Global Stock Markets Don’t Care What Happens on Planet Earth
During the worst possible combination of events worldwide, stock markets are at an all-time high. A pandemic with no control in sight dominates the headlines, the final chapter of an American presidency brings anarchy and mob destruction to the halls of the U.S. Congress, major international corporations go bankrupt at unprecedented levels and 40% of employable job-seekers are out on the street…
…but the Dow Jones industrials are setting records
Fact of the matter is, if you have the coins and like to play the slots you’re unlikely to care if the streets are aflame in an America you broke away from. Oh you might live here but for all accounts and purposes you’re from another planet.
That’s what it means to be a member of the 10 percent. You belong to a segment of society whose income is such that it withstands all outside threats and you play the market like a ten-year-old plays video games.
If it goes down, sell short. Any bet is a winner
My point is not to rail against those who have it made, but to explain how in a world of chaos profits can still be rolled into the next spin of the wheel.
Fact: The planet is awash in money. Not your money and my money, but accumulated capital that is so large it can’t possibly keep from getting larger. Not to be too hard on Jeff Bezos, but when personal earnings amount to an average of $321 million a day, it’s more than you can spend. Consider, Jeff bought The Washington Post newspaper for $250 million. Not a share of it, the whole thing.
Fact: There are 2,825 billionaires in the world.
Fact: They have to put their money somewhere
Congratulations. Now you know why the markets are soaring
In a heads-I-win, tails-you-lose sort of way these investors are today’s modern gamers. And most of them don’t really even play the game, they just watch the numbers go up. They’re so disconnected from the financial world that others (well-paid others) make the bets. Sometimes it’s done by algorithms they may not even know exist.
You and I are not in that game, partly because we couldn’t sustain a loss but mostly because the entry fee is beyond our means.
But that’s not fair
Indeed it’s not, but great wealth has never been equally distributed, nor should it.
I just wanted you to understand why the market is high when your spirits are low.
You’re welcome. Have a good day.
Photo Credit: Getty Images