I'm not suggesting big money doesn't control the market. Traders...

I'm not suggesting big money doesn't control the market. Traders with big pockets 'big money' clearly does. What is wrong with that? It is called a free market we are all free to weigh up the pros and cons and buy sell or abstain. Are you suggesting 'big money' shouldn't be allowed to deploy strategies that make them money? If the markets were strangled by regulation then the whole global economy would collapse, there is no doubt about that in my opinion.

Average Joe has it about right in my opinion. He doesn't spend hours complaining about bombers, criminals, manipulators and so forth. Average just reads the market for what it is and looks to take advantage of swings. Well that is how it seems to me.

As for Bunnings/Masters. That was fair competition surely. Two heavyweights, Masters arguably had more financial muscle than Bunnings (with its Woolies and Lowes backing). My understanding is Masters failed not due to pricing but poor service compared with Bunnings.

I'm not wanting to give the impression there is nothing underhand going on in markets. That would be foolish. Obviously there is smoke and mirrors everywhere. The thing is, that is the market. Just like me pretending to have a limit on price when haggling to buy a house when secretly I would pay much more.

A prime example is Gold aficionados writing about a collapse in fiat and gold at $10,000 or more - is that manipulation? I don't think so - but by your definition it would be.