Failure is not an option seems to be the message coming out of the Market this week.
 
Earlier this year the Market gave every indication that  it had decided to begin its march upwards and take us out of the recession.  By then we had experienced the meltdown which produced anywhere from 50% to 60% losses in the portfolios of all investors, rich or poor, both here and elsewhere around the world. 
 
It began with the now documented March 9 bottom, and continued for nearly two months through early June.  Then in mid June the Market stopped.  Many, including yours truly, felt it was a well needed rest and correction and something the Market usually does when it rises after hitting a bottom.  However, as the Market continued down into early July culminating in three successive down weeks, I along with many others began fastening seat belts and preparing for what appeared to be a Second Bear Market rather than a correction. 
 
The Market is the Market and it cares not how we interpret its gyrations.  Much to everyone's surprise, this week the Market decided to make an about face once again with volume buying and stock prices rising.  Go Figure!  To say that this market is a difficult one to work in is an understatement.  Where investors are prone to looking for consistency and predictability, this market is 180 degrees in opposite.

 

There is but one thing certain in 2009; we live in very turbulent times.  Let me set the stage once again for the reader.  First, we are involved in a Market that has gone through a severe decline, and which daily must absorb the incessant bombardment of negative reports on the economy, debt, and unemployment.  With that, we have patient money managers and institutions, both here and abroad, with trillions in funds to invest trying to analyze proper entry points for their portfolios. 
 
You therefore have what can simply be termed "opposites in conflict."  Bad news trying to send the market down, anxious investors wanting to get in and send the market up.  Who is going to win?
 
I believe that investors will win.  If there is any testament to the power of investors it is this week.  By all accounts, this Market should have gone into a second Bear.  After all, what news is there that anything significant has changed?  Certainly not that much this week.  Banks are still not loaning money.  The Government is still looking at bailouts and increased debt.  People are cutting back and employment, well...you get the picture.  Yet money is flowing into the market and prognosticators and analysts are now saying the Market is "undervalued."
 
Make no mistake about it this year's market ride will not be a smooth one.  But does it have to be?  We just need to retrain our minds into looking at the inherent volatility as being consistent for "this market cycle."  I am encouraged by this weeks bounce and look forward to having more positive, rather than negative, news going forward.  Failure is not an option!
 
Have a great weekend!