Amazing to check in on the frothy Shanghai Composite Index every night. Opened down 3% today, and was back to break-even in less than a half an hour. People speak of volatility and a bubble-like mentality in our markets, but the SSE is at a whole different level. I have no doubt that a lot of first time investors in China will take a beating when this thing turns.
Speaking of bubble bursting, I started trading stocks as a hobby in the mid 90s, so I was a close witness to our last bubble-bursting party. My sense is that most traders/investors on SI are at least as experienced as I am, and also remember this period well. My question is...how old is the average "pro" on wall street these days? Certainly a lot of the turdlets they parade out on CNBC are a lot younger than me (and, in my field, I'm still in training!) I think what I'm asking is, how old, on average, are the people that are forecasting the market, analyzing companies, and investing our nations' trillions of dollars in savings? How many of them lived through the dotcom collapse, and how many just read about it?
This isn't merely a rhetorical question. I invest as a hobby and know that there are professionals who make market analysis their life's work. If experienced people have good reasons to think this bull market will continue, I'd like to hear why before I lose my ass staying short. However, knowing the kind of wallstreet/investment banking jobs that were available to my college classmates at the age of 21, I'm a bit concerned who I'd be listening to. |
