A few days ago we discussed that the market no longer responds to any fundamentals but merely gravitates toward various chaotic 'strange attractors' now that HFT-driven stock trading patterns are merely Mandelbrotian fractals, with no rhyme or reason behind self-similar trading patterns and unprecedented record daily volatility. Today, David Rosenberg provides the following chart best capturing the minimum RDA of dramamine required to trade stocks: with 6% average swings in 12 distinct periods in 2010 alone, even with the market virtually flat for the year, it is no wonder retail investors have decided to say goodbye to stocks for ever. This is not a market in which anyone, including retail and institutional investors, with the possible exception a few momentum inducing algos, can generate any alpha. Period. And leveraged beta trades are a recipe for suicide for anyone except those with discount window access. Which is why very soon the only ones trading stocks will be the primary dealers and those who pay multimillion monthly collocation fees to the NYSE in hopes they can frontrun a trade here or there (oh and SEC, your inability to halt flashing a year after saying you would do so, continue to inspire confidence that you are on top of your corruption game).
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