Posted by Davy on November 29th, 2007 in Market Commentary, Pundits
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Michael Pascoe runs a daily podcast that focuses on the Australian markets. Yesterday’s morning podcast led off with (paraphrasing), “If anyone can figure out the American stock market, please clue me in.”

There have been at least 2 or 3 closes in the last month or so where the market was down big and came roaring back at the close. You actually had the commentators on Bloomberg shrug their shoulders and admit they had no clue why the market rallied. The people on Fast Money actually brought up the Plunge Protection Team (PPT).

I haven’t talked too much about PPT and general government intervention in the markets (beyond the Fed’s totally visible hand). I just take it as a given that the markets are manipulated to some extent.

But to see these GDP headlines of 4.9% growth while the Fed is looking to cut at least 25bp … if you don’t think something funny is going on, then you deserve what’s coming to you.

I’ll say it once again. It’s so funny to see a field like the investment profession, filled mainly with anti-government leaning conservatives, take government data at face value.