Fireworks!!!

Harvey Organ, Saturday, May 28, 2011

Fireworks!!!

 

Guest Post: How “Social Proof” Helps Smart Investors 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/28/2011 11:51 -0400

The mechanics of social proof, while somewhat complex, are pretty easy to understand. Simplistically, we humans have a strong tendency to glance over at other members of the herd in an attempt to gauge the correct action or reaction to take in any given circumstance. While this tendency can be useful in identifying the right bread plate to use at a fancy dinner party, it can also have devastating consequences. In one of the most notorious examples of the downside of social proof, in 1964 Kitty Genovese was slowly murdered on a New York sidewalk over the course of about 30 minutes, despite 40 or so witnesses, none of whom took action. They figured someone else would. In any event, understanding the concept of social proof – and its close cousin “social convention” – seems to me to be of fundamental importance to us as members of the human race, and as investors. As far as the former is concerned, if you ever find yourself doing the same thing as everyone else, it should concern you. Stop and ask whether you are doing the thing because you want to or because you think it is the right thing to do – or are you doing it just because it’s what everyone else does? As for the latter, if you rely on the cues coming from the mainstream financial media and officialdom, you would likely believe the country has exited the latest economic crisis and will now steadily make progress towards a return to normalcy. The seeming disconnect between the true state of the world’s economy and the public reaction is actually not a particularly bad thing for those who have their eyes open. After all, anyone who can see what’s coming, while the masses do not, has the opportunity to get positioned in investments that will do well when the truth of the situation becomes evident to all. But there are matters much more important in this life than money-making. 

 

 

 

 

 

Things That Make You Go Hmmm - Such As Mass "Dumbing Down" Courtesy Of 24 Non-Stop "News" (And The Emergence Of Captain Obvious) 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/28/2011 11:25 -040

Two days ago, we presented Dylan Grice's latest thoughts on the substantial futility of trading the news cycle. Yet as Grice readily pointed out, and as even Taleb would glumly admit, what humans lose in the noise factor by avoiding the constant blasting of news, they make up for in entertainment value. And therein lies the rub: more than anything, people (or at least the vast majority)want to be entertained, ostensibly even more than the desire to make money on actionable, and properly filtered, ideas. The human brain has gotten accustomed to an information barrage of 140 letter updates, often times on a second by second basis, which in turn has crippled the ability to filter out the important from the irrelevant. Grant Williams of "Things that make you go hmmm" takes the idea one step further, and makes the claim that ever since the emergence of the 24 Hour newscycle, from its inception by CNN (also known as the CNN Effect), and currently peaking with each and every major news network having its own business new channel, accompanied by dramatic "breaking news" music, the net effect has been the substantial stupefaction of the broader global population: "Somewhere between the early 1990s and today, however, the 24-hour news cycle has, in your humble scribe’s opinion at least, become largely responsible for the ‘dumbing-down’ of the masses." Elsewhere this is also known as the "keep your eyes off the ball" effect, so well manipulated by those in control to mask what is really important with the repeated blasting of that which is truly irrelevant. Yet in another example of self-referential, deprecating and allegoric prose fit for TS Eliot (who pushed the premise of contextual and voluntary hyperlinking 70 years before the invention of the Internet), Williams makes his piece "entertaining" by presenting that number one construct of modern media: Captain Obvious. "In the investment world, this tear in the headspace/time continuum has meant that investors are unable to focus on all the issues brought to their attention and consequently they tend to suffer bouts of panic or euphoria over a certain subject before being distracted by the next piece of  news and moving on (remember Fukushima? It’s still not completely under control in case you were wondering). This strange situation in turn led to the spectacular resurgence in recent years of a Superhero – a man who, for years, has been omniscient in playgrounds the world over but has now become a fixture in more adult environs. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Captain Obvious." In case it is not obvious where this is headed, read on...

Goldman Explains Why It Lowered Its S&P Forecast From 1,500 To 1,450 

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/28/2011 10:47 -0400

It only took Goldman less than 5 months to roundtrip on its latest S&P 500 forecast (from January 7, "We are raising both our 2011 and 2012 S&P 500 earnings estimates by $2 per share to $96 and $106...we are raising our year-end 2011 price-target to 1500") - much better than the 3 weeks it took the firm to flip flop on oil. Just out from Goldman's David Kostin, who has finally started his retreat, which we believe will end at 1,250 before QE3 is formally announced: "We have reduced our S&P 500 2012 EPS estimate to $104 from $106 and lowered our 2011 year-end price target to 1450 from 1500. We now expect S&P margins to peak in 2011 and decline slightly in 2012. Those changes reflect forecast revisions for lower global GDP growth, higher oil prices and more inflation. At the sector level we recommend overweight positions in Energy and Consumer Staples and underweight in Consumer Discretionary and Utilities. We expect stocks with strong revenue growth to outperform those relying on margin expansion to grow earnings and recommend buying our High Revenue Growth basket."