Markets Around the World Are Marching in Lock Step - NY Times

[applegrove]

Markets Around the World Are Marching in Lock Step
NY Times
By FLOYD NORRIS
Published: July 28, 2007

"Five months after stock markets around the world were shaken by a 9 percent plunge in the value of Chinese stocks, the markets have again come under severe pressure — this time made in America.

Wall Street Has Worst Week in Nearly 5 Years (July 28, 2007)
Economy Expands 3.4%; Interpretation Is Debated (July 28, 2007) And China could not stop it.

But even after the worst week for the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index in nearly five years, the American market and most others remain higher than they were after the Feb. 27 sell-off that started in China and went around the world.

In between the two falls, the leader among stock markets was China, which basically failed to participate in this week’s downturn that affected most other markets in the world. Its stock market is almost 80 percent higher than it was after the Feb. 27 fall.

....SNIP"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/28/business/28markets.html?th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1185650457-MeVB5SZqB4An6yS+mvDuOg

[TwilightZone]

1. Thank you, Mr. Obvious.

Someone should explain to Mr. Norris that the economy in global and has been for a while.

It would be more surprising if the global markets did *not* somewhat reflect each other.

[speedoo]

4. Actually, Mr. Norris is one of the best at what he does.

Those who actually read him, rather than just the headlines, know this.

[TwilightZone]

5. My point is that his conclusions are not surprising.

People have been discussing the strength of the Chinese economy for some time now, and many have made the obvious prediction that it was in a position to become the world's strongest. The fact that it is now doing so - and is largely independent of outside influence - is not at all surprising. The growth in construction and manufacturing there in the past few years is without precedent.

By the way, I did read the article. Thanks for the condescending remark.

[speedoo]

6. Congratulations on reading the article.

However, your initial post, in addition to dissing Mr. Norris, only indicated that you had read the headline.

Sorry if you thought my defense of Mr. Norris was condescending, but I happen to think he's a very good financial writer and does not deserve to be called "Mr. Obvious".

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/business/bio-norris.html

There is a lot of ignorance around here regarding finance and economics (I'm not saying you are ignorant) and I think it's important that DUers know that Mr. Norris is worth paying attention to.

[Robbien]

2. Notice how the financial reports are all talking about

how much the market is higher than some previous point. They carefully bury how much the market fell.

MSM motto is they have to keep cheering the Dow on.

[applegrove]

3. There is definitely a psychological aspect to how the markets react to

news about themselves. I noticed that too. Let's hope. Cause when the markets tank the little guy gets hit first with job loss. The wealthy just have a bad few weeks.

[Robbien]

7. I read that JFK didn't know the country was in a depression

until he went off to college. Not that he didn't know that the Great Depression was going on, but that he didn't know what it really meant until he left the rarefied air of his family's social circle.

[applegrove]

8. That is very true. You only know what you are surrounded by. My parents

couldn't fathom for the longest time why I wasn't successful. Took them a bit to get that it is a tough world out there and all one touches doesn't always turn to gold. Now they get it. But they were Yuppies in the 1950s where getting a job was easy and, with two incomes, housing was cheap.