors and bricklayers and construction crews would be raking in hedge fund scratch and the hedge funders would be picking berries in their loincloths in the forest until they got eaten by a bear.

BBC said...

Market information is just smoke screens, magic, mirrors, cons, greed, and bullshit, never got into all that crap myself.

I joined the Safeway online savings club, can download savings right to my card, been saving some good money that way, and currently getting double points for gas discounts.

The next time I get gas I'll get a 20 cent a gallon discount.

We're small potatoes for sure, but I like tossing them around and many of my old posts are still being looked at do they may have some impact in the future.

S.W. Anderson said...

I've been reading about investing and the markets for about 30 years. Start to finish, over and over, come the statistics showing most stock investors regularly do themselves in by buying high, then panicking and selling low as the market dips. Along the way, the majority ensure more losses by jumping from hot tip to trendy "in" stock, running up fees and charges that drain net gains, if any. There's much to be said for set it and forget it, or at least leave it alone for a year or two, at least.

Watching CNBC, reading Barron's and following market ups and downs daily are good ways to set yourself up to do yourself in in the ways I just mentioned.

Electronic twitch trading of the kind you mention is game playing, not investing. It's dangerous and should be outlawed. Even so, you and I are much more likely to get burned trying to time the market, engaging in day trading and panicking at the first sign of a downturn. If you're in stocks, find a few solid companies serving stable markets with proven products and services. Buy in when the market is down or the stocks are near their annual lows. Then, hang on to them for a year or three and see where you are. Chances are good that if the whole economy doesn't implode again, you'll realize some decent gains, and without headaches and ulcers.

Murr Brewster said...

I don't require comment verification. If I didn't have my spam I wouldn't have a sex life at all.

BBC said...

Sex life? Hell, nothing wrong with Masturbators Anonymous, or hookers.

toko busana muslim layali said...

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The Blog Fodder said...

I invested once in a gold mining company my friend and colleague did some work for. Property in Mali smack in the middle of gold country. Good CEO all the right stuff. All systems go. Week after I bought it, Eritrea cancelled all mining permits in the country. This company had property in Eritrea. Sigh.

Carrie Hall said...

I invested once in a gold mining company my friend and colleague did some work for. Property in Mali smack in the middle of gold country. Good CEO all the right stuff. All systems go. Week after I bought it, Eritrea cancelled all mining permits in the country. This company had property in Eritrea. Sigh.