Is the Current Stock Market "Rally" as Phony as a Turkish Coup?

Our last post explains why the current stock market rally not just may be, but likely is, misguided and misleading. By noting the failure of the Dow Transportation Average to confirm or even come anywhere near confirming the recent highs in the Dow and the S&P, we attempted to demonstrate why such a non-confirmation likely consigns this stock surge to the role of deceiver.

Of course, that doesn't mean it won't continue, or that it might continue, for all we know, through the rest of the summer.

But continue or not, it does appear to be as phony as a Turkish coup - specifically the recent coup attempt that was reported to have been initiated by Turkey's military, then quickly squelched by Turkey's president Erdogan, who called on his people to rise up and stand up to the military. At first blush, we might note that instances of people running into the streets and overwhelming a military coup are rare in history. And in the case of Turkey, which sports a large and well-equipped military, it really doesn't seem likely that the reportage of this coup was at all accurate.
Looking back at the failed Turkish coup, one question that nobody has been able to answer is why, if the coup was indeed a serious attempt at government overthrow, did the organizers not do the first thing that military coups have done since time immemorial: either capture, or simply eliminate the existing ruler, the vacationing president Erdogan?

The following brief story will only add to the confusion (or maybe not).

As Reuters reports, at the height of the attempt to overthrow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the rebel pilots of two F-16 fighter jets had Erdogan's plane in their sights. And yet he was able to fly on.
(Read the rest of this story HERE.)

While we can't vouch for the accuracy of this report, we can assert that common sense tells us that the coup, if not completely phony, was perpetrated by a small group within the military, who did not have the support of the vast majority of their confreres. If it was not only misguided, but indeed phony from the get-go, that would mean that Turkey's president used something akin to a theatrical production to get rid of troublesome enemies or opponents and further aggrandize his already considerable power.

So there you have the similarity between our stock market rally and Turkey's coup.

As for the carnage caused by each, we should expect killings and executions in Turkey to continue. And when it comes to the stock market, suckers are likely to be drawn into the rally only to have their money disappear when stocks take their inevitable tumble.

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