A Farm Pops Up in My Dreams

I awakened startled as a pretty farm framed my television screen. But, whose? I’m not a farmer.  I’m a stock market operator who deals in numbers, not shovels and seeds. The market doesn’t want Coca-Cola today.  It craves technology stories, even airlines. Tesla may be up 4% but United Airlines is ahead 6% and Citigroup almost 5%. What’s going on? Does the market sniff closure on the war. Trump could declare victory and withdraw our troops. 

I kept my fingers crossed and added to my Apple and Amazon. These are rich man stocks. They sell in the hundreds and can fluctuate daily by half a dozen points or more. 

The deep basic with the market is Trump’s speech-making. His utterances can take down the market and recovery can be stretched out. 

What’s a 94-year-old market operator up to by dreaming about building a spiffy new horse farm? The dream blew me away and made me anxious. Was it telling me to stop trading? To fold my tent and retire? 

For over 50 years, I’ve kept a farm for my dressage horses. No longer an active competitor, but I do ride 6 days a week. The barn closes on Mondays when we do laundry and give my boys a day of rest. What is an old guy doing by dreaming of a spanking new facitlity?  Is this a bid for immortality, totally uncalled for and foolish? 

The traditional investment portfolio as advocated by banks and other large money pool advisors doesn’t work out these days. Politics overrides economics. I’m 25% long and unhappy. Anyone 60% long or more has to be hurting. He’s just a patient loser waiting for Trump to make him whole. 

There’s no such thing as a safe growth stock. Properties like MIcrosoft, Tesla and Meta are at least 100 points below their highs and acting poorly. 

I expect to remain underinvested until Trump, the wrecking ball,  is neutralized on market impact. The price of oil is his leading indicator and no sign yet of any collapse. If anything, the chances of a third world war were never higher.