What a great week.
As my wife likes to continually remind me, “it’s not always about you,” but then again, I don’t really see her TheAcsWoman site anywhere, now do I?
But this was a great week, even as it isn’t always about the stock market.
The stock market basically did nothing on the week, but who cares?
Ordinarily, my answer to that rhetorical question would be “I do,” but this week was different.
It was different because, despite political differences and still some astonishment as I watched the Inauguration, still wondering how both political parties could have failed so badly as to get us to this point, it became clear that what hasn’t failed is our nation’s ability to move forward.
That explains why I attended one of the Inaugural Balls last night, although I did try to keep a low profile, due to my well-known political ties on the other side of the aisle.
I made the mistake, though, of being in the same place and the same time as the famed Eddy Elfenbein, of Crossing Wall Street and, so, it was hard to escape the cameras.
But the point is that the process is one that reflects greatness, as does peaceful protest.
So I’m excited about what next week brings, which now brings me back to the stock market and how the stock market affects me, because it is all about me.
Even as the post-election day “Trump Rally” has faded of late and the march toward DJIA 20,000 has slowed, I have been loving 2017.
So far, there has been an opportunity to make at least one trade in each and every single trading day of the year and that has gotten me filled with life and optimism.
As the S&P 500 was down 0.1% on the week, I had the opportunity to trade on 8 positions for the week and it was only a 4 day week, at that.
That brought the number up to 27 positions traded for the month, which at least gave my brokerage some hope after a moribund 2016
Who says “Hope” is something proprietary to the Obama years?
The coming year, though, will be filled with lots and lots of challenges.
An increasing sense of not knowing what comes next doesn’t help things, nor does the sense that there is likely to be an inflationary trend on the way.
I’m willing, though, to provide the benefit of the doubt, but as opposed to an overwhelming tendency to deny being wrong on a stock selection, the benefit of the doubt may not extend too long as rhetoric gives way to action.
So far, the action, perhaps just meant to be symbolic, hasn’t been very encouraging, but there’s always tomorrow.
Of course, the cynic in me says that tomorrow will likely be worse, but that’s an issue for the day after tomorrow.
But, as long as I can bury my head in the sand and cover it with the cash coming from all of those trades, is there really anything bad going on if you stay ignorant?
That works for me.