That was the theory that Julie Newmar suggested on the Dick Cavett Show I watched recently.  Granted, the show originally aired on February 4, 1971, but it’s not as crazy as you might think.

The stock market is having some ups and downs now.  We all know that has happened many times in history.  Loads of people make a living studying the trends and data.  They make predictions based on all sorts of criteria.  Some of them come true, some don’t.

Don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying their research and opinions are not valid.  It’s just that there is an overriding factor that has always affected the ‘Market’, and always will, that many of them are stepping over.

I was thrilled when Alan Greenspan, Chair of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, actually said it.  Here’s the quote:

• ‘Fear and euphoria are dominant forces, and fear is many multiples the size of euphoria. Bubbles go up very slowly as euphoria builds. Then fear hits, and it comes down very sharply. When I started to look at that, I was sort of intellectually shocked. Contagion is a critical phenomenon which causes the thing to fall apart.’

Simplifying what he is saying:  The Stock Market is based on emotion! and being the analytical guy that he is, he was shocked to discover the impact of emotion on money.  You won’t be surprised to find out: I’m not.

Let’s get back to Julie Newmar — For those too young to know, Julie Newmar was Catwoman on the campy Batman television show of the mid 1960s.  And she did a great job of pleading her case.  It was quite fun.  Danny Kaye, a screenwriter, and a doctor were the other guests.  Kaye was the only one that tried to pull the attention away from Julie.  That wasn’t going to work.  She was dynamic, savvy, and dressed for the part — including ‘hotpants’.  She brought up the concept of how the Market and hemlines were tied together.  Her perspective was that hemlines had an effect on the market.  You see when hemlines go down the market is calm and steady, and when they go up it gets volatile.  Is this a chicken/egg thing?  I don’t think so.  I do think that the actions of the Stock Market and the hemlines are reflective of and a response to the emotional tenor of the time.

The truth is that the thing which most strongly affects money is emotion, and Julie Newmar had that figured out in the early 1970s. That hasn’t changed.  And now, more than ever, emotions are high and on edge.

“Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride” – All About Eve (1950)

Ka-ching

Shell Tain, the Untangler

If you need a bit untangling your hemline issues give me a call at 503-258-1630 or leave a comment.