Our Leaders Have No Idea What To Do Here

The wise man learns from the mistakes of others, the average man learns from his own mistakes and the fool never learns.

– Levin’s Mom

I think Levin’s mom was misquoting Bismark but I like her version better.

Before we wrap it up for the week, here are a few observations about the current environment.

1. Most World Leaders Have No Idea How To Resolve Our Considerable Problems: The world is too complex and leadership quality is too low.  Further, most are hindered by the decision making constraints of the partisanship loaded political systems within which they are operating. Double whammy.

2. Often, People, Institutions & Governments Repeat the Same Mistakes Over and Over Again: We do not always learn from past mistakes even when we are aware of the mistake and the damage we have done. So, sadly, counting on the US to respond to this (similar to 2008) turmoil more rationally is a mistake.

3. The US Needs Precisely One Thing and One Thing Only, A Great Leader: Until one of these comes along and ascends, we are limited. In fact, a nation in turmoil is more vulnerable to a false savior candidate who makes claims of greatness but who winds up doing more damage than good.  During the upcoming elections we will REALLY need to stay aware of this because the US is very vulnerable to seeing a malicious president get elected.

4. Market Sentiment Is Incredibly Fickle Here Which Signals Confusion and Anxiety: More than usual. We are getting bullish spikes with every market ramp and Armageddon chatter on all sell offs.

5. Must Reads: This post on taking losses and this one on surviving a crash are as important as anything you will read in this market.

6 Finally, Best Quotes via StockTwits Today: