Today’s a good example of why I invest mechanically. I don’t read news resports to see whether the market is going up or down, I just stay invested because over the long haul the market goes up. The daily fluctuations, no matter how hard I try to understand them, only make sense if you are an expert in doublespeak.
Here’s today’s example: Dow Slips After Early Gains
While the Labor Department report lifted hopes that the Federal Reserve might pause after two years of raising interest rates, traders also said the data could portend a slowdown in the economy, which would hurt corporate profits.
“Initially, people felt positive because the jobs report was weak and anti-inflationary. But now investors are probably settling in on the fact that it was, in fact, weak and maybe that’s not good for the economy,” said Tim Heekin, director of trading at San Francisco investment bank Thomas Weisel Partners.
Read that blurb carefully to see if it makes sense. Traders were excited that the economy may not be that great because interest rates will stop risinig. Then traders were worried that the economy may not be that great.
That’s right – the possibility that the economy may or may not be doing as poor as previously expected is the reason the market went up and down this morning.
To me, predicting market performance must be a lot like being a weatherman. Nobody expects you to get it right. Does anybody read these news articles and make investing decisions based on them?
Chasing the Wind 