Stock Market Volatility in 2008
As the reigning Lord of Apple I am painfully aware of the massive fluctuations of the stock market over the last few months. Earlier this year my golden parachute was worth more than a small African nation. Now, after taking repeated triple-digit losses over the last month or so, my stocks are now only worth a small fortune. So what’s the deal?
Speculation & Panic
Right now the stock market is being driven by speculation and panic as much as it’s being driven by market forces. I agree that the economy is getting a rude reality check. Real estate prices are crashing down to join the “real world” again and luckily our banks were smart enough to give interest-only, ARMs to people who can’t pay off their credit cards, let alone their mortgages. This left the banks holding the bag on defaulted loans, but these bankers were smart enough to get the government to step in and be their whipping boy (I knew they weren’t entirely stupid.) So yes, the economy really does suck right now and the stock market should be trending flat or downward. Massive triple digit swings (what’s up with the nearly 900-point gain yesterday?) are NOT healthy. These companies are not doing anything to merit 10% changes in their valuation.
The only exception would be Apple, which every day sells enough iPhones to arm a new squadron of Apple iTroopers. So please continue to drive Apple’s stock price up, my golden parachute needs a bit more bling. (That means you Michael Arrington. There isn’t a single Apple story on your home page right now. Get on it before I take away your iPhone)
Tags: 2008, Apple, stock market, volatility
