How many market manipulators are there?

Dear John: Your column on the Federal Reserve intervention in the collapsing stock market rings true.

And I suspect that at some point a smoking gun will be found in all the recorded trading data.

I was wondering if the Fed is the only player in this game, or is there the possibility of an “opposing team.”

For example some large traders (who may hate Donald Trump or just be antiUSA, or some combination, along with a raging profit motive) could hedge/bet against the market, profit from down- turns and then let the algorithmic and high-frequency traders stampede, correlating with the downward momentum of the moment.

George Soros and a couple of other traders did just such a thing by betting against a mispriced British pound in the early 1990s.

It is relatively easy to see a similar scenario against an overpriced stock market where price-to-earnings ratios are considered, by some, to be overpriced. A.Z. Dear A.Z.: It would make a good movie. And if Donald Trump keeps taking credit for what is a stock market bubble, then he’ll also have to take the blame for the crash when it comes. What you suggest is not out of the question.

Dear John: On Jan. 2, I cashed out my stock account. My wife was concerned, as stocks rose until [the recent big plunge].

I am glad I have been following your column! T.C. Dear T.C.: Glad to help. Sometimes it’s hard to be heard over all the stupidity.