New Laws of the Stock Market Jungle, The: An Insider’s Guide to Successful Investing in a Changing World

Chapter 8. Form and Fantasy

Substance and reality increasingly give way to form and fantasy.

The stock market is something of a paradox. On the one hand, it is a place where numbers rule, where people generally know where they stand, and where the consequences of poor decision-making can be financially devastating. On the other hand, it is a world where dreams can seem real, where emotions can overshadow rationality, and where those who can talk—or trade, if Figure 8.1 is any guide—often have more influence than those who can think. Although this bipolar reality has long been a feature of the share-trading arena, the Bubble years seemed to have been both a trigger for and a reflection of a general shift in favor of the chimerical. In many ...