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The speculators obviously have their heads in the sand. They seem to think the war is not threatening economies or that there were no major financial crashes in 1929 and 2007/8.
Can you develop that into a policy proposal please Bill. As your comment stands it sounds like you think speculators are going to lose money – good thing imv, but possibly a bad thing in your view.
And pension trustees at meetings around the country will be congratulating themselves on the increased returns they are making in their equity portfolios whilst the risk of food shortages lie ahead.
Speaking as someone who’s entire income is a UK based occupational pension plus a rather small ex-pat UK state pension I expect my trustees to continue managing the fund so as to maximise the future security of all the members.
That does not mean I am anything other than shocked and disgusted by the increasing depravity of Trumps words and actions.
The logic of modern markets is pure exploitation. For those with the money, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel. Capitalism was never supposed to be like this.
We should not blame an inanimate object – “markets” are not callous. I think you mean that some of the people operating in them are callous.
The term “markets” is not in my opinion technical, but a collective noun for those engaged in those technical processeas.
‘Markets’ are never disaggregated in that way to me Clive. They are always presented as a collective with a common sentiment.
But for sure, I agree that some members of markets act in bad faith and manipulate markets etc.
My point was that the term “markets” distances people from the consequences – “nuffin’ to do with me, guv – it’s the markets, innit”. No, traders need to look at themselves in the mirror and decide whether they like what they see.
BTW, that includes me, too. It is very easy to get wrapped up in trading as if it were a video game without a thought for the victims of this dreadful war.
If searching for logic…
1. The FTSE 100 is one of the few markets that is not overvalued in absolute terms, in relation to its history, and in relation to other developed markets.
2. The FTSE 100 is a play on rising energy prices and rising $. The last spike in energy prices saw the FTSE significantly outperform MSCI World.
2b. 15% 0f the market is oil, gas and mining.
3. The FTSE also has exposure to rising defence spending
So given valuations, sensitivity to energy prices and $, and other structural issues the UK market benefits from both defensive and structural factors. I’m overweight UK equities for that very reason and glad that the market is outperforming both its US and European peers.
An idiot had to turn up here.
It turned out it was you.
It’s not just stock markets though. Those energy markets — oil and gas. Some traders will have made a mint.
On so many levels, Neoliberal capitalism — the pleasure of making money from other people’s misery.
Markets don’t care how many civilians are killed, or where they die. As Frank Herbert put it, the spice must flow.
it is perfectly possible to play the markets and profit and then after tax use that gain for positive social causes, that is what i do as i am more than comfortably off. the markets are going to do what they are going to do regardless
No it is not.
That is exploiting others to extract rent from their labour. From Adam Smith on, the classical economists rightly condemned that.
Are you comfortable exploiting others? Why?