Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The S&P 500's Maginot Line (Musical Tribute)

Tumbling stocks, stronger dollar drive down oil

Oil prices tumbled below $83 a barrel Tuesday on a stronger dollar and a falling stock market as investors worried about the ongoing European financial crisis.

It seems like only yesterday (it was yesterday) that I was heckling the S&P 500's push through 1200.

Crossing the S&P 500's Rubicon v.23

The S&P 500 closed today at 1202.26. Can't you just feel the excitement in the air? We finally did it! Lucky #23! There's probably no turning back now.

Point of no return

Crossing the Rubicon is a metaphor for deliberately proceeding past a point of no return.

So what went wrong? Other than the obvious fact that it was the 23rd time we'd crossed the point of no return that is.

It's the S&P 500's Maginot Line!

Maginot Line

The surrender of the fort, in less than two days, allowed the invasion of France.



Now imagine me in the Maginot Line
Sitting on a mine in the Maginot Line

11 comments:

EconomicDisconnect said...

I thinbk it was general Patton who said:
"Fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man".
I agree!

Great bird in the last post! Can he/she speak? If so does it say "stagflation" or "Halo 3"?

mab said...

After the WW2, an enterprising chap tried selling French army rifles. IIRC, the marketing slogan was "never fired, dropped once".

Certified pre-owned = used.

EconomicDisconnect said...

mab,
now thats just mean. Funny, but mean. I like it.

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

She can't speak but she does make chirpy noises. Overall, that breed is very quiet and reserved though (which is why we picked her).

She'll hang upside down from the ceiling of her cage like a bat if she's concerned about something. That's kind of amusing to see.

Our lab mix "bird dog" absolutely respects her even though the dog weighs 100 times what she weighs. If I left them both alone together in a small room with her outside her cage, I'd no doubt need to provide dog therapy to one of them. Hahaha!

My girlfriend absolutely respects the bird in a similar way. Birdie has only bonded to me. She has a beak that can enforce her wishes and has body language to match. We call it "getting big".

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

Very amusing! Hahaha!

Here's some more as seen on the Internet.

Q: What’s the new French flag look like?
A: A white cross emblazoned on a white background!

Q: What Does "Maginot Line" mean in French?
A: "Speed bump ahead"

Going to war without the French on your side is like going hunting without an accordion.

Stagflationary Mark said...

As a side note, I'm apparently descended from the French. That's what my girlfriend tells me anyway. She's been trying to fill out family trees.

It would make sense. I've never actually fought in a war either. Hahaha! :)

Stagflationary Mark said...

One more thought.

Going to war without the French on your side is like going hunting without an accordion.

My dad did fight in World War II. He served on the battleship USS North Carolina.

If he was alive today, I'd share the accordion joke and he'd no doubt laugh. He played the accordion!

EconomicDisconnect said...

It took a few reads to get the accordion joke, I am a bit slow.

Stagflationary Mark said...

GYSC,

We just need to work on your silly analogy skills. They are probably just a bit rusty. That's all. Let's try again.

Making money in the stock market without Jim Cramer on our side is like flipping real estate without wearing our rubber clown noses.

See how that works? Neither Jim Cramer nor the clown noses actually helps us all that much. Hahaha!

Here's another one.

Figuring out what is wrong with this economy without having Ben Bernanke there to explain it to us is like...

Okay, that's a tougher one. I'm having a problem coming up with a goofy enough analogy to do it justice! :)

mab said...

Stag,

Figuring out what is wrong with this economy without having Ben Bernanke there to explain it to us is like... having a savings glut without savings....ba dum ching

Stagflationary Mark said...

mab,

Oh mab, you've outdone yourself! Hahaha!!!!