Global Stocks: Harris, Trump, Buffett and Newton

• Global stock markets have come under pressure in early August, for a number of reasons. 
• Seasonally, this is a down time for the three major US stock indexes, putting the focus on seasonal analysis as the study of averages. 
• This past weekend saw headlines of a rate increase by the Bank of Japan and news Berkshire Hathaway had spent the past quarter selling stocks, most notably Apple. 

Every day that goes by, I regret my decision from 40 years ago to change majors from Mathematics to Political Science. Not because I was such a good mathematician, I wasn’t. Those that know me best will quickly vouch for the fact I’m not interested in the absolutes required in math. (This made the relationship between me as a grain merchandiser and the company’s meticulous grain accountant a bit strained way back when, to say the least.) No, my regret for going into Poli Sci is that I understand the psychology, and lack of intelligence, that are the hallmarks of US (world?) politics. As the recent break in global stock markets was taking place the last few days, folks on both sides of the US political aisle were already finger-pointing as to “why”. Not surprisingly, we quickly saw phrases like “Kamala Crash” and “Trump Dump” making the rounds, despite the fact neither had much to do with immediate market developments. As we know, though, the folks doing most of the talking about global investment markets aren’t interested in reality. The headlines and catch phrases aren’t as sexy.