Ron/gaj:
Congrats on the great year. It just goes to show that there is money to be made in every market condition, you just have to adjust to what the market is offering.
While possible, I think it's quite unlikely that the transaction tax will become law. Such a tax would likely result in hundreds of thousands of lost jobs in the financial sector, in addition to a likely doubling of the average bid/ask spread of most stocks, causing large losses for the investing public. while admitting that politicians of both parties can be idiots, I simply don't think that they would make another silly law with massive unintended consequences. In that respect, it reminds me of the 'luxury tax' a decade or so ago, that virtually wiped out several industries (yachts, small airplanes, etc), costing thousands of jobs, before it was repealed as a big mistake.
I sure hope that we can see a result of some volume and especially volatility in the market in 2010. In any case, I firmly believe that I've already witnessed the best trading period in my lifetime, which we saw in 2008. Nice to have been a trading during that period, as I'm sure many will be talking about it for decades to come. |
