What Black Friday Can Tell You About 'Sell In May' & Santa Claus

Once upon a time, we would have opened this article with a “Happy Cyber Monday!” and segued into a discussion of preliminary Black Friday retail results and why they don't matter all that much for the economy or stocks. But times have changed. Now Black Friday is a season, doorbusters happen on Thanksgiving, and Cyber Monday has ballooned into Cyber Week. The shopping frenzy has strayed so far from its roots that Black Friday itself seems to have been one of the calmest shopping days of the year. Reporters quoted shoppers using phrases like “ghost town” and describing stores as “clean and organized” and “empty and depressing.” Then it struck us: This is just how markets work. They price in widely known information and adapt to it, sapping any advantage that once existed—and leaving it in name only. In a roundabout way, Black Friday is a metaphor for the Santa Claus Rally, Sell in May and all the other bogus seasonal investing adages.