Lucmee

False Data Clobbers the Markets

Folderol & Flatulence!! Anybody with an ounce of sense can see that the "real" unemployment numbers are significantly above what's reported due to the fact that those that run out of benefits drop completely off of the radar... And job creation numbers are fictional in that a person who was making $25/hr and now makes $9/hr is still considered fully employed without taking into consideration the impact on that person's spending patterns. I certainly don't blame anyone who's significantly invested in any kind of market for climbing on the nearest soapbox and saying whatever they feel necessary to protect their nest eggs... But that won't stop the chickens from ultimately coming home to roost. And as to Apple.. As much of a fanboy that I am... If Jobs is aware of his real or potential health issues and doesn't have a strong succession plan in place... Then Apple will pay the price for having been a personality driven company...C'est la vie. As to Oil... the truth is that it's getting harder to get the stuff out of where it's at... While you may smell a buck or three's profit in that fact... Remember that you may eat that profit up paying the resultant high fuel prices, along with the attendant commodity price hikes. Additionally... China and India will definitely produce a burgeoning middle class that will produce greater stresses upon the current resources... ergo.... The USA will have to adjust to using a more sensible share of resources than it's currently used to. This will be looked upon as hardship and jingoists will squawk that the the USA is "entitled" to the easy life... And there will lie the rub... There will either be conflict or cooperation... And the markets will ultimately reflect whichever path is taken.