Jobs Report Racquetball

Chris draws an analogy between racquetball and market reactions to the latest jobs report. Comparing haphazard market behavior to beginner racquetball players flailing around, he explains how algorithmic trading and media hype create chaos. Markowski emphasizes the importance of calm, calculated investment strategies focused on fundamentals over short-term noise. Don’t play their game—focus on value to achieve long-term success. www.watchdogonwallstreet.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Watchdog on Wall Street podcast explaining the news coming
out of the complex worlds of finance, economics, and politics
and the impact it we'll have on everyday Americans. Author,
investment banker, consumer advocate, analyst, and trader Chris Markowski.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Jobs Report Racketball. I don't know what made me thought
of this today, I really don't. I remember back when
we were in junior high and junior high, one of
the teachers started up a racketball club and we would
go Wednesday afternoons to the racquetball club, would join and

(00:38):
we learned how to play, and it was it was
a ton of fun. Racketball was kind of big back
in there in the I was getting beig in a
late nineteen seventies, early nineteen eighties. Anyway. Now we would
just go and you know, run around the court and
hit the ball as hard as we could and had
volleys forever, just you know, having a grand all time,

(00:58):
work up a great sweat. As got older, I loved it,
didn't play it as much, got to college, kind of
got better at it, and my brother Matthew ended up
becoming a killer. Racketball changes when it goes when you
get really good and competitive. It's you don't have the

(01:20):
long volleys and you're not running around like a crazy
person all over the place. It's these guys are so good.
You get to a certain level. I mean, it's just
kill shot, not not not that long. It's much more
calm and collected. You know. Again, you watch the beginners,
gread athletes run around and hit the ball over the place.
They know how to play. But then anyway, you know,

(01:40):
you get you get good. You know what you're doing
is calm, cool and collected, be able to hit your
your your kill shots, be able to set people up. Well,
what am I thinking of today? Well, think of today's
job support, and think of the market action. Much like
a bunch of beginners playing racketball, buying, buying, buying. The

(02:04):
ball's going all over the place, swinging at it here
and there. Media plays into this. Oh my god, us
payrolls two hundred and fifty six thousand in December, whoa
much more than expected? Oh, unemployment right down four point
one sent What does that mean? What's the hen going
to do? Bond racer up bing bang boom pow all
over the place? Markets down? Oh down six hundred points

(02:25):
down five hundred four and three. It's all over the place.
It's haggard, it's a mess. There's no real rhyme or
reason to what is going on. It's algorithmic. We are
back at a point in time now with the markets
where good news is bad news. Again, we've covered this

(02:47):
before here on the program. How is it bad? Bad?
And again I don't really trust these numbers, but that's
another story for another day. How is it bad that
more Americans are employed in getting jobs? Well, but you
can use it a fan and fan, you don't fend
my night lower rates. Really in the grand scheme of

(03:11):
things when it comes to your portfolio, when it comes
to the overall economy, isn't it better for your portfolio
if more people are employed and working? Throwing it out
there again again, we did a think about it, contemplate
and reflect bit was it yesterday day before talking about deflation? Hey, well,

(03:34):
this is tradable stuff, tradable stuff, and the the intelligent investor,
the one like the guy who's playing Rackaball that knows
what he's doing, is going to put this to bed
in a second boot kill shot done. You don't participate

(03:59):
in this nonsense, don't flail around trying to make heads
or tails, try to trade this nonsense. Who knows where
the markets are gonna end up today or tomorrow. It's
all settle out long run, it's not going to matter.
But to everybody out there that thinks that they've got
this figured out, you're gonna lose. You're gonna lose. You're

(04:24):
playing against You're playing racquetball as a beginner against somebody
that knows what the hell they're doing. Okay, yeah I can't.
Can you know? Can a you know a great racketball player?
You don't play the haphazard bounce the ball over the place. Yeah,
but they can put a kill shot in at any
point in time. Okay, I hope I'm making sense out

(04:49):
of this. I really am. Again, people stop participating in
their game. Why, I mean, why you playing this game?
You're not going to win trying to trade this stuff.
Focus on the value in your portfolio. Look to the

(05:10):
fundamentals and you'll be successful. Don't be flailing around all
over the place, swinging and everything, hitting the thing as
hard as caain, thinking that you're gonna You're gonna somehow
figure out you're gonna beat beat these traders. They know
what they're doing okay, they're playing you. Watchdog on Wall
Street dot Com