Where to Look for the Next Wall Street Blowup

The tide’s definitely gone out in markets this year, but finance has come through with few problems—so far

Market shocks in the past two years meant appetite for risk was limited in the run-up to the sharp swings of 2022.

Photo: ANDREW KELLY/REUTERS
By
James Mackintosh

When the tide goes out you find out who was swimming naked, Warren Buffett memorably said. The tide’s definitely gone out in markets this year, but finance has come through with few problems. Is it possible that this time not many were skinny-dipping?

The optimistic view is that the typical culprits—speculators using borrowed money—had been caught out already in the past two years and so weren’t up to their usual tricks. The pessimistic view is that the blowups are still to come.

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