Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Trading on visuals?

It was a month or two ago when video footage from Greece set VXX shares on a rocket launch from the mid-20s to 30-plus at warp speed. I haven't seen anything today, being that I just got up from bed a half-hour ago. But the photos online are disturbing enough to explain some of the bearish tone.

As always, Business Insider is atop the mountain of that bearish sentiment with these photos of Greek riots getting physical and dangerous. This one looks like a hairdresser getting pissed at a cop who won't agree that her job is truly toxic and she needs to retire at 52 (or whatever their preposterous early retirement age is). Sure, it's a wonder that the Greeks sincerely believe that they're entitled to a certain lifestyle that the rest of the civilized world doesn't have — of course, we all want to retire young — and yet they go about this mess seemingly hippie-style. I'm not encouraging radical action, but this will not last. Armed revolt, this is not. These guys are thinking like the kung fu masters during the Boxer Rebellion. That ended rather quickly. If it gets worse, this is bullets versus human flesh. No contest.

While they're bitching about having to work until age 55 or 65 like the rest of us on Planet Earth, the Greeks are driving much-needed cash right out of the country. Guess they don't need the money. I suppose tourists could return to the Parthenon or whatever. Or come to Hawaii, land of peace and people who aren't rioting in the streets.

I don't plan any trades on Greece, though I might have tried some VXX much earlier today had I not been blissfully asleep.

Photo: AP

No comments: