Do You Realize We Get an Extra Week of Summer This Year?
It's mid-August, the beginning of the last stretch of summer. More people vacation during this stretch than at any other time of year. Traffic should lighten up a bit; trains and buses won't be as crowded. Even markets tend to meander in the days before Labor Day.
But, wait, something's different this year. We get an "extra" week of summer. Labor Day won't show up until September 7th. Designated to fall on the first Monday of the month, this year that first Monday comes at the latest possible time (the 7th). So instead of two weeks until Labor Day - the "unofficial" end of summer - we've got three weeks. Mid-August, normally signalling two weeks until Labor Day, this year adds an extra week.
For those of you who don't understand why we're making a big deal over this, it's not complicated. January through these first weeks of August has brought us lots of mostly pointless market activity. Up and down we go, always stopping somewhere in a relatively tight trading range: much ado about nothing. Now, if we knew that we'd be spending eight months going nowhere, we'd likely have tuned out the markets and just sat back, read some good books, watched a few good movies, listened to some great music and kept our contact with prices, charts, trends, and analysts' reports to a minimum. Then again, if we really could know what the future holds, we'd likely be both rich and reclusive, jealously guarding our secret knowledge of all things financial. But, alas, such all-knowing fantasies are simply not the way of the real world.
So stuck in the real world as we are, here's my hope for all of us on this hot, sultry (at least on the Northeast) August Monday: May we enjoy an extended respite from our labors, and may the markets nod off so we whose lives either depend on them or who's work must reference them daily, enjoy said respite along with the rest of mankind.
Instead of talking about what happened over the weekend, or what's coming up this week, maybe let's think about how you're going to spend these extended days of summer. Vacation? If not, taking a few days off? Friday's off? If not that, maybe keeping the workday lighter or shorter? Whatever it might be in your case, at least do - or don't do - something that acknowledges that business as usual has been suspended, at least somewhat curtailed, until Labor Day marks the beginning of your usual pace of labor.
With that wish, I bid you a light, airy, and maybe even happy three (not two) weeks until Labor Day. Enjoy yourself.
But, wait, something's different this year. We get an "extra" week of summer. Labor Day won't show up until September 7th. Designated to fall on the first Monday of the month, this year that first Monday comes at the latest possible time (the 7th). So instead of two weeks until Labor Day - the "unofficial" end of summer - we've got three weeks. Mid-August, normally signalling two weeks until Labor Day, this year adds an extra week.
For those of you who don't understand why we're making a big deal over this, it's not complicated. January through these first weeks of August has brought us lots of mostly pointless market activity. Up and down we go, always stopping somewhere in a relatively tight trading range: much ado about nothing. Now, if we knew that we'd be spending eight months going nowhere, we'd likely have tuned out the markets and just sat back, read some good books, watched a few good movies, listened to some great music and kept our contact with prices, charts, trends, and analysts' reports to a minimum. Then again, if we really could know what the future holds, we'd likely be both rich and reclusive, jealously guarding our secret knowledge of all things financial. But, alas, such all-knowing fantasies are simply not the way of the real world.
So stuck in the real world as we are, here's my hope for all of us on this hot, sultry (at least on the Northeast) August Monday: May we enjoy an extended respite from our labors, and may the markets nod off so we whose lives either depend on them or who's work must reference them daily, enjoy said respite along with the rest of mankind.
Instead of talking about what happened over the weekend, or what's coming up this week, maybe let's think about how you're going to spend these extended days of summer. Vacation? If not, taking a few days off? Friday's off? If not that, maybe keeping the workday lighter or shorter? Whatever it might be in your case, at least do - or don't do - something that acknowledges that business as usual has been suspended, at least somewhat curtailed, until Labor Day marks the beginning of your usual pace of labor.
With that wish, I bid you a light, airy, and maybe even happy three (not two) weeks until Labor Day. Enjoy yourself.
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