A Skeptic's guide to Market action:

A Skeptic's guide to the Markets:

An idealist (or a shill) might opine that the markets went down yesterday on bad news about the Ukraine and up today on the good news about Ukraine.

Maybe.

A Skeptic might say that yesterday the Ukraine news was an excuse for the market pros to run everybody's stops and create a mini panic with the tailwinds of the Ukraine news to fuel the fear.

Immediately several "experts" weighed in with the unanimous opinion that Putin had painted himself into a corner, and could never back off, while Obama was weak and ineffectual with no good options.

Everybody (all the amateurs) shorted the market.

Today, Putin issued a vague statement suggesting he could well back off if he felt like it, while Obama issued some vague threats, which gave the pros an excuse for a massive short squeeze of all the amateurs who rushed in to short the market.

What will happen tomorrow?

Sure, the news will serve as a backdrop.  But the action at the rigged casino will have nothing at all to do with the news, either political or financial or economic.

The market is its own sucker fleecing machine.  If you happen to be at a big bank with hundreds of billions or dollars at your disposal to push everyone's else's positions around, good for you.

If not, ask yourself this: what in God's name are you doing in the market?

What's that?  Oh yeah, I forgot, you're really smart.

As grandpa used to say: that and fifty cents will buy you a cup of coffee.

Of course, now, that and six fifty will buy you a grande latte.

And all thanks to the same folks who will eventually get all you money in the markets.