Down and down and out for now

By Dian Vujovich

Daily market watchers are probably having three-martini lunches these days. But that’s the kind of high that can be enjoyed no matter what trend is happening on Wall Street…and currently it’s a downward one.

There’s nothing pretty about stock prices these days particularly for investors who forget that blips and corrections are part of the long-term investment upward trend that the equity markets have provided throughout the decades.

That said, today there’s nothing up about too much of anything unless you’re looking at things such as the price of gold, it’s inched up a tad, or the put-call ratio.

Bloomberg.com reports the bearish sentiment is gaining strength when looking at investors betting a stock’s individual price is going to go up (call) or down (put).

According to that source, “Based on the number of puts trading compared with calls on single stocks, pessimism is higher now than any time since 2012, data compiled by Bloomberg and the Chicago Board Options Exchange show. It’s mostly the result of a decrease in bullish calls, whose volume has declined 36 percent since January.”

Tim Biggam, lead options strategist at Delta Derivatives, points out:” Upside speculation has really fallen off a cliff.“

Concerns about what the Fed’s action—or inaction—will be in September combined with things such as currency woes in China and elsewhere, perhaps the market correction people have been talking about for months is near. Or here.

No matter how the chips fall, the best advice for new investors is to keep a cool head. Seasoned market pros understand that the road to riches gotten on Wall Street is filled with twists, turns and unexpected circumstances.

On a lighter downward note, if you’re facing some financial challenges you’re not alone: The Tooth Fairy is too.

When it comes to Tooth Fairy rewards, a Visa survey indicates that kids can expect to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 bucks less this year for all the teeth they put under their pillows. The average Tooth Fairy gift is now $3.19 per tooth, down 24 cents from 2014.

Now that hurts.