“What’s It All About, Alfie?”

Terror, civil unrest, coups, and senseless slaughter; why are stock markets up?  Sometimes macro events shake equities to their core, but not this time.  The short answer is that the foregoing list has little to do with economics; at least at this point. Individual tragedies do not change earnings outlooks unless they rise to the level that peoples’ behaviors are changed.  These do not.

The fact that investors are willing to shrug off these recent tragedies, signals their growing maturity. We live in a less stable world; investors are adjusting.  Stock values are predominately set by earnings and interest rates.  Once we get back to those fundamentals, stocks are still attractive.  Look through extraneous events and stay steady, my friends.

The Lonely Bull