I Have A Quick Questionn And Would Like To Know If Anyone Else See's This

[WLKjr]

Is it just me, or do stocks really start to do piss-poor as soon as news comes out of Iraq of an attack or explosion or anything like that?

[Warpy]

1. Whatever is really driving the stock market

is something we'll never know. There was a reported decline in consumer confidence yesterday, and stocks went way up. There was a report of slowed job loss this week today, and stocks are slipping back down. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to the stock market these days, which leads me to believe it's being fiddled, that it's not an honest game at all.

Well, we all knew that, didn't we? However, investors used to drive the market, and there used to be discernable reasons for a dramatic rise or fall. The only reason these days seems to be an upcoming election, with money being poured into it to keep it between 9500 and 10,500 to lull the rubes into a false sense of security.

[Zorra]

2. Bingo.

[AndyTiedye]

3. Record High Oil Prices Aren't Helping - Fears of Stagflation

[Killarney]

4. that's what I would say. Oil prices.