August 12, 2010 10:56AM 

# Explaining Mr. Market 

By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) 

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A banner *Washington Post* headline (page 11, print edition; slightly different [online](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/11/AR2010081103472.html)) reads:

> Stocks plunge as trade deficit widens

Of course, they could have gone with

> Stocks plunge as Linda McMahon wins Senate nomination

Or my favorite:

> Stocks plunge as Cardinals sweep Reds

Since national trade deficits are [not much more meaningful](http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2007/07/bilateral-trade-deficit.html) than baseball scores, it’s unlikely that this month’s report drove stocks down.

##### Related Tags 

[Trade Policy](https://www.cato.org/trade-policy), [Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies](https://www.cato.org/herbert-stiefel-center-trade-policy-studies) 

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