There's a lot of blogs out there on the stock market but when you dig a little deeper, many of these people will admit to not trading/no positions and are writing a blog for other reasons. The same for many of the media/internet sites. It's their job to create hoopla but the fact is the public is now disinterested. ...look at etrade's, TDAmeritrade's, Schwab active trader revenues...they keep declining.
I forget who posted this on ET, and I apologize for not attributing it to the correct author, however, it's just too good cuz it's too true. If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn`t buy one. If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed. If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn`t eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone. If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels. If a liberal doesn't like a talk show host, he demands that they be shut down. If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. If a liberal is a non-believer, he wants any mention of God and religion silenced. If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. If a liberal decides he needs health care, he demands that the rest of us pay for it.
Over the years I have been against HFT machines, especially those situated at the very data center of the exchange. There needs to be something done about this from the government. It is wrong to have unfair competitive business practices situated in the very institution that is running the markets. Liqudity is now in the hands of machines churning for pennies. It takes into account nothing more than order flow and when that order flow decreases, it generates it through maniupulative practices that damage the instrument it trades. Each box is now the equivalent of a slot machine with its own algo. The box doesnt give a shit about the state of the economy. It takes into account very little about the company it represents. All it cares about is fucking other machines over to rip off that one penny. Its it own cash machine. Just load her up and let her run. Its total bullshit especially when the box can "see" order flow in milliseconds faster than you can. This is in no way a market but a rigged game. When you see the exchanges allowing this type of behavior it says it needs help in providing liquidity. The exchange now has little liability. It provides the environment and takes its fees. This new business model is not in the interest of "investors". Having the need for stock exchanges is now no longer needed. It serves the public with no social benefit whatsoever. Gone are the days of the original intent - to provide a means to raise capital for a new upcoming business. Today it is all about sustaining a company as bagholders have to trip over themselves to get in and out.
the stock market or the financial markets has been always been a playground for the rich. the average joe retail investor don't have the fund to invest and is better off investing in their own house or invest in their own business or paying off credit cards. most average joe are in the market via their pensions and company retirement plans. or gov't pensions and gov't investment plans and life insurance companies.. everybody has life insurance... institutions is how average joe is in the market whether they want to or not. even the gov't is in the market whether they want to or not.
As much as I would love to see it happen, I don't think we will ever see another 1999 again. That was just too easy. But I do agree with you that markets, and everything associated with them, move in cycles. Retail interest will eventually return.
If a liberal doesn't like abortions, she doesn't get one. If a conservative doesn't like abortions, s/he wants abortions made illegal. If a liberal doesn't like the Harry Potter series, s/he doesn't read it. If a conservative doesn't like the Harry Potter series, s/he wants it banned from the schools. If a liberal doesn't like lewd and lascivious music, s/he doesn't buy it or listen to it. If a conservative doesn't like lewd and lascivious music, s/he wants it banned from Wal-Mart. If a liberal who's been laid off during the recession and unable to get a job for over a year chalks up huge medical bills due to a major illness or accident and can't pay those bills, s/he declares bankruptcy. If a conservative who's been laid off during the recession and unable to get a job for over a year chalks up huge medical bills due to a major illness or accident and can't pay those bills, s/he declares bankruptcy. If you're a liberal or a conservative who thinks it's us vs. them, I suggest taking a multi-month break from blogs, television, and talk shows and reading some Noam Chomsky. And in keeping with the spirit of this thread: We had a big multi-family dinner with several friends last night and every one of them either never got back into the market after the 2008 crash, or if they did, they cashed out last week.