Some interesting macro factors have “suddenly” come into play over the past few days, but the question still remains – “does anything fundamental even matter to this market”?
Markets shrugged off the concerns in Ukraine, which in my opinion is very strange as “if anything” – the fighting / conflict / killing has only escalated! What started out as people throwing rocks in the street has now progressed to full on military assaults involving helicopters, fighter jets, tanks etc….
And now “suddenly” a good part of Iraq has been taken over! Practically overnight ISIS, the brutal insurgent/terrorist group formerly known as al Qaeda in Iraq, has seized much of western and northern Iraq with eyes now set on Baghdad. Incredible.
If not under the complete and total control of Central Bankers news like this would / should normally have “ROCKED” markets but of course…..not these days as….these aren’t “our markets”. The distance between rationality / fundamentals and “absolute ridiculous manipulation” has never been greater.
Will either of these “new wars” put a crimp in global appetite for risk? Maybe we should throw in the World Bank’s recent “slashing” of global growth prospects as well. 2014 estimates slashed from 3.2% to 2.8% – with the U.S specifically cut from 2.8% to 2.1%.
Is that even considered growth?
Looking ahead…..this thing is a train wreck “slowly gathering speed”.
Those on the sidelines should actually consider themselves lucky.