ITS A LIVING...

Englewood Staff post (18 November) HERE

Wall Street Retreats to End Week; How Did This Stock Fare: Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV)

“The closing price represents the final price that a stock is traded for on a trading day.  It’s the most up-to-date valuation until trading begins again on the next day. However, most financial instruments are traded after hours, which means that the the closing price of a stock might not match the after-hours price.  Regardless, closing prices are a useful tool that investors use to quantify changes in stock prices over time.  The closing prices are compared day-by-day to look for trends and can measure market sentiment for any security over the course of a trading day.

Stock exchanges work according to the invisible hand of supply and demand, which determines the price where stocks are bought and sold.  No trade can occur until someone is willing to sell a stock at a price that another is willing to buy it at.  When there are more buyers than sellers, the stock price will rise because of the increased demand.  Conversely, if more individuals are selling a stock, the price will decrease.

On any given trading day, supply and demand fluctuates back-and-forth because the attractiveness of a commodity’s price rises and falls.  Because of these fluctuations, the closing and opening prices are not necessarily identical.  A number of factors can affect the attractiveness of a stock in the hours between the closing bell and the next day’s opening bell.  For example, if there is good news like a positive earnings announcement, the demand for a stock may increase, raising the price from the previous day’s close.  It follows that bad news will negatively affect price.” 

COMMENT

The first paragraph tells us that (‘closing’ and ‘after hours’) VISIBLE prices convey valuable information that may prompt decisions to buy, sell or stick with previous  decisions.

The second paragraph describes the way VISIBLE prices work as the ‘invisible hand of supply and demand, which determines the price when stocks are bought and sold. In other words, it simply repeats the first paragraph with a spurious repetition of the first paragraph on VISIBLE prices. 

ENGLEWOOD Staff writers are paid for repeating themselves and for manifestly kidding their readers that they are ‘in the know’ about the economics of ‘supply an demand’, blessed with their knowledge about ‘an invisible hand, which boils down to something that is conveniently invisible! 

That’s why staff writers require their high salaries to write such guff.

Lastly, from the basement scriblers we are informed that ‘good news’ (an expectation of ‘positive news’), VISIBLE prices will rise!

Moreover, if there is ‘bad news’ (an expectation of ‘negative news’), VISIBLE prices will fall!

Of course, investors do not stay awake all night and all day. They pay VISIBLE charges for others to do so in day shifts and night shifts.

It’s a living for those supplying such services for VISIBLE charges.

Their cousins make their living too at racetracks …