Author James Playsted Wood once wrote, “The thing that most affects the stock market is everything.” The point rings true because there are so many factors that impact the markets. Just off the top of my head, you have earnings, the economy, interest rates, inflation, the Fed, government spending, investor risk appetite, innovation, demographics, dividend yields, stock buybacks, price trends, Nic Cage movies and a whole host of other variables. It’s never just one thing that moves the markets. But there are certain times where a single variable seemingly trumps all others. Right now some people would say that ... (full story)