Tag Archives: Stocks

September 26, 2011 · 7:34 pm

Stockbrokers More Competitive, Willing To Take Risks Than Psychopaths

Uh, why am I not surprised?

 

Various studies have suggested that a certain kind of psychological profile gravitates toward the fast-paced, high-pressure environment of the trading floor — and that this profile probably has more than a little in common with psychopathic personality, a clinical condition marked by gregariousness, impulsiveness, dishonesty and lack of empathy.

A recent study from the University of St. Gallen, in Switzerland, goes one step further. The research, led by forensics expert Pascal Scherrer and prison administrator Thomas Noll, finds that professional stock traders actually outperform diagnosed psychopaths when it comes to competitive and risk-taking behavior.

According to Der Spiegel, Scherrer and Noll had a group of 28 stockbrokers participate in various simulations and intelligence tests, and then compared their results to a group of psychopaths.

They found that the traders showed a higher degree of competitiveness than the psychopaths — and that the traders were surprisingly willing to cause harm to their competitors if they thought it would bring them an advantage.

via Stockbrokers More Competitive, Willing To Take Risks Than Psychopaths: Study.

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August 4, 2011 · 2:44 pm

Stock Market Plunges…

I hate to say it, but “I told you so”.

Congress is hurting the recovery, not helping it….

I’m afraid, it’s only going to get worse…

I’ll blame the GOP for creating this false Budget Deficit crisis which drove behavior in DC that only made things worse….

And I’ll blame the Dems for not having the guts to stand up to the GOP/Tea Party to force them to address the real issue:  Jobs.

From CNN:

Poof! There goes any progress stocks made in 2011.

Stocks plunged Thursday, with the Dow tumbling 400 points to hit its lowest level since December, as global economic fears gripped the market.

U.S. markets were already sharply lower on widespread worries, including the weak job market. But the selling gained momentum as Japanese and European policymakers stepped in with dramatic measures to shore up their financial markets.

There’s “total fear” in the market, said Bob Doll, chief equity strategist at the world’s largest money manager, BlackRock.

All three major indexes tumbled more than 3% Thursday and erased all their gains for the year. The indexes have also pushed into ‘correction’ territory – defined as a 10% drop from their highs earlier this year. Over the past 10 days alone, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have dropped more than 8%.

“In the last two weeks, we’ve been through the ringer,” said Rich Ilczyszyn, market strategist with futures broker Lind-Waldock. “When we start looking at the recovery, there’s nothing to hang our hats on anymore.”

via Market Report – Aug. 4, 2011 – CNNMoney.

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