While a small fraction of the population can see the changes in culture, society and technology clear as day, the majority only gets a grasp of the situation when the changes have taken hold and new trends already developed.
We are currently in a period of great change. Two years from today, one will not recognize America. Other countries will undergo massive upheavals. It is already underway.
Look around. The kinds of people - average, middle class folks - you used to see on a regular basis are gone, replaced by walking zombies on food stamps. Get used to it. The welfare-police state is upon us. Alternately, the people who have seen this coming are preparing to prosper. It will get worse before it improves, but, when the current power structure and domination of mega-corporations ultimately fails, small businesses, which have been under the thumb from competition from larger rivals and government regulations gone wild, will emerge, grow and prosper. It's just a matter of time.
As for today's roller-coaster on Wall Street, the movements were up, down, up, with the Dow closing at the mid-point of its 62-point high of the day and the -142-point lows, but still in the red. The S&P and NASDAQ finished with gains, though small.
Reporting prior to the opening bell, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) reported better-than-expected earnings, but finished the day lower on poor guidance. A similar scenario played out for insurance giant, Travelers (TRV), and cell carrier, Verizon (VZ).
Following the trading close, IBM reported an earnings beat (6.13 ex-items vs. 5.99 est.), but a huge miss on revenues. Analysts were looking for $28.25 billion and got only $27.70 billion.
Sadly, for Big Blue, they are trading at roughly an 11 P/E multiple. The company is a dinosaur and headed for extinction, though that reality is still a way off.
Another slow-footed beast, Texas Instruments (TXN) reported 0.46 per share on revenue of $3.03 billion. Both of these tech behemoths were trading lower in after-hours, with IBM down nearly three percent. Dead money. It's what's not for dinner.
Among the more obvious signs that change is permanent and the bull market in stocks is coming ever closer to a crashing climax:
- Sears, JC Penny and Target.
- Analyst on CNBC says stocks will fall 10%, then fumbles targets of 16,000 on the Dow and 1800 on the S&P. Basic math: FAIL.
- Chris Christie
- Hillary
- Mohamed El-Erian steps down as Pimco CEO
- Another former Pimco exec, Neel Kashkari announces he is running for governor of California.
- Complaints that the Dow is down because some stocks are priced too high. (At least there's a solution for that.)
More are certain to follow.
DOW 16,414.44, -44.12 (-0.27%)
NASDAQ 4,225.76, +28.18 (+0.67%)
S&P 1,843.80, +5.10 (+0.28%)
10-Yr Note 99.30, +0.18 (+0.18%) Yield: 2.83%
NASDAQ Volume 1.91 Bil
NYSE Volume 3.75 Bil
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3649-2079
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 466-36
WTI crude oil: 94.99, +0.62
Gold: 1,241.80, -10.10
Silver: 19.87, -0.434
Corn: 425.00, +1.00
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