In deregulated markets, one can shout "FIRE"

[lookout123]

The really smart guys sit back and watch. Even if Buffett himself set down his margarita and guitar the markets would still drop after he spoke. Speeches and press conferences are necessary or people will say the leaders aren't doing anything, but they really can't do anything good. I remember in '02 sitting around bringing shot glasses to work in the morning and we had a drinking game for how the market reacted while Bush was speaking at his press conferences. we got good and drunk.

Even if we had someone that everyone looked up to as the voice of wisdom, which we don't, his press conferences would still be followed by market drops. Fear drives the market. The press and analysts and joe six pack will listen to a speech and only hear one or two things from the whole speech - those one or two things just happen to be the only points that support their particular fear. So they jump online and put their sell orders in and then say, "See! the market is dropping, I was right!".