The Obama honeymoon did not last as long as it took him and Chief Justice Roberts to stumble through the Oath of Office, requiring them to take a “mulligan.” There is a lot of hope among average citizens and high approval ratings for the new President, but plenty of skepticism from the Wall Street pundits.

Trading Obama

The market is waiting for specifics on TARP, housing, and the stimulus package.  A large portion of the punditry is prepared to criticize any plan as one or more of the following:

Too large or too small;
Adding excessively to debt or crushing revenues;
Laden with pork or not aimed at real projects;
Emphasizing tax cuts (where people will not spend) or emphasizing government, where public spending crowds out private expenditures;
Restoring normal lending versus doing more of “what got us here.”

Viewed from this perspective, it is pretty clear that no policy …

Readers of “A Dash” know that we are not attempting to describe or explain every zig and zag of the market.  It is not that we lack opinions; it is just not our purpose.  By way of contrast, each day we write a market commentary for our clients on our private blog.  For our investors, we discuss what is currently happening with special attention to the positions we own.

Background:  Explaining the Daily Market

This daily exercise puts us in the position of the journalist, looking at the blank page and needing to write something intelligent to describe market action.  The journalist has no choice.  Something must be written.  Tomorrow’s readers need an definitive explanation.

One of the biggest traps for the smart investor or trader is the often persuasive commentary about recent market action.