August 17, 2012
Jamie Dimon better hope his timing is as good as Jon Corzine’s. It appears Corzine has dodged criminal charges in the billion-dollar-plus loss of customer money at MF Global. Investigators are going easy on him because social mood is positive— the market has doubled in the last three years. If Corzine had faced scrutiny in early 2003 or early 2009— big negative extremes in social mood—authorities would have been much less forgiving – just ask Martha Stewart or Bernie Madoff. Noting last month that Dimon’s losses had expanded to $5.8 billion, Forbes wrote, “Instead of gasps of horror there have been yawns. It’s plain that the media and the public are a little tired of Wall Street scandals.” In fact, as I write this, astonishing as it may sound, Corzine is deciding whether to start a hedge fund.
But – if social mood proceeds to another negative extreme, expect more “unpredictable” losses, more “vampire squid” allusions and eventually, a scandal circus starring many of the Federal Largesse Bailout Recipients who got off easy in the last season.
If you look closely, you can see patterns in social mood that help you predict social trends. Learn more with the Socionomics Premier Membership.
The Socionomist enables you to see trend-shaping waves of social mood, as reflected by the stock market — and capitalize on them. The June issue looks at phases of social mood and features a “Research Roundup,” which highlights five academic studies that shine a light on important aspects of socionomic theory. Mood Riffs topics include “quiet luxury,” loneliness, the Writers Guild strike and efforts by countries to trade in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Read the June issue when you become a Socionomics Premier Member.
