In this week's Off The Cuff podcast, Chris and Charles Hugh Smith discuss:
- Manipulated Markets
- How the Fed uses stocks as a signaling device
- House Of Cards
- Why the system is more vulnerable than ever
- The Machines Are In Control
- Which works well until it doesn't
- Beware The Misbehavior Of Markets
- They are not as predictable as we think
Decades ago, Benoit Mandelbrot wrote The (Mis)behavior of Markets, which demonstrated that markets are intrinsically chaotic and not as predictable as the human mind thinks. "Low-probability" events happen much more often then we expect, and unless we are living through exceptionally tranquil times, conventional portfolio management is invalid.
Well, the choke-hold that the Fed has had around the market's throat for the past 5+ years is beginning to loosen — by design, by loss of control, or likely a bit of both.