The Day They Red Dogged Coal

Brian has a short post below describing the first large success 350.org has had convincing institutions to disinvest (somewhat like disrespect, a useful word that turns the stomach of the proper) in coal stocks.  As the comments point out this went down a lot smoother because coal stocks are falling like rocks in a frothely rising market.  The smart institutions have taken their losses, the dumber should and if you can get a bit of credit for it, well lagniappe is popular other places besides New Orleans.

The title of this post comes from George Goodman* who died this winter, a writer of the markets with wit and wisdom, whose perception of the madness of crowds and markets puts the wood to the illusion of rational expectations.  If you have not read them, run out and get copies of "The Money Game" and "Supermoney" (readable parts on Amazon).  In "The Money Game" Goodman writes

 That day, September 27, 1966 is going to be one of those days like December 7, 1941, peculiar to history, the day Wall Street stopped believing in anything, at least for that Bear Market, and you can mark it by minutes on the clock, just the way it happens in the diaster books when the water goes gurgling into the Titanic.  September 27 was the day they red-dogged Motorola.

May 6, 2014 could be such a day, with the release of the National Climate Assessment Report and Stanford's disinvestment announcement.  Bunnies may hope.

* Eli might point out to the hard of understanding that Goodman wrote under the nym of Adam Smith,