Yeah, it was Greece :-p

Man, what a day! No, not that the market fell down this morning but that everyone blamed Greece. As Mad Magazine once parodied, “all the news that fits, we print.”

Also, as someone who is faced with daily journalistic deadlines, as well as a publish or perish demand (no column, no paycheck) I know that you cannot blame the media. It’s like blaming the banks for charging fees. That’s what they are supposed to do.

Sometimes, the news does trump the charts and the market does move when something big happens. Scandal? Enron shares collapse. Fed prints more money? Up we go.

But how many times have you seen something like this?
Monday – Stocks fell as oil prices rose, stoking inflation fears.
Tuesday – Stocks fell as oil prices fell, signaling a slowdown in the economy.

Hmmmm.

Sometimes stocks go up or down because the collective pressure of buyers and sellers happened to tip one way or the other. Sometimes they move when a technical level is breached changing the market’s mood and the herd instinct kicks in.

So, yes, it was Greece today. Or was it France? How about Ireland tanking 3% in two trading days? You did not read about that one, did you?

Maybe the market got toppy because President Obama is ahead in the polls. Or maybe because Mitt Romney is ahead in the polls.

Follow your charts. The market knows better than people do.

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