Don't you know the American economy is growing at a blistering pace. Un-employment is near zero. Inflation is non-existent. ROTFLMAO!!
Not to start a flame, seriously, but how can you say that. It sure affected my futures trades today in a bad way. The closer we got to the DIJA high the choppier the futures indices got. I am sure you are aware that big funds use futures to hedge.
No, I agree with that. I'm saying that CNBC is presenting it as a baromter of the health of the overall economy or equities' market, which it most definitely is not.
http://www.thestreet.com/_dm/newsanalysis/investing/10311544.html The Maven: Drop the Pom-Poms By Marek Fuchs Special to TheStreet.com 9/27/2006 11:34 AM EDT The tone of talk in the public square is everything when it comes to predicting market moves. And as the Dow nears a new high and The Business Press Maven looks around this morning, I must say that I like what I see and hear -- which is quite a departure from back in January, the age of dumb revelry. Back then, as the Dow neared the 11,000 benchmark, CNBC, for one, was in full flower with a daring display of idiocy. Rather than simply reporting on the move and trying to figure out whether nearing a new high was warranted, the talking heads turned into carnival barkers, rank promoters of the move. Their breathless "Dow 11,000 coverage" was so pervasive and over the top that The Business Press Maven was forced to equate it with what was also in the news then: the widely hailed 7,486th performance of The Phantom of the Opera. CNBC was not the only offender. MSN Money, for example, actually ran an article with this lead: "Rally on!" Look around today and you'll find, instead, a more matter-of-fact tone. Why does that matter? For a few reasons. When the business media fall into "Party on, dude!" mode, it means they're too busy throwing confetti to notice substantive things. In the case of January, in the same articles in which I said that CNBC had lost its marbles at the sight of Dow 11,000, I was also shouting about what the business media were missing: The Federal Reserve was in no way saying that interest rates would be flash-frozen. Even if it had, it would be a moot point because then-incoming Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was not in attendance. Little details like that can be missed when the business media are busy pouring mixed drinks for the Dow, so it's good that nothing is being shaken with ice now. It's good that the market finally has an accurate read on Fed intentions. And it's good that inflation probably appears in check and that the overdone rise in oil prices seems to have abated. To be positive about two things in a row might just make The Business Press Maven twitch all over. But the fact is, I'm happy with Dress Barn (DBRN - news - Cramer's Take) this morning. As you know, The Business Press Maven regularly performs jujitsu on retailers for blaming the weather for their every mistake and miscue, and the business media, for, without giving it a teaspoon of thought, passing along these excuses, which are often contradictory. Over the summer, the same hot weather got blamed for hurting retail sales because people stayed home and because they went to the mall to enjoy the air conditioning but were too depleted by the heat to buy. I'd like to point out that if weather were such a factor, retailers would credit it when they did well. And that brings us to Dress Barn, may the good Lord bless it. It reported a good fourth quarter and said that the fall looked robust -- not solely due to its genius, but because the cooler-than-expected weather means that people are buying sweaters early and often, as they say in Chicago voting precincts. If you've already digested your breakfast, read Mark Hurd, Hewlett-Packard's (HPQ - news - Cramer's Take) CEO (though not for much longer), spin his wheels in a Business Week interview. How bad are things for H-P? Well, The Wall Street Journal reports the good news today that the criminal investigation might be hurt by the fact that some 20-something data spy in the Midwest seems to have sledgehammered his computer. When that's the good news, The Business Press Maven does not need to preach, things are bad. And things are looking good for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK - news - Cramer's Take) shareholders, at least according to Forbes. in a concise and somewhat convincing little piece. And speaking of conviction, I am convinced that I want to beat myself about the head every time I see Crocs (CROX - news - Cramer's Take) make another move higher. This is a case where the Peter Lynch principle to simply buy what your family eats and wears would have brought riches. (No, my family doesn't eat the sandals, but you get the point.) I, however, did not buy, not even realizing until recently (dumb little Maven) that what appears to be a one-hit wonder company was public. Which brings me to L.A. Gear, a company I once shorted to my portfolio's delight. Or Reebok, which rode this thing called the running shoe into other product categories and many years of profits. So which will it be for Crocs? Please send The Business Press Maven your thought and rants, though do go light on the crayon. As we go forward, please pay particular attention to product extension (they are do or die) and tell me what you think. While we are on the subject of retailers expanding product lines, what do you think of Patagonia, cold weather mountain gear producer, hitting the surf, a move featured in a big Women's Wear Daily piece this morning? And, in conclusion, as much as I enjoy making the folks at CNBC cry for their clumsy high spirits back when, I do want to direct your attention to an interesting segment on Adam Morrison. Morrison, who might be one of the top rookies in the NBA this coming season, has Type 1 diabetes. Now he appears to be the first professional athlete to endorse a medical device, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - news - Cramer's Take) product that measures blood sugar levels. It's more meaningful than endorsing L.A. Gear, I'll tell you that.
It is disingenuous to claim the stock market is near an all time high because this collection of 30 stocks (DJIA) has performed well. The true reflection of the stock market is the S&P which is still nearly 14% off it's all time high.
If you figure in inflation the markets are still way off their highs. Just a bunch of smoke being blown up everyones tails. You won't see the big guys complaining though. As all the hipe sucks in the dumb money and the smart money starts to sell them their shares.