BizJournals Portfolio
Home >   Business Views, Opinions and Blogs >   Business Blogs >   Market Movers >  

Ignoring The Stock Market

Market Movers

by Felix Salmon
Main
When Mutual Funds Reopen for Business   Endowments Dump Private Equity Stakes

Recent Blog Posts

Links

Dec 01 2008 1:06pm EDT

Ignoring the Stock Market

This is what a yawn sounds like. The Dow's down 450 points, the S&P 500 is off more than 6% -- and this news, if it can be called news, is nowhere to be seen on the NYT's home page. Over at wsj.com, it's there, but somewhat less important than a story about Ford maybe selling Volvo. At FT.com it's much the same story: the official designation that the current recession began a year ago, and the utterly unsurprising nomination of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, are (rightly) considered more important than a stock-market move which even a few months ago would have been considered grounds for serious concern.

It's a slow news day, and there's nothing which could reasonably be considered able to move markets this much -- yet that doesn't stop markets from swinging wildly. Just imagine, however, what people would be saying if the Clinton nomination hadn't been flagged in advance. Stocks plunge on Clinton news! Hell, I'm sure someone's going to try it. But it does go to show how useless market reports are.

. □

blog comments powered by Disqus
Real Business, Real Results
Out of the 'Family'

Did anyone at Microsoft ever watch the (gasp!) offensively funny show Family Guy?

Cruz Missile Lands

Ex-Morgan Stanley exec Zoe Cruz is now heading her own hedge fund. Are Wall Street's leaders done?

Scandal Chic

Martha, Bernie and Skilling know that what you wear for court can go a long way in public perception.

spotlight on

Health Care

Bad to the Bone No More

Companies such as General Mills say they're stepping up efforts to change employees' bad behavior and promote healthier lifestyles. Read More