Haphazard Linkages

The US election is history. The dust has settled and life reverts to the dreariness of the usual. It is an appropriate time to pause awhile and look at some intriguing outcomes of the election. Voting is perceived as an activity centred around individual voter self-interest. Well-balanced, informed voter base is an assumption that is considered unworthy of a re-examination. While the self-interest angle is quite palpable, the gamut o f reasons put forth by voters on picking a certain candidate are often mired in v agueness .  The following is an edited excerpt of an recent email exchange with a friend. HaLin wasn't eligible for voting, but under the garb of a market participant, had much practical interest in the outcome. This post is a summary of events as they happened . Does individ ual rational behaviour lead to collective rational ou t come? I t is time to dive in to the world of individual definitions , nomenclature and qualitative perceptions. ----------...

In a chaotic world, a barrage of mirages can, sometimes, be confused for reality. In an environment of sustained negative developments and events, it seems somewhat paradoxical for misplaced hope to find an audience. The second part in the Mind Of The Marke t series ( Part I, here ) will focus on recent elections in Greece and France, and the culture of all-is-well and misplaced hope that pervades market participant positioning. Paradoxically even as mainstream media resonates with negative undertones, participant actions paint another story. ----------- Greeks came, voted a second time, and all seemed well. Again. For a disaster seemed averted. Greeks avoided Tspirageddon and offered the reins to a pro-bailout coalition led by New Democracy and PASOK, to steer them through the new phase in a never-ending saga. The flight of deposits that had begun from Greek coffers into banks in stronger EU countries (run-rate approx. EUR 800 mm per day) seemed like a costly hedge to tho...