MARKET TAOISM

All of us, sooner or later, take a seat at the table of consequences.
                                                     Robert Louis Stevenson

Taoism is an ancient philosophy about living in harmony with the Tao or the way.

In brief, it's both source and force, the mysterious something driving everything that exists. Like the stock market, it's ineffable.

What's interesting about the market today is anytime anyone it seems starts questioning the validity of this bull market how quickly media mavens and other talking heads pounce on them with all four feet.

In many ways it's quite similar to the general mood of the country. Say you're for or against something, anything, and someone for damn well sure will take you to task. And more than likely sooner rather than later.

And in case you have yet to notice, the same holds true with research. Bulls and bears go back and forth spewing out their data almost as regularly as any big city rapid transit train.

In the nation's National Cesspool it's called gridlock. Don't laugh, but someone wrote a book about the stock market, a pretty decent one at that, titled The Tao Jones Averages. It's a book about left brain, right brain, total brain investing, assuming much of that is really around.

Stevenson's remark is probably more appropriate about today's long running bull market than many want to believe let alone accept. Few want to see a good party peter out. Now we don't know how long it will take this charade to play itself out, but it's a safer than an even bet the time remaining is much shorter than what we've enjoyed until now.

Sooner or later those consequences will hit not only the market but the Fed and the hoards of income-hungry, yield-starved. For now with the Dow up nearly 124 points at mid-day following yesterday's tragic Malaysian air carrier story, it appears as if, as one scribe today emotionally put it, "Its lost touch with reality."

In the short run, a good 9% to 12% correction would most likely keep this overgrown dandelion breathing a bit longer than otherwise. Like the people who play it, the market is many things. Irrespective of what anyone thinks, one day it will roll over like a scolded dog with all four paws in the air.

How long will that take to happen? Perhaps the best answer is a Taoist answer: "How ever long it takes"

And that has little if anything to do with reality.
t. man hatter