Market gyrations explained?

Thomas Lifson at American Thinker presents a concise snapshot of Doug Ross' take on stock market behavior in the age of Obama.

President Obama, for his part, asks us not to concern ourselves over market "gyrations."

And if he were with us right now, perhaps the president would suggest that we pay no attention to Ross' charts.

Some are wondering what the president is talking about when he states that the market is getting closer to the point where buying stock is a "good deal." I think The New York Times interprets him correctly (emphasis added):

The president did not offer any specific stock tips, but suggested that he believed the market might be close to its low point.

“Profit and earning ratios are starting to get to the point where buying stocks is a potentially good deal,” Mr. Obama said, “if you’ve got a long-term perspective on it.”

I'm not sure what role he thinks profit and earning ratios have in the big picture, admittedly. Some individual companies continue to perform well and might therefore represent a wise investment.

Granted, every stock market drop can be seen as a step closer to the low point. One doesn't need to be a Barack Obama to figure that one out. But the important thing to an investor remains the return on his investment. We don't yet know that the economy remade with hopenchange will offer investors an attractive option. Nor do we know that U.S. companies can turn profits as they once did under the coming set of policies.

Criswell predicts: Stock Market

I predict that the stock market will experience a wider fluctuation, high and low, from June, 1968, though June, 1970, than any period in its erratic history.
--The Amazing Criswell

Not so good, Cris. First column is the year. Second column is the high. Third column is the low. The last column is the close--not that the close is a concern of Criswell's.

1962	734.38	524.55	652.1
1963	773.07	643.57	762.95
1964	897	760.34	874.13
1965	976.61	832.74	969.26
1966	1001.11	735.74	785.69
1967	951.57	776.16	905.11
1968	994.65	817.61	943.75
1969	974.92	764.45	800.36
1970	848.23	627.46	838.92

(from a Huxley something-or-other .edu personal page)

I've put the numbers from 1968-1970 in bold. Any figure above the the highest bold figure from outside the years in question makes half of Criswell's prediction false. Any figure below the lowest bold figure from outside '68-'70 makes the other half of the prediction false.

Figures higher and lower than the 1968-1970 period occurred not only in the varied history of the stock market, but both falsifying figures occurred within about seven years of Criswell's predicted window of wild fluctuation.

Not to worry, campers. The dust jacket of "Criswell Predicts" assures us that 87% of Criswell's predictions have come true!