Authored by Richard Breslow via Bloomberg,
For years the disconnect between financial market performance and what’s happening in the “real” world has been a much discussed topic. At first we were confused by it. Then amazed. Periodically incensed. And then we came to just accept it as the way the system is set up and things are.
There isn’t much debate any longer as to why it is the case. Nor that there is anything we are going to do to change it. But, at least we, almost, all agree the phenomenon exists and have no trouble publicly saying so. We may not all like it, yet there is some comfort to be taken from everyone recognizing it as a fact.
Maybe it’s because so many of our ills are new. Perhaps it is because there are so many of them. But it seems we are going through a period where we refuse to agree on the most fundamental of issues. There’s an extreme level of divisiveness and it is turning the world, not to mention the financial markets, into a casino where no one really has a handle of the odds of either the game or what is ultimately at stake.
We hear that everything economic rides on the path of the pandemic from no less than the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell. Eminent scientists remain fearful and are increasing their calls for precautions. One Fed president has speculated about locking us all down again to finally get a handle on the spread of the disease. Put the economy back to sleep to save it.
Other people are insisting we open up...