There is little doubt that one day Hydrogen will be the fuel of the world economy. However anyone alive today is unlikely to see it.
There is magic is fuel cells, even the electrochemistry of them is almost mystically pure. What is more magical than a car with an exhaust of pure water?
However fuel cells have all the pieces of a classic stock mania and stock mania always end in tears.
So Walmart wants to see if it can use fuel cells to power its stores. Good news and it turns out great news for the fuel Cell companies.
Off their stock prices go in a squeaky pop reminiscent of the Hindenberg!
You might say the recent move in Fuel cell stocks is amazing and even shocking but it is just another stock bubble.
Stock bubbles in the bipolar US equities markets are in the short run a blessing but in the long run a curse.
When stock manias begin, they suck in a bandwagon of novice investors who’s churning and burning feeds the financial ovens of Wall Street. Wall Street in legendary for its short termism, so the fact that most of these potential long term customers are ruined in short order is of no concern to them. To those new traders the impact is traumatic and often puts them off stocks for life.
The privations of single stock or sectorial bubbles, drastically suppresses the long term size of the stock market, keeping participation niche. Consequentially all the positive outcomes that a broader participation in equity investing would deliver, is lost.
The workers don’t end up owning the means of production by investing in the stock market because they get suckered into bubble stocks lose their shirts and never come back. Those wicked post-capitalists win again.
So no sooner had the baton of narrative driven stock mania been passed from Apple to Tesla, then “squeaky pop” up goes the hydrogen bubble.
Ballard (Nasdaq:BLDP), Plug Power (Nasdaq:PLUG) and Fuel cell energy Fcel (Nasdaq:FCEL), the list goes on, all have had massive rises and there charts tell you all you need to know about the risk of getting your fingers burnt.
Here they are:
Ballard
Plug Power
Fuel Cell energy
Now this of course will be a clarion call to all you traders who want to ride these broncos up and down. Good luck to you. But to beginners or for that any non-gamblers, I say, save your money and your nerve endings and look away.
This is what happened to Ballard last time the markets were going manic.
This is the kind of ride you can expect again.
(Ballard 2)
So the lesson is don’t expect to join the fun and not catch a lot of bruises.