What Are You Telling People?

Greetings from Denver, where I’m stationed for tonight’s peHUB Shndig. During yesterday’s flight, I chatted with my neighbor, an obstetrician returning home to Denver. After telling her my profession, she asked me to: (A) Explain what was happening in the financial markets, and (B) Predict what was coming next.

It was the same conversation I’ve had with just about everyone in my path over the past week, including some college friends who stopped by Sunday to watch the Patriots game (which sadly became a Wii MarioKart session by the end of Q3). I’d imagine that many of you have experienced the same, so I’m interested in your responses.

How do you explain all this to non-financial types? The first part is obviously easier than the latter, particularly since few of us (myself not among the few) were predicting anything nearly this volatile. But let me know what your stock response has become, and perhaps how much your believe in it.