wndysrf Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 I regret to inform everyone that the time has come for me to take a leave of absence from Mark to Market. I thought that my vacation last month would have helped. But it has not. I am wiped out. Furthermore, business activity has dramatically improved, and new work commitments will make it impossible to meet the 4:00pm deadlines. It has become increasingly difficult for me to come up with new material. The same themes seem to be repeated over and over. I struggle every day to try to think of something humorous, a new angle on what is happening. It used to be so easy. Not any more. Perhaps it has become difficult because we have such smooth seas in the financial markets. No scandals, no failures, no blowups. The credit markets are on a greased stripper pole to the upside. Just look at the fantastic moves on the credit cards today. Every day I read The Wall Struck Journal, and can find nothing startling. For two weekends in a row, I haven?t been able to find anything in Barron?s either. Last weekend, I skimmed it in 10 minutes and threw it out. Its always the same. Forty companies successfully issued billions of dollars in new debt. I ran out of nicknames to give all the new fangled securitizations. No Martha Stewarts. No Dennis Kozlowski?s. No Bernie ?O Canada Ebbers. Sandy Weill and all the other crooks walk away unpunished. Kopin Tan describes the same myriad options hedging strategies, all of which work perfectly. No fireball asteroid declines in individual stocks. No imploding economies like Argentina, or countries with 124% inflation. Proctovision continues on. The same characters. Nobody has been fired or kicked off the air. The same Bob ?Mr. Clean? Froelich appears as King Tut of the mutual fund industry, who keeps dragging in new recruits. Bloomberg has degenerated into a soap opera preview of what may happen. Asian stocks may increase as IBM beats by a penny. European indexes expected to rise after consumer spending in the U.S. rebounds. The dollar could rebound after the largest vortex on the planet continues to consume all goods made abroad. Catherine Yang never gets flustered, but she finally got rid of the nervous blinking. The always proper and always gay Ty Meraga in Hong Kong is still pumping all the tech stocks in Taiwan, each with 114 buy recommendations and 3 sell ratings shown on the Bloomberg monitor. The scene simply goes on and on. Nothing changes. I?m tired of watching the PreMarket futures, looking for red but always seeing green. I?m tired of being stuck to The Matrix, gripped by the 5-minute candle gaming. I?m sick of being a social malcontent, sweating bullets about what I?m going to write about next. It is time for me to follow Buddhadropping?s idea, and get away from the ridiculous minute by minute anticipation of the Program Robot buy or sell orders, the 500 different E-Wave interpretations, the Spider Web Gann Angles, and all the lines and charts. It seems so dehumanizing. In fact, it hasn?t been the same without Buddha?s contribution to the commentary. I cannot continue by myself. He was my original inspiration, back at Clearstation 3 years ago. I do not know when I will return. Perhaps if some massive financial failure or fraud emerges, I will become inspired. Perhaps not. Maybe if it happens, it won?t be a surprise, and commenting on it will be another repeat of what has been said here for the last 2 years. I want to thank everyone for their support and voluntary financial contributions, and apologize for not being able to continue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Poopercycle Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Mark- enjoyed your commentary and appreciate the effort you put into it. As a 'professional'(or as close as one can come) money manager, I'm also amazed as how the same things keep grinding on, over and over, all the same whores still gainfully employed and amply compensated for their stupidity(why the hell would the Ambassador of Syria choose to be interviewed by Diarrhea Fartaroma when...oh, right, nevermind), Joey SixP still gamely holding on to the same shit that decimated his IRA/401K and doin' the refi fandango once again.etc, etc. I think it just indicates how ultimately long(decades) and nasty(very) this downcycle will turn out to be. Good for you that your business is strong(is that a factor, or a sign, that has turned your view on the markets to any appreciable degree?), but I wonder if you could update us briefly before you go on how the guys(Flattop, etc) you work with are justifying things now-unless I missed it, I don't think you've mentioned them for some time and I always thought they were one of your more entertainining topics. Look forward to your return when you feel ready and able to contribute again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkst27 Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Thanks, Mark. I hope you'll drop in the occasional impromptu post on IDS or wherever, like Buddha does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crooked_analyst Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Mark... Saddened, thankful for all you've done and totally understand....BEST TO YOU till you're back! THANKS FOR SOME GREAT WRITING AND INSIGHT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregFokker Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Big bear hug, Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 floaters and a sinker Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 I'm very sorry to see you go. You gave voice to things many of us were thinking about and even better, things we weren't. You're a very talented writer (I've hired and fired enough of them in my time) and anytime an alternative voice is lost, we all suffer. If a tree falls in the forest, it is heard and it is felt if you listyen hard enough. The global conciousness is that much poorer this afternoon. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockLedge Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Best of luck to you & tanks for everyting! For me, the term supermodels will always have a different meaning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 The irrational market movements and disconnect with reality are driving many to the edge. Same old Same old -- just another good day for a jam and a ramp. Gets tiring. Good Luck! -- and thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottcardiff Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Great work, Mark. Interesting how both you and Doug have thrown in the towel recently. It truly is amazing how the bubble grows at an exponential rate. Also interesting how all three indexes remain in their 28 year bull market uptrend channels. Dow and SP 500 at 10%/year Nasdaq at 12%/year. 28 years!!! Probably correlates with the bull market in liquidity. Mark, if you ever make it to San Diego to get some surfing in, drop me an email. It would be great to curse the financial bubble with you, while waiting for tasty waves and eyeballing bodacious betties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibear Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Thanks, Mark. I'll miss you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoodwinked Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Mark its best to stay true yourself. Thank you for grinding away day after day for the benefit of Stool Nation. Your daily insights and musings will be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RiffRaff Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Mark, Thanks for the huge contribution you've made to Doc's site, I've always eagerly awaited your commentary each night.....you'll be sorely missed. Best of luck to you with all your endevors, maybe you'll see fit to grace us with an occasional commentary. Take care. :cry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 Mark: An absence of creative inspiration is nothing to apologize for. I've always marveled at your ability to keep it fresh and insightful, and know how much it takes to churn out gems day in and day out. You'll be inspired again, but with a broader perspective on a longer time horizon, from a greater distance. I leave you with a little something I came up with a few years back, and wish you well until you return with a weekly column in the place and time of your choosing. Best - Plunger PERSPECTIVE ?1990 by Tom Martin I live in a high mountain river valley that runs east to west. The other evening as I left my house to drive east into Aspen, the rain was beginning to subside just in time for the sunset. Though it was raining on me the entire way as I drove toward the darkened sky ahead, I remained in the brilliant glow of the sun which had found the opening in the clouds on the horizon behind me. As anyone who has spent any time in the mountains can attest, these conditions made for a magnificent double rainbow which framed my view of the upper valley throughout my drive. About half way into town, I noticed something profound. As they made their way out of the back side of the storm, the drivers headed toward me appeared tense and white-knuckled as they strained to see through streaked windshields into the glare of the setting sun. Though we shared the same road, passing mere inches from one another, in the same place and at the same time, our perceptions of the reality of the moment were diametrically opposed. In their haste, the west-bound drivers had no idea of the beauty around them. It might be said that the road through life is no different. We know that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. As we rush through this life, it?s unfortunate that so many of us spend so much of our time with our focus on the center line, thinking only of the destination while ignoring the beauty of the journey. Life will certainly provide its share of storms as we head down the road toward the setting sun. Therefore the key to life is to realize that the back edge of adversity is where the rainbows occur. The next time you?re coming out of the back side of a storm, pull over to pause and take a look around, to appreciate another view of the same reality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefywiefy Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 No apologies Mark. God bless you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 15, 2003 Report Share Posted April 15, 2003 The WNDYSRF Top is in! Check out the intraday top on the spoos and the timing of Mark's final posting - within 15 minutes of each other. Mark, I think you've nailed the top! I sure hope so. You'll be back once the waterfall commences. Plunger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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