“The CFO wants to know why our stock is down when it should be up.”

That’s the essence of conversations I had yesterday with two investor-relations officers. It’s tempting to suggest asking Al Gore about why things that should be up are instead down. But that’s an old joke. And it won’t make you more valuable in the IR chair.

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What a blast we had in the high country skiing last week! But now, East Coast, we here in Denver would like our snow back, please.

Everybody’s got an opinion on why the market is yinning and yanging. We, I believe uniquely in IR, look at market structure first. That is, we see the trading data and behavior, and then from it we ask, “Why did that happen?” Continue reading →

Thought for the day: “Chaotic action is preferable to orderly inaction.” – Will Rogers

Speaking of chaotic action, let’s review trading basics. We tend to think trading is buying and selling stock. To quote John Kerry, would that it were! Most trading today isn’t done for capital appreciation but to capture short-term divergence or to balance risk. Continue reading →

Happy New Year!

I grew up in the Snake River Breaks northwest of Boise. In tiny Huntington, where I quarterbacked the eight-man high-school football team, a guy ahead of me several years achieved local fame at middle linebacker for the Boise State Broncos. BSU was I-AA back then, in the Big Sky league. Last night, it was great seeing the Broncos go 14-0, beating undefeated and 4th-ranked TCU in the Fiesta Bowl. The little big sky school has come a long way.

Speaking of a long way, here we are in Twenty Ten. What to expect this year? Continue reading →

I’m moderating the NIRI Virtual Chapter meeting on modern equity markets tomorrow 12/1 at noon ET. See nirivirtual.org for details.

As I move the midsection flab from a grand Thanksgiving holiday aside to get at the keyboard (a little humor there), the US equity markets are closing up again. IR folks and executives, what’s proving the most accurate indicator of market direction lately? And what’s it mean to your own market structure?

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