Intel And 4 Strong Value Stocks In The Tech Sector

A guy who used Twitter Inc. (TWTR – Analyst Report) to manipulate the stock market has been indicted.

Think about that — two fake Twitter accounts were all James Craig needed to manipulate the stock market, which reportedly cost shareholders $1.8 million.

What does this really tell us about investors?

Most of them fall prey to random volatility, and any kind of uncertainty makes them anxious and fearful. So much so that any kind of news they hear about a company they have invested in makes them overreact.

As investors, we should carry out thorough research of the company we want to invest in — or at least check the sources that claim to do the same. (It’s YOUR money after all).

Lesson learned from the Twitter episode…

Looking Beyond

A company’s share price can increase because of extreme persistent excitement, such as during a bull market, or unnecessary murkiness as in a bear market.

The current market situation is volatile: Indexes move in a positive direction for a few days, then reverse and come back down. The trading range becomes tighter and tighter, while the market resists any breakout to the upside or breakdown below. This is the type of market that drives almost EVERYONE crazy.

What makes it even more volatile? Friday’s stellar jobs report. So stellar that this report has effectively cleared the way for the Fed to start raising interest rates at next month’s meeting.

The October jobs report release on Friday by the U.S. government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) brings good news for all. Not only did the ‘headline’ jobs number come way ahead of estimates (271K compared with 185K), but the report’s internals in terms of wages and hours also looked favorable.

The unemployment rate inched down to 5% from 5.1% in the month before and appears to be headed toward carrying a 4-handle next month. Most importantly, the numbers from the last two weak jobs reports that started angst about the economy and the labor market were partly revised higher on Friday, indicating that the labor market wasn’t really losing as much steam as those reports had showed.