Looking out over a vast expanse of white that has blanketed my town and the rest of the Eastern seaboard of these United States, I’m reminded that humanity may have mastered many things but we still remain subject to forces greater than ourselves. It’s an important lesson for those of us who spend a good part of our lives analyzing the intricacies of the economy, the specifics of a vast assortment of businesses, and the details of humanity’s efforts to regulate its own activities.

There are essential forces that come in and out of the headlines but never go away. One of those is the power of nature. Another is a human being’s basic need for food and shelter. In the markets, we focus on the complexities and often forget these basics. Our mercantile lives are spent watching the things in the middle but the fundamental forces of those at the ends of the investment chains never change. Consumers need food and shelter now and in the future; the markets are just a way of moving the means from one poll to the other.

Looking out over the two feet of snow in front of my home, I am reminded that whatever the Fed does in the next several weeks, how ever the markets gyrate in response, human beings still need food and shelter. The markets for these will not go away. Market structures evolve but fundamental human needs are so far everlasting. Now back to the details.