It’s Not Personal, It Just Feels That Way
I like today’s quote. Sometimes the market really does feel like it’s personally punishing you. The fact is, it is not interested in you, it just ebbs and flows as it always has, and will continue to do after you and I are through with it.
Good risk management and a proven strategy that wins more that it loses is the only thing between you and the success you seek. So in essence it’s not personal…it’s just math. Just as everything around us is math from the tiniest molecules to the rotation of the sun and beyond. All we get to control is how we act inside this math world.
My system is not perfect, but I am less perfect, so having a mechanical (math) system is better than me indiscriminately making decisions on some chart pattern or previous observation that may not actually “statistically” be an edge of any sort!
As I watch the market crash without me, I am not elated because I missed the carnage, I am acutely aware of what may lead to disaster if I let any success go to my head, You will never hear me brag of any wins (or in this case avoidance of potential losses), I must always remain humble towards the market, as although it’s not personal, it sure can feel that way sometimes, so treat the market with respect, do not be foolhardy just because it’s not actually personally out to get you. Instead, let it simply guide you via the only things that matter…price and the direction of the trend.
Market News:
U.S. stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, continuing losses into a fourth day, but came off session lows as crude reversed higher and after the release of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which had central bankers expressing hopes for better U.S. growth.
U.S. crude jumped 5.6 percent to settle above $48 a barrel. Perhaps a bottom is in place now?
Already sharply lower, stock futures fell harder ahead of the opening bell after the Commerce Department reported retail sales slid the most in a year last month, down 0.9 percent.
JPMorgan Chase dropped in early New York trading after reporting a decline in fourth-quarter profit; Wells Fargo also fell after the mortgage lender posted results in line with expectations.
Thursday:
Earnings before the bell: Bank of America, Citigroup
Earnings after the bell: Intel
8:30 a.m.: Jobless claims, weekly
8:30 a.m.: Empire State survey for January
10 a.m.: Philadelphia Fed survey
News Sources: CNN Money & CNBC