Financial Fortune Cookie: "No one can build his security upon the nobleness of another person." -- Willa Cather
Sorry Willa, never met ya, but I respectfully disagree. The stock market since 2010 has built its security on the nobleness (from perspective he is risking his legacy to promote a recovery today by rewriting the Fed's playbook) of one person: Ben Bernanke. Just imagine where stocks would be sans electronic injections of cash into bank coffers and the corresponding decline in interest rates. I am not waxing poetic about the Fed's meddling in free markets by any means, only serving up a truth that is linked to the aftermath of a deep and scary recession.
I am well aware that on occasion it appears that I joke around when dishing advice on the market and stocks (for example on Twitter @BrianSozzi). You would be 100% accurate, as I refuse to be the boring blowhard mailing it in and forgetting the attention to detail that brought success to the fore. Finance should be engaging, intertwined with life experiences. It makes for a clear, focused head when conducting due diligence on a company or running stock screens. But for today only, I want to flip the switch and morph into Johnny Boring as, honestly, the break in the rally that began a week ago is signaling that the next few weeks of trading will hinge on comments, and then actions, from Bernanke.
If you are a serious investor then Bernanke should be the most important person your life right now. You need not be concerned with cash hoards on corporate balance sheets. Mitt Romney's RNC speech could be dissected later. That pair of underwear on the floor? Toss it in the hamper later on. It's Bernanke Time and I am telling you that should one link be missed, it will bring a painful shock to the portfolio or a day spent trying to catch the attention of a broker offering a stock at a higher price than milliseconds earlier.
Here is how to get your mind around Bernanke: Jackson Hole III
