by Jim Rickards, Daily Reckoning:

Today, stock markets and other markets such as bonds and currencies can best be described as “automated automation.” Here’s what I mean.

There are two stages in stock investing. The first is coming up with a preferred allocation among stocks, cash, bonds, etc. This stage also includes deciding how much to put in index products or exchange-traded funds (ETFs, which are a kind of mini-index) and how much active management to use.