Deep Thoughts: Markets will rise and fall...

President Obama, on 8/8/2011, in a speech given after S&P's ratings downgrade, seemed to be channeling Forrest Gump when he said: "Markets will rise and fall..." -- true enough, but market movements are not random; those movements are not a primal force of nature. They are the result of untold numbers of people making decisions about the present and future state of the economy. Or even a side effect of "monetary easing" blowing equity bubbles, followed by subsequent bubble deflation.

When the market falls fast and far, it means something. Perhaps it tells us about the collective mood of the "investors" or their proxies. That mood may be irrational, but irrationality in the markets works in both directions, up and down.

And no, the stock market is not like a box of chocolates.