Past Wall Street Transgressions Make Good Headlines, Poor Market Indicators

by Steve Claussen on August 25th, 2009

The top three headlines in the Money and Investing section of the WSJ today are:

Regulators Examine Goldman’s Trade Tips

BofA Denies Misleading Its Investors on Bonuses

Charles Schwab takes on Cuomo

When markets drop as they did in 2008 the public wants villains and the media seems to have an endless supply. Today’s serving of news is a course in “evil” banks and brokers.

What I find interesting is the market’s reaction to these headlines.  The mini S&P 500 futures are actually predicting higher – opening up over half a percent.

This is likely due to the fact that the market is forward-looking, despite the headlines, and the misdeeds of 2008 are in the past. The crowd may still want someone to blame for the losses of last year, but it’s important to remember that last year’s transgressions have very little to do with forward earnings for companies and future prospects for the economy.

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