Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Marketing and Money

Marketing is not Business 101 like I learned in the early 60's.  It was advertising then.  The Wikipedia description of "Marketing" show how the concept has progressed since the 60's.  One of the aspects that Wikipedia does not cover is that Fraud is a Marketing Strategy.

Marketing digresses from my core focus on what money is to a look at what money does.  It started this morning with reading some things at Financial Times (FT).  I could not understand the complexity of what I was reading.  In fact, many comments on what was written said the same thing.  Unfortunately, FT requires a registration, fortunately it is free.

I defy anyone to understand what was written here at FT.

It is only in the comments that I find some meaning in what was written as readers express their interpretation:

"Anybody who doubts that certain assets are artificially inflated in today's environment has lived on the moon the last years. CBs flood the market with liquidity that needs to go somewhere. And as there are only relatively least bad investments, rather than attractive ones, the former receive attention far beyond their substance. Such, the authors warning is spot on: Should the CBs tighten the tub only a little, lots of inflated stuff out there might fall from the cliff. Listen up to what the birds are singing on the roof, it might be quite important..."
 
Jumping from Marketing to Markets is not a big jump.  Markets are price finding mechanisms.  Manipulation of markets is a way to influence price.  Marketing does that.  So does fraud. So do "Dark Pools" of money operating in markets. Money moving so fast ahead of market price discovery on a time line that others cannot keep up with the rate of change takes advantages of of market inequity and opportunity for manipulation:  High Frequency Trading.

Banks in the energy market?  We are in trouble!

My mind gets dizzy enough examining what money is.  The games of the market where what money does is played is beyond understanding. 


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