Is this how stock market work?

Most players in the market are like the man at the National Weather Service. They dont know a thing, or dont take the pain of learning, but blindly follow people who they think are intelligent/ knowledgeable. And eventually, they are the ones who burn their fingers, and swear to keep away from the market!!

Interesting. Well, I actually have a friend whose grandfather and his wife's grandfather lost a fortune in the mkt. We were contemplating a Diwali card session when he told me that they don't play cards even for fun because of what had happened to their grandfathers. Much later his mom told me that it took his grandfather ten years to repay the debt because of the loss he made in the mkt and he used to even play cards to pay off the debt. ( Loha lohe ko kaatta hai)

This could perhaps serve a lesson to impressionable young people. The stock market for the short run is a very dangerous place to be in. I have been trying to learn Technicals for the past one year and I think they are more in the nature of something is better than nothing. Anything which has a 95% failure rate( with TA) is a hot potato. What Ivan has said are probably the most vulnerable people but among the knowledgeable ones, I really wonder how many "individuals" are successful. A few years ago, banks were lending against shares to play the markets. With their financial resources(man and money) why not do it themselves?

I have even come across literature which states that to be a good long term investor consistently is also a very creditable thing. My uncle who was a subbroker earned good money three times and lost three times so net was insignificant. Recently I came to know that Jesse Livermore earned and lost four times. Times maybe different now but one has to be careful " Sharemarket can be injurious to health"

You're scaring the kids sh50. BUT, you are the perfect foil to NK's anecdotes. You really do provide the realism to the fiction with your real-life experiences. Needs two hands to clap & we have them folks. Consider yourselves a very lucky lot. ENCORE!!!!

" Sharemarket can be injurious to health" - very true just like WILLS cigarettes

Helium was up, feathers were down. Paper was stationary.
Fluorescent tubing was dimmed in light trading.
Knives were up sharply.
Cows steered into a bull market.

Pencils lost a few points.
Hiking equipment was trailing.
Elevators rose, while escalators continued their slow decline.
Weights were up in heavy trading.

Light switches were off.
Mining equipment hit rock bottom.
Diapers remain unchanged.
Shipping lines stayed at an even keel.

The market for raisins dried up.
Coca Cola fizzled.
Caterpillar stock inched up a bit.
Sun peaked at midday.

Balloon prices were inflated.
Scott Tissue touched a new bottom.
And batteries exploded in an attempt to recharge the market.

cheers,
nkpanjiyar

Nice one NK. I for one did'nt miss the purely Metaphoric underlay in the whole poem. OR, is it a poem? No rhyme, no meter but maybe one of those Modern Verses that are so popular these days. Fun reading though, as I feel most modern poetry is all about. The old traditional rhyme & verse is my cup of tea.

There's nothing I said above though that takes away anything from the post of your's. Real fun reading. You mix them up very well, the fun & the wisdom reads. Keep going NK.

Dear Mr.nk,
I accidentally stepped into yr joke on Red Ind & it was Fantastic.Keep going.
Ranga,chennai

Subject: Greatness in keeping others happy.
It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking.
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it, in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.
Days and weeks passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths, only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Ø Epilogue: "There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations" "Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled" "If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy" "Today is a gift, that's why it is called the resent."
Ø The origin of this letter is unknown, but it brings good luck to everyone .
Ø LOKA SAMASTHA SUKINOO BAVANTHU
Ø Ranga, Chennai

Very good story. Sharing grief is one of the best ways to allevieate it. In ancient times any person caught wrongdoing was ostracized in the villages. "Iska hukka pani band kar do" meant that he was a social outcast and would suffer in times of sorrow. Even Maslow in his heirarchy of need has described social needs immediatebly after the basic needs of food, colthing,anger and sex and then self-actualization. Even otherwise MAn is a social animal. Psychiatrists advocate group therapy to depression patients.