The End Of The Euro And The End Of The Investor
BusinessInsider.com
Dec. 29, 2011
Oh, sure, don’t get me wrong, there may still be a Euro a year from now. And there’ll certainly be some investors left.
But the Euro, if it manages to survive, will have to do so in what can only be characterized as a radically different form and shape. At the same time, small mom and pop stock investors will be few and far between; there’s no money in the “traditional” stock markets, as they’ve found out – once more – in 2011. Many will also need what money they still have in stocks to pay down various kinds of other obligations.
As for the stock markets, I found it greatly ironic that on December 23, the S&P 500 was up for the year. Yesterdays markets plunge did away with that irony, but given the psychological importance, I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the slim trading volume between Christmas and New Year’s, one party or another will make sure the number comes in positive anyway.
What strikes me in all this is the disparity between the S&P and financial stocks. It’s unreal. If mom and pop hold bank stocks, they’re not very likely to have turned a profit. If pension funds are anything to go by (they lost big time this year), mom and pop had lean turkey at their holiday family parties.
The Rest…HERE
