My uncle is a day trader. Retired from the police force, he spends his mornings in his Florida dream home (something he bought after becoming a successful day trader) and bets on the market. He does very well for himself. Speaking with him several weeks ago, while the debt ceiling "negotiations" were in full tilt, he let me know that it didn't matter if the country defaulted because he was "shorting the whole thing." I'm sure many of you already realized this, but it dawned on me: the stock market HAD TO CRASH even if a debt agreement was reached. There were too many people betting on that to happen.
My uncle is not alone. Even Eric Cantor was accused in the middle of the debt ceiling debacle of shorting the market and profiting from the inevitable crash. You may have heard of the infamous "Black Sox," the Chicago White Sox baseball team of 1919 (http://en.wikipedia.org/...) that threw the world series because they bet against their own team. That is exactly what is going on with the stock market today (or more specifically, yesterday).
It is no coincidence that the nation of Greece decided to put a moratorium on shorting, a process that has devastated that country: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
But the "big short" is over. Yesterday was the big day to sell for those who shorted the period leading up to the debt ceiling deal. Those shorting the market can buy again today at discounted prices and make tons of money--my uncle included.
Yup, and it appears that is exactly what is going on: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Now, back to our regularly scheduled program...