It would certainly be a sad day if the General posts were sufficient to dissuade anyone (including your good self) from continuing with Hot Copper.
Unfortunately, many of these posts appear almost as soon as the markets go into a hiatus of some sort (ie: local close, into New Year, and before Wall Street or Europe, open later this evening).
It is also unfortunate that the posts tend to be more alarmist, or pointed, rather than detailed or constructive. That said, the world markets (and NY, in particular) are certainly reacting to anything of the nature of geo-political, semi-religious commentary. Why? Because it tends to move markets (ie: poG, poOIL, poBONDS, etc), feed on fear, and create a highly volatile, and somewhat liquid trading environment.
So, whilst we would all seek to avoid the need for such posts to be made on HC, they do tend to mirror society's wider comments. In this way, HC is (and remains) a micocosym of the wider investment community (where reality, sentiment, promise, fear, loathing, rumour, innuendo, and fact of all manner or description, collide to produce a unique outcome, each and every trading day).
All the best Galloper for the New Year, and with your future trading efforts. These last 3 years have been quite difficult for many people out there, and (through work, or association) I know of a number who have lost considerably on the markets. But, at the end of the day, we will all continue perservering with our efforts, irrespective of what happens in the US markets, or on the global political stage. We will also continue doing our research which should cover: 1) the fundamentals of each stock, sector, or economic circumstances; 2) the technical aspects of trading "herd" behaviour (etc); and 3) the generalist aspects of global or societal, political, or social comment.
All things considered, we need to all assess a wide variety of factors in assessing any individual investment choice. So, perhaps in a way, the generalist comments on HC help to contribute to that outcome, although like with anything, sifting the valuable (from the irrelevant)is always key.
Again, all the best, and I (for one) hope to see you continuing to post on HC in 2003.
