Insider Trading

I attempted to understand what had happened with a stock market scenario in the show “The Gilded Age”. I learned a lot, but it took some creativity on making the information palatable for my brain. I understood immediately in the show that what they were doing was insider trading and that they were buying stocks while they were low, before an event they knew would raise the stock prices, and then selling the stocks when they went up. That I got. The rest did not end up making sense to me, though.

I read several posts on Reddit where people kept re-using the same words and phrases, even after the author said on repeat that those words didn’t make sense to him/her. Eventually, he/she explained it in his/her own words, using actual numbers and no special nouns. And I think I understand now what happened on the show. They lost their fortunes after they rescinded the law instead of making ‘a second or third fortune’ because they didn’t stop at just accepting the gains of the initial idea. I think it’s called ‘short selling’ or something like that, as well as… oh, I’ve forgotten it name, but it’s with an M and it means purchasing stocks with a loan of some sort. But they planned on the stocks dropping in price, and somehow were able to bet on that financially, which would have given them more money when the stocks dropped. And then they would re-purchase the stocks again at the new lower price, re-pass the law again, which would make the stocks rise again, and then re-sell those same stocks for, I believe, a third time. So, they would make three fortunes on the same exact stocks in that way. I believe.

Anyway, it made me feel tired comfortable not being part of it all. The stories of sadness tied to the stock market are overflowing and incredibly difficult to consider as being the real lives of real people – it has to stay in a show for me, it is too sad a thing to consider(!).

Ugh…

God, keep us safe and smart and well and together, please. Guide us always. Thank you for my family and home. In your name, I pray. Amen.

Post-a-day 2025