The markets are going crazy these days: commodities, gold, silver, the stock market, real estate. How can you keep up? What should you do? Any change in the world condition can make the market react either positively or negatively.
Osama bin Laden is killed and the market goes up. The President makes a speech on Libya and the market jumps. A new poll comes out and the market dips. Seems like about anything can set it off, driving the indexes either up or down.
The problem is that people actually pay attention to these temporary fluctuations and try to time their way into making money by jumping in or out based on what's going on at the moment. Investments should be based on trends and track records, and those things take time to develop. Unless you are a seasoned investor and really know what you are doing, don't try to time the market to make money. The odds are not in your favor.