You do not need to hack the stock market to make outsized returns (thanks Eddy).

But, the politicians, economists, the FED, the banks and the financial product creators are out to hack you. They will take your money quickly or slowly. The house has patience and lot’s of fees.

I can’t believe some of the stuff I have seen in the mainstream financial press these days.

The bullishness and the bearishness seem so smug and confident. I trust neither.

May I remind everyone..there was no prediction for $30 oil when oil was $100. There was a world wide web full of ‘peak oil’ articles and $250 oil.

The markets have been horrible for months (save certain US sectors). The emerging markets have been brutalized. Thw oil bubble has fully popped. The commodites index is at 20 year lows. The Bloomberg IPO index is off 20 percent from all-time highs.

Yet –

Bloomberg’s Business week Cover today has 100 bears photoshopped onto it. That’s helpful!

The New Yorker has a cover story on fear and anxiety in the stock market (note to New Yorker…it is ‘Fear and Greed’ that drives markets, not ‘Fear and Anxiety’).

Every Wall Street Analyst still has $60-80 oil targets in their models.

Tim Cook sent an email to Jim Cramer that would make Steve Jobs roll in his grave. Tim Cook would rather use CNBC and Jim Cramer to calm investors than his own Twitter feed and/or Facebook. That’s ass backwards. It’s a crappy way to build trust with a new generation of investors.

End of short rant…

Based on simple market price action alone, you should have been off margin weeks ago. The leadership has been thin for months.

Based on the crazy panic open last Monday.. today’s prices seem like a gift. Don’t look a gifthorse in the mouth if you were thinking of selling last Monday.

For 99 percent of investors, volatile markets with zero leadership mean do less, do it slower and keep it small.