| Michael Silverstein USA msilverstein@wallstreetpoet.com The Battle-Hymn of The Stock Trader Mine eyes have seen a Nasdaq that to 5,000 did soar, And it stayed there for an instant before plunging through the floor, If I live but long enough, it will rise to that once more, The market marches on. I have seen a kid day trader send a bum stock through the roof, He just sent a chat room message and no one asked him for proof, B'Cause the folks who frequent chat rooms take this stuff as gospel truth, And the market marches on. I have read of callow analysts stampeding frothing buyers, And listened as the talking heads join in their upbeat choirs, Then watched with growing horror as good auditors turned liars, The market marches on. Let the pessimists go soggy my resolve will never fail, O'er the long term I know losers are the ones who turn their tail, I will brush my teeth with champaign and eat lobster by the pail, The market marches on. Glory, glory, trading profits Glory, glory, unearned profits Glory, glory, cap gain profits And the market marches on. Financial Haiku Yes, cherry blossoms will bloom when spring comes again, but airlines may not. Don't waste a minute; bankruptcy laws are changing; call a lawyer now. Ask the broker who put you into Lucent to commit sepuku. Insiders got rich; other investors didn't; so what else is new? I thought the market could not go any lower; Was I mistaken? What about all the unindicted market crooks who won't go to jail? Globalization seemed like a good idea; but so did the Edsel. Each new market day allows me to live my life more and more simply. I used to believe knowledgeable analysts; now I take Zoloft. Cash, Cash, Wonderful Cash Stock markets may tumble, bond issues default Home prices are quirky, they can somersault Gold's upward eruptions, they come and they go Derivative. products, you just never know Cash, cash, wonderful cash You can flash it or stash it, there's no pain with cash. While its hard to keep track when your assets are many With cash you can easily count to the penny It's liquid as water, its easy to store It fits in a wallet or under the floor Cash, cash, wonderful cash You can flash it or stash it, there's no pain with cash. Cash keeps your life simple, its drawbacks are few All waiters, they love it, all drug dealers, too This nation's great leaders appear on its face There's Lincoln and Franklin and old Salmon chase Cash, cash, wonderful cash You can flash it or stash it, there's no pain with cash. It's light as a feather, it don't cost commissions Unlike credit cards there's no later remissions As a gift it is tacky, you may take some flack But please rest assured, it never comes back Cash, cash, wonderful cash You can flash it or stash it, there's no pain with cash. The Dreaded Double Dip There are few worse fears among the seers who give guidance to The Street, Than an upward turn they claimed to discern that suddenly beats a retreat. Then to save their reps, with practiced steps, they quickly do a back flip, And loudly amend: "This might portend, the dreaded double dip." Just as camels can have a single hump or be burdened down with two, Economies sometimes follow a path that resembles a double-u; And just when you think the worst is behind and profits are set to soar, The edifice takes another lurch and you're worse off than before. I've not come by to ruin your day with news of a sad Second Coming; Indeed, such seer-like word display strikes me as unbecoming. I'll only state, that the usual fate, that follows a protracted bubble, Is a market that trips, and double dips, to clear out its leftover rubble. Overpay In a tract house subdivision, just beside a ginkgo tree, Sits a spruced up old split-level, freshly painted and lien-free. Just a mile west of K-Mart, near a park where kids can play, When you buy this perfect homestead, be prepared to overpay. Be prepared to overpay, When you buy a home today, It's the last hot bubble market, buyers sulk while sellers bray. We all have to camp out somewhere, and the renting game's a bore. Current mortgage rates are piddling, and there's tax write-offs galore. For the current buying frenzy, a fair case can be construed. As in all great frenzies past, though, it's the late-ins who get screwed. Be prepared to overpay, When you buy a home today, It's the last hot bubble market, buyers sulk while sellers bray. Once you looked to stocks for action, A'cause the worst rose with the best; And the analysts were friendly, ev'ry kinky deal they blessed. But the air's gone from that bubble and the heady play today, Is in real estate investment, where the rule's still: Overpay. Be prepared to overpay, When you buy a home today, It's the last hot bubble market, buyers sulk and sellers bray. Be prepared to overpay. If you enter housing's fray. All the prices sound like plunder. But you pay them-then you pray. © Copyright, 2002, Michael Silverstein. |
