Correlation Trade: Dollar Up, Stocks Down

After a roller coaster type of week, the major indices and commodities ended fairly flat, but that's how the skimmers of Wall Street make their dough: bidding prices up and selling out underneath momentum buyers. This is a fun game for them, not so nice for individual investors, but eventually all the trades will go in one direction and it won't be good for anyone except committed short sellers.

Stocks really got off to a piddling start, but accelerated mid-day, with the Dow down as much as 150 points. While the Dow rallied into the close a bit, the NASDAQ stayed down at finished at its low point of the session.

April CPI was a non-event, coming in at expectations of 0.4% gain for April. Michigan Consumer Sentiment showed a small rise, to 72.4, from 69.8 in March. Despite the steep drops on the averages, it was, all tolled, a pretty dull session. The major trade consisted of shedding stocks (risk) as the dollar advanced, closing at 75.793, up 0.60 as measured by the Dollar Index. It's become the most reliable correlation trade: dollar up, stocks down.

Dow 12,595.75, -100.17 (0.79%)
NASDAQ 2,828.47, -34.57 (1.21%)
S&P 500 1,337.77, -10.88 (0.81%)
NYSE Composite 8,371.67, -84.51 (1.00%)

Declining issues roared past advancers, 4790-1789. On the NASDAQ, the gap tightened with 97 new highs and 51 new lows. A similar situation prevailed on the NYSE with 182 new highs topping 22 new lows. Volume was back in the doldrums, signaling the beginning of the summer season, with traders taking off early and heading for the hills, the Hamptons, or Hades.

NASDAQ Volume 1,885,009,375
NYSE Volume 3,921,132,750

Commodities put in an equally lackluster performance, though most were trending lower through much of the day. WTI crude oil on the NYMEX, down most of the session, caught a bid late in the day, finishing up 68 cents, at $99.65. Gold was swamped today, losing $13.10, to $1493.80, while silver managed to eek out a small, 64 cent gain, at $35.26.

There was a lot of posturing and positioning, but no real commitment on the buy side. Sellers won the day and the week as we inch ever closer to the end of QE2.

Finally, financial stocks took the brunt of the selling, with Bank of America (BAC) down 27 cents, to 11.93, Citigroup (C) shedding 89 cents, to $41.53 despite declaring a .01 annual dividend. Apparently, investors were not impressed. JP Morgan Chase (JPM) lost 94 cents, to $43.15 and Goldman Sachs (GS) dipping 1.29 to 141.46.

Continued pressure on the banking sector is symptomatic of the sluggish economy and may portend another round of trouble for the mega-banks. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

Uppers and Downers

It's official. This stock market is a yo-yo without anyone pulling the string. It goes whatever direction it (or somebody) pleases, mostly up when it's supposed to be down and vice versa.

Though stocks finished with gains for the day, they were down for the week, but that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme. One would assume, with Google getting smacked down 47.81 points (8.24%) and Bank of America (BAC, 12.82, -0.31, -2.36%) missing EPS estimates by 11 cents, all of the indices would have gotten the clue and headed toward the exits.

But, though it looked like that might be the case early in the day, by the closing bell the major exchanges were showing broad gains, despite obvious signs of a weakening, or at least, stumbling, economy.

The best play has been to not fight the Fed, which continues to mint money and send it out through its proxies, the Primary Dealers, into the market, and that's probably what's driven the last eight months of gains. Advice might include steering clear of equities until the end of QE2, some time in June.

Dow 12,341.83, +56.68 (0.46%)
NASDAQ 2,764.65, +4.43 (0.16%)
S&P 500 1,319.68, +5.16 (0.39%)
NYSE Composite 8,400.31, +26.15 (0.31%)

Gainers outpaced losers, 4353-2152. On the NASDAQ, new highs took over the top spot with 84 new highs and 33 new lows. On the NYSE, there were 108 new highs and 14 new lows. Volume? No, none, non-existent.

NASDAQ Volume 1,794,544,375
NYSE Volume 4,331,161,000

Oil was up again, gaining $1.55, to $109.66. Gold surged $13.60, to $1,486.00, and silver continued its monumental climb, up 91 cents, to $42.57. Gold is at all-time highs and silver at 31-year highs, fast approaching the all-time high of $50/ounce back in the heady days of the Hunt Brothers, circa 1980.

A normal market would not have oil, gold and silver all up and equities rising as well, so the only conclusion to draw is that this is no ordinary market. It's very unusual, to say the least, though stocks still can't seem to do anything more than a Texas two-step, one forward, two back.

Commodity traders, however, have had a field day of late, and for gold and silver bugs and bugettes, they've had a great run for over a decade. In 2000, gold was under $300 and silver traded for $5 or $6 per ounce. The PMs have been the best investments, eleven years running, with no end in sight.

Fade the Banks: BofA, JP Morgan, Citi, Goldman Sachs Under Scrutiny

We found significant deficiencies that represent not only unsafe and unsound practices, but a breakdown in way customers are treated...

That was the statement made by acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh in regards to the Consent Order directed at the nation's sixteen largest banks, issued by his and other regulatory agencies yesterday.

Initial reaction was that the ruling was more a wrist-slapping by the regulators, but Walsh came out in its defense, as did others, such as FDIC's Sheila Bair.

The order includes provisions for the banks to undertake a complete review of their foreclosure practices and rectify any errors that may have affected consumers negatively. Additionally, the banks are instructed to pursue a “comprehensive, independent review” of their foreclosures from 2009 and 2010, institute a system for a single contact person for each foreclosure or mortgage modification action. The agencies - which include the Federal Reserve and the Office of Thrift Supervision - will closely monitor the banks' progress, look more closely at their practices and determine appropriate fines for each firm.

These actions, apart from the voluminous litigation already begun and sure to follow, plus the conclusion of 50 state attorneys general is likely to cost the banks a good deal of time, effort and money. When all is said and done, revealing their openly fraudulent practices and procedures will have two major effects: 1) they will not be so prone to play fast and loose with mortgage money, and 2) housing loans will become even more difficult to get.

On the surface these outcomes may be more of a detriment to recovery in the housing market, but homes will at least become more affordable. Making it difficult to qualify for a loan, the cost of residential housing will fall accordingly until some balance is achieved in the market. After that, homeowners can begin going after tax assessments and "fair value" assessments which are now likely more than 40% too high in many hard-impacted communities.

While the process will be riddled with starts and stops, the long-range outcome should be more affordable housing for lower and middle class people, without onerous tax implications. we may be turning a corner after all.

One other note of interest in terms of bank-hating worldwide was Senator Carl Levin's well-directed attack on Goldman Sachs today:

The Senator says he wants the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine whether Goldman Sachs violated the law by misleading clients who bought collateralized debt obligations without knowing the firm was betting they would fall in value.

Levin believes that not only did Goldman Sachs' executives delude their clients and break their fiduciary trust, but also lied to congress when brought in front of the Financial Inquiry panel.

Heck, as our link confirms, even FoxNews is pushing this agenda forward, but it remains to be seen if Attorney General Eric Holder will come out of hiding and actually pursue prosecution. If not, maybe it's time to indict the AG himself, because Levin and other members of congress have rightly identified Goldman Sachs and their brethren in the "big banking" world as the criminals who caused the financial meltdown of 2008 and sank the economy.

Watch Senator Levin tear into Goldman Sachs' Daniel Sparks:



Wall Street's reaction to this background noise was all-too-typical behavior by the very same banks that have grown in size over the past 2 1/2 years: they turned a perfectly plausible market downturn into marginal gains. The Dow was down 107 points before the pimps and pumpers jacked it up to a 14 point gain by the closing bell.

As expected, in the face of bad news, the financial gamblers could only cover their tracks, put on happy faces and say "all is well." Perhaps these thieves will be singing another tune when a few of them are perp-walked from their ivory towers in full view of the public which has grown to hate them and all they stand for.

All we've seen from the likes of the biggest banks in America is denial of wrongdoing, obfuscation, outright lying, and complete, unabashed manipulation of all markets they touch - bonds, equities and commodities - not to mention the under-the-table mortgage securitization, CDO and debt swap markets.

They are the most ruthless criminals on the planet, completely without conscience, and hopefully, lawmakers are beginning to catch on to their evil ways. Corners must be turned; equity and law must prevail.

Dow 12,285.15, +14.16 (0.12%)
NASDAQ 2,760.22, -1.30 (0.05%)
S&P 500 1,314.52, +0.11 (0.01%)
NYSE Composite 8,374.16, +6.85 (0.08%)

Not to belabor the obviously-fragile nature of the markets, advancing issues outdid decliners oddly enough, 3611-2838. However, new lows overtook new highs on the NASDAQ, 50-49, but new highs remained stubbornly ahead of new lows on the NYSE, 53-23, though the margin has shrunk considerably over the past few session. Volume remained purely a function of lack of interest.

NASDAQ Volume 1,728,764,375
NYSE Volume 4,249,863,500

Perhaps in response to the continuing turmoil, or maybe because the "Sultans of Swap" were too busy shedding documents to keep a handle on them, commodities took another robust turn positive. Crude oil gained another $1.00 during the NYMEX session, to close at $108.11, but gold and silver took home the trophies. Gold rocketed to another in a series of all-time highs, gaining $16.80, to $1,472.40 and silver exploded up $1.43, to $41.66, though both were higher in foreign markets, with gold at $1475.70 and silver romping higher at $42.14 per ounce.

Perhaps, more than turning corners, financial markets are meeting their eventual end, with paper currencies under attack from the growing howls of the general public worldwide, unhappy with rising prices and stagnant wages, governments with too much power and not enough nerve, honesty or will to do right.

These explosive moves in the precious metals are not to be taken lightly. The global Ponzi scheme of fiat money is being put to a severe test and is failing badly, today's activity just another warm-up for the real fireworks coming when the US congress considers whether or not to raise the debt ceiling, something they've done 174 times before.

From the ominous sounds emanating from the Tea Party wing in the House of Representatives, these could be the final days not only for the dollar as a reserve currency, but for every form of money not backed by some tangible asset, of which gold and silver are the obvious choices.

After the bell, Google announced its results for the first quarter of 2011, and from the looks of how it was trading after hours, investors were none too pleased that they missed their earnings per share estimate by three cents.

Even though Google topped revenue expectations, the stock was down nearly 30 points in the after-hours, a decline of more than five per cent.

That does not bode well for tomorrow's opening, which of course will have as an added bonus, the earnings release of the bank everyone loves to hate, Bank of America. Friday ought to be a doozy of a day.

Dow Down 400+ Points Since QE2

Since the inception of the Fed's QE2 program, throwing billions of dollars at Primary Dealers in exchange for Treasuries - essentially monetizing the government's debt - stocks have suffered mightily, posting losses in 11 of the past 16 sessions and dropping a whopping 445 points since November 7.

Currently, the scapegoat is the dastardly Irish, who chose a most inopportune time for their banks to become wholly insolvent and in needs of rescue by the European Union. With debt contagion spreading across to the continent in rapid fashion, the Euro has declined against the greenback, taking the fun of a weak currency trade along with it. As the dollar has strengthened, US stocks have nose-dived, and the rout is clearly underway, whether Ben Bernanke wishes to admit it or not.

Action on the markets today was entirely below the 50-day moving average on the Dow, and ended, after a midday respite, to the downside for the third session in a row. Blaming the Irish may be good sport for Fed bankers, but problems in the Eurozone certainly don't bode well for the ailing US economy. The slow-motion train wreck of Western economies which began in 2007 with the sub--prime mortgage unwind, is, after a $20 trillion reprieve from 2008 to the present, set to gather momentum and careen off the tracks again.

What will eventually prove to be the US economic undoing is still debatable. An expose of Bank of America's immoral and despicable practices in the mortgage arena has been put on the table by Wikileaks' founder Julien Assange. Shares of the Charlotte, NC-based bank fell to a 2-year low, closing at 10.95, on fears of such an event.

Perhaps Ireland's Parliament will just say no to the bank bailout being shoved down their throats by the equally-corrupt European Union, which itself may be a forgotten relic of a failed experiment in a few year's time.

Closer to home, it appears that the lame-duck congress has its hands full in the dwindling time before they decide to do what they do best - go home and do nothing - tackling issues such as the Bush tax cuts and jobless benefits have seen little movement. Congress must also pass a continuing resolution to keep the government operating by December 4, which just happens to be this Friday.

Tomorrow, ADP releases its normal private sector employment report, this one for the month of November, as a precursor to the BLS non-farm payroll data on Friday, which could also sway markets. Consensus seems to be calling for the nation to have created 130-150,000 new jobs in the month. Any number less robust than that could set off investor alarms again.

For today, another $6 billion pumped from the Fed to Primary dealers did little to stem the tide of selling. Stocks rebounded off their morning lows, but suffered a setback in the final hour, all major indices finishing deep in red ink.

Dow 11,006.02, -46.47 (0.42%)
NASDAQ 2,498.23, -26.99 (1.07%)
S&P 500 1,180.55, -7.21 (0.61%)
NYSE Composite 7,430.94, -52.40 (0.70%)

Losses were widespread as losers outnumbered gainers, 4290-2137. New highs numbered 156, while new lows closed to gap, at 103. In an obvious sign of weakness, volume ramped up to numbers not seen since election day.

NASDAQ Volume 2,429,697,750
NYSE Volume 5,643,896,500

Oil took a solid hit, losing $1.62, to $84.11, though it remains at elevated levels. Gold was a star, shooting up $19.20, to $1,386.70 per ounce. Silver also posted a strong gain of 89 cents, to finish at $28.09 on the COMEX.

FUD (Fear, uncertainty and doubt) are on the rise again and the Fed seems powerless to do anything but print more money.

No POMO, Stocks Down; B of A Putbacks Slam Stocks

Playing the market has become so simple. If the Fed supplies liquidity, buy. If they don't sell, but you should do those things a day ahead of time, and, of course, there are no guarantees, as computers running complex algorithms control 70-80% of the trading and the other 20-30% is handled by crooks, swindlers, fast-buck operators and con men.

Today's slide was exacerbated by problems for America's favorite deceitful banking interest, Bank of America, as reports emerged that various parties, from PIMCO to the NY Fed's Maiden Lane entity, are seeking putbacks against the company for many of the bogus MBS it has floated over the years. In a nutshell, now that 20% or more of the loans in various mortgage-backed securities are non-performing and the bank can't keep up with foreclosures and reselling of properties, the investors want their money back.

A consortium has hinted at a lawsuit in a letter to the bank, with more lawsuits surely to follow from parties as diverse as class-actions on behalf of defrauded homeowners to state AGs from across the country in a smorgasbord of civil and criminal actions. BofA has turned from a lending bank to a punching bag overnight, though the process has taken years and was mostly self-inflicted. Of course, BofA is not alone, though they may be singled out for the bulk of the abuse. JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup have similar issues that will be called out in due time.

The hour of the banks final reckoning is upon us, finally, and the criminals are circling the wagons. Within days, we should see executives lawyering up, though Attorney General Eric Holder remains ominously silent and disgraced. Our federal Attorney General should be immediately forced to step down for he has allowed a criminal enterprise to flourish within the banking community without even the hint of an investigation or subpoena.

Dow 10,978.62, -165.07 (1.48%)
NASDAQ 2,436.95, -43.71 (1.76%)
S&P 500 1,165.90, -18.81 (1.59%)
NYSE Composite 7,423.65, -147.45 (1.95%)

Losers finished well ahead of gainers, 5335-1164. New highs came down quite a bit, but still led new lows, 253-30. Obviously, there was some bottom fishing going on, as the new lows number should have been at least double what it was. Of course, considering the abundance of reporting and statistical issues facing the markets, all figures must be viewed with extreme cynicism and skepticism. Volume was quite strong, not to the bulls liking, indicating that this downdraft might be just the first of an October surprise swoon which almost everybody - except the genius analysts on CNBC - has expected.

NASDAQ Volume 2,256,866,500
NYSE Volume 6,293,440,000

Equities were joined by many commodities in the sell-off. Crude Oil for November delivery fell $3.59, to $79.49, a nearly 4.5% loss. Gold was smacked back to reality with a $36.10 loss, to $1,336.00. Silver responded in kind, losing 63 cents, to $23.78.

The banks are walking face-first into a tsunami of lawsuits. High-powered class action lawyers are looking into the potential for a nationwide class action in which the major banks - JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America Wells Fargo and Citigroup - would be defendants.

This Bloomberg story details the sordid side of MERS, named in lawsuits across the country. MERS (Mortgage elctronic Registry System) is a computerized registry which avoids filing mortgage assignments in county offices. It was founded, funded and maintained by a consortium of major lending institutions as well as government entities, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac.

Another story, this one from Salon, citing numerous sources, including University of Utah Law Professor Christopher Peterson in the Summer 2010 University of Cincnnati Law Review. Peterson isolates MERS and puts it squarrely at the root of the entire mortgage miasma, dating back to its roots in 1995. The company and its practices are largely behind the entire securitization process, which, according to Peterson, obliterates chain of title and among other rights, standing in foreclosure actions.

Fraudclosure continues. Here's Barry Ritholz and Chris Whalen on Larry Kudlow's show Monday night discussing various scenarios on how the situation will be resolved:

POMO Monday! Stocks Soar! BofA in the Clear!

The Fed executed a little $6.3 Billion POMO, which, as we have mentioned, is tantamount to giving the largest banks and brokerages free money with which to play the market. "Game on, dudes!" was heard in the offices of Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, et. al., about five to seven minutes into the session.

Gotta love that funny money! Let's dance!

Dow 11,143.69, +80.91 (0.73%)
NASDAQ 2,480.66, +11.89 (0.48%)
S&P 500 1,184.71, +8.52 (0.72%)
NYSE Composite 7,571.10, +50.50 (0.67%)

Up, up and away went the stock indices, with 80% of the trading being done by HTF "flash" computers using algorithms designed by NASA, DARPA or the CIA, no doubt. Advancers absolutely crshed decliners, 4249-2216. New highs bettered new lows, 440-56. Volume was on the wrong side of the toilet rim, but with the Fed pumping money into the system, and the computers all programmed to react to volume buying as a buy signal, there's almost no downside to this market, which, of course, is the whole big idea, anyway.

It's absolutely absurd, but, I would be remiss not to advise at least some jumping in at any level right now, but with the implicit understanding that stops have to be set very judiciously and that means just under your buy price. (Disclaimer: setting stops may alert the HTF computers to your trades and take them out with all due haste.)

NASDAQ Volume 1,642,727,625.00
NYSE Volume 4,996,276,500.0

It was a great day to own oil futures. The front-end contract flew ahead by $1.83 on no news or data, to $83.08. Late print on gold was up $3.40, at $1372.30. Silver also gained 11 cents, to $24.43.

Add this last bit of news to the "and you thought Usain Bolt was fast" file. Bank of America, which just announced a self-imposed halt to foreclosure proceedings in all 50 states last week, today announced that they would resume foreclosures in 23 judicial-foreclosure states. The bank says that they found NO ERRORS in the 102,000 cases they reviewed, but added that they would begin submitting new affidavits by October 25th.

Now, call me silly or just plain dumb, but why, if they found no errors, would they begin filing "new" affidavits. Just saying, if the old ones were OK, why do you draw up new ones. Incidentally, I wonder just how many people spent the last ten days reviewing these 102,000 documents, which, I'm assuming were scattered around offices in those 23 states?

If you had 1000 people reviewing those documents, they'd have to have done 100 apiece, or about ten per day. If it were 100 people, that would escalate to 100 pr day, and what kind of review could one perform at the rate of about 15 per hour?

As usual, that smells fishy to me, but what do I know? Well, I know that the nation's largest banks are rotten, crooked and exist only to separate Americans from their money and property, so excuse me if I don't buy BofA's argument that they've already undone some of their dirty work.

Not so incidentally, Bank of America (BAC) shares were up 0.36, or 3% on the day. Other major bank stocks, like JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C), were up similarly. Wells Fargo and Citgroup both posted gains in excess of 5%.

Happy daze!

Late add: Just found this nifty publishing tool, which allows you to make animated movies. Here's today's post:

CRASH ALERT... BANKS ABOUT TO ROLL OVER AGAIN

As the headline suggests, Foreclosuregate has precipitated a front-running on the banks by investors who are rightfully scared that issues stemming from the rampant fraud, not only from foreclosure and robo-signing issues, but dating back to mortgage originations, bad paperwork, MERS, and the entire RMBS fiasco.

Proof was in the activity of the stocks that appear poised to take what amounts to a knockout blow: JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC) and the granddaddy of them all, Bank of America (BAC). Shares of these banks, which are the servicers of vast numbers of mortgages, many already in default or foreclosure, fell by 5-6% on the day.

On the other side of the sell-off are the monoline insurers, those companies which will gain from tranches of mortgages securities being "put back" to the banks as investors seek to be compensated and made whole at par for non-performing securities. Such entities such as AMBAC (ABK), MBIA (MBI), Radian Group (RDN) and MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG) were up anywhere from 5-18%. The smart money is already in, against the banks and on the insurers.

At issue are mortgages made and securities issued between 2005 and 2007, which were mostly securitized and sold by the Big Four banks. Many of the loans have already defaulted and are being put back to the banks, with litigation ramping up.

As for overall market reaction, stocks were down hard on the day on news that PPI increase 0.4% in September and new unemployment claims ramped up to 462,000, but is probably more like 475,000, as the BLS routinely understates these numbers and upwardly revises them the following week.

The Dow was down by as many as 72 points before the interventionists took aim at the unchanged line at 3:00 - their usual "happy hour" - and almost got there, perhaps leaving all of the indices in the red as a signal to those in the know that the massive sell-off was set to kick into high gear beginning Friday.

A market decline prior to the election is clearly in the cards as a message for Tea partiers and Republicans to carry into the elections as a repudiation of Democrat party policies. in case nobody noticed, equity options expire tomorrow, and the usual out-of-the-blue rally has gone missing.

Stocks are about to become very cheap, very soon, as a crash is well set-up by Fed pumping liquidity and enormous denial of reality on the part of the entire Wall Street scum crowd.

The Fed's QE2, attempting to "reduce disinflation," targeting a 2% inflation rate and an additional 0.5 to 1.0% improvement in GDP, is exactly backwards at this point. To say they are "pushing on a string" is like saying your son's high school football team has a good chance of beating the Baltimore Ravens.

The Fed will attempt to influence the economy by timed purchases of Treasuries and more bad paper in the MBS universe. They're going to get stuck with a load of bad paper which hopefully will cause their utter and complete collapse. Since the Fed is one of the major causes of financial pain in this country, it's about time they meet their maker and go the way of buggy whips, typewriters and people who think the banks are a good buy. Planning to purchase as much as $1.5 trillion of paper over the next 6-12 months isn't even going to raise an eyebrow on the slumbering economy. They'd need $20 trillion to unwind the mess the banks have created and continue to deny. It's OVER. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup will FAIL. JP Morgan Chase may survive, as they hold a special place in American finance, but they will be impaired for many years.

Dow 11,094.57, -1.51 (0.01%)
NASDAQ 2,435.38, -5.85 (0.24%)
S&P 500 1,173.81, -4.29 (0.36%)
NYSE Composite 7,546.59, -14.91 (0.20%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,026,980,750.00
NYSE Volume 5,962,782,000

Declining issues outpaced advancers, 3706-2738, but new highs remained in favor over new lows, 610-58. Volume was slightly improved, but only because the volume on the bank stocks was so unusually high (about 4.5X normal on BAC and WFC alone).

In anticipation of the deflationary depression the United States is about to enter, oil backed off 32 cents, to $82.69. The alternative currency play in the precious metals remained very much alive, with gold hiher by $7.10, to $1,377.60. Silver was higher by another 50 cents, to $24.44, capping a 25% move from the beginning of September.

Make no bones about it, the US is heading right over the cliff. Whether anybody recognizes the fact or the media gives credence to it before the elections or before Christmas is just a matter of how well the power players in government can keep it under wraps. But it's here, and it's going to hurt for a very long time.

Awful August Continues; September Worst Month for Stocks

Since topping out at 10,698.75 on August 9, stocks have been in a pretty steady decline, losing almost 700 points on the Dow over the past 15 sessions. And what used to be known as "mutual fund Monday" - because so many fund investors would pony up with fresh cash - have been losers the past three weeks.

According to Reuters, today was the lowest combined volume for the three major exchanges: AMEX, NYSE and NASDAQ. In the absence of any kind of market-moving news, investors took the path of least resistance and shed shares in favor or more likely candidates. Bonds, gold and cash were where money was being parked until some certainty over the future of the US economy is ascertained.

The general mood being dour and weary, traders have found nothing upon which to hang a trade and that's a serious problem, not only for investors, but for the companies whose stocks trade on the public dollar. Without ample support, a slew of companies will simply cease to exist, especially when borrowing has become somewhat of a nuisance.

Sure, corporate debt is at high levels, but companies are finding it more palatable to borrow at low rates than touch the bales of cash they are hoarding, symptomatic of a deflationary depression, upon which the nation has embarked, without doubt.

Stocks never made it into positive territory, and declines worsened throughout the session. The usual thought of month-ending "window dressing" has been replaced by a flight to safety and out of risky assets.

Dow 10,009.73, -140.92 (1.39%)
NASDAQ 2,119.97, -33.66 (1.56%)
S&P 500 1,048.92, -15.67 (1.47%)
NYSE Composite 6,695.28, -99.63 (1.47%)

Declining issues buried advancers, 4931-1489, though new highs managed to beat out new lows, 240-125, only because so many stocks have been delisted of late.

NASDAQ Volume 1,614,811,125
NYSE Volume 3,411,060,000

Commodities were also weak. oil lost 47 cents, falling to $74.70. Gold managed a tiny gain of $1.50, to $1,237.10. Silver was unchanged at $19.04.

As bad as August has been, September is historically the worst month to own stocks.

Bank of America (BAC) fell 2.5 percent to $12.32, as fears that the Fed may begin dumping all of its toxic paper (originally owned by BofA and others) back upon the beleaguered institution. Somebody has to take the fall and there probably is no better candidate than BofA.

Stocks Finish with Wide Losses as Financial Continue Decline

For the third week in the past four, the major indices recored losses, which is especially poignant this week as the expiration of stock options usually encourages some upward momentum, but there was little to be found as another drab session marked the close of the week.

Stocks bottomed out just at the noon hour before rallying back somewhat, with fresh cash being put to use in what some must surely consider "bargains." There was some discussion on the internet Thursday about buying into Bank of America as the stock hit fresh 52-week lows, but broke down again on Friday to even lower levels.

Consistently the second most traded stock on the NYSE, Bank of America crumpled to a close of 12.87, marking a 34% decline from its closing high of 19.47 on April 15. In the span of four months, one of the most heavily traded stocks in the world has lost more than one third of its market cap. Something is definitely not right, and investors are voting with their feet, running away from the zombie bank as fast as they can.

What is wrong with Bank of America is also wrong with Citigroup (C), JP Mogan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) to varying degrees. They are all victims of their own fortunes, made during the bubbly sub-prime housing boom days from 2003-2007 and crushed by the onslaught of those loans - and many more - going sour. These four banks share a raft of common themes, in that they all made fabulous amounts of money during the housing boom, executives were enriched grandly, all were TARP fund recipients and all were aided in the Spring of 2009 when the FASB allowed banks to employ significant judgement in "mark to market" accounting.

The rule allowed the banks enormous leeway in how they valued assets while at the same time reducing writedowns on impaired investments, including mortgage-backed securities. The rule change saved the banks from untold billions of dollars in impairment charges, but the same rule, as long as it remains in force, keeps bank capital bottled up and unable to be lent.

Honest accounting would probably put the nation's largest banks into receivership or bankruptcy and unleash a financial tsunami that would make the 2008 crash look like a gentle summer rain. In the meantime, many investors are apparently not about to wait for BofA and its counterparts to work out all of their bad, toxic and otherwise broken down investments. They are leaving the stock in droves.

BofA's brethren are in similar straits, taking on losses since mid-April of between 25-35%. Wells Fargo has dropped from 34.25 to as low as 24.27. JP Morgan Chase has gone from a high of 48.20 to as low as 35.16. And Citigroup, usually the most actively-traded stock on the NYSE, has dipped from 5 in mid-April to 3.75 today, a neat, 25% haircut.

While Wall Street pounds the table over Washington's inaction on the fiscal front, lawmakers in Washington are eerily quiet about the fate of the nation's largest banks, seeming to want the nightmare scenario of another Japan-style deflation to just go away. The truth is that they have no clue what to do next, relying on the Federal Reserve to sop up excesses in the default markets and keep interest rates at ZERO until something good happens, whatever that might be. Washington politicians are only interested in keeping their jobs, meaning that they will purposely mislead the public into a false sense of stability until the elections this November.

In the meantime, the nation suffers and America's fiscal problems become worse by the day as the corrective measures that would have already kicked these banks to the collective curbs have not been even mentioned. Bad assets need to be written down and the companies need to take their licks, but that solution is seen as messy and untenable by the ruling elite.

The entire situation reeks of insider deals, secrecy, mismanagement and falsehood, and it is killing the US economy, little by little, day in and day out.

Dow 10,213.62, -57.59 (0.56%)
NASDAQ 2,179.76, +0.81 (0.04%)
S&P 500 1,071.69, -3.94 (0.37%)
NYSE Composite 6,813.15, -37.30 (0.54%)

On the day, there were more losers than winners, by a 3567-2778 tally. Tellingly, new lows surpassed new highs, 259-226, signaling that those who were buying all afternoon were either delusional or just misguided. The markets appear ready to break down once again to fresh lows. Dipping below the 9680 mark on the Dow over the next month is certainly in the equation. Volume was a little better than most of this week, though that's another negative. Higher volume on losing days indicates, quite simply, that more stocks are being sold than bought.

NASDAQ Volume 1,913,865,250.00
NYSE Volume 4,309,225,000

Stocks were not the only asset class being beaten down. Crude oil for September delivery fell another 97 cents, to $73.46 on the NYMEX. Gold lost $6.60, to $1,227.20, and silver was hammered down nearly 2%, losing 37 cents to close the week at $17.98 the ounce.

Deflation has come, and has actually been pushing on stocks, bond yields and home prices for the past three years. Only the federal government's ability to throw large amounts of money around has kept the economy from complete collapse, though the band-aid approach seems to have failed miserably and the eventual downturn will be more severe than anyone can imagine.

Bearish Cycle Phase Two Begins As Global Markets Careen Lower

A year from now, there will be many people wishing they had sold TODAY, tomorrow or within the next few weeks. That's because in a year to eighteen months, stocks will probably be flat on their backs and Dow 10,000 will seem like a dream from some long-abandoned, mythical place in which stocks had value and companies made profits.

Beginning with the Fed's understated announcement yesterday that they would replenish their balance sheet by selling mortgage and agency debt and replacing it with shorter-term treasuries, the Phase 2 of the Bear Market Cycle has officially begun. In reality, the market break came in April, but deflation-deniers and recovery junkies saw that as a mere correction, a soft patch, a buying opportunity, when in reality, the break below the 200-day moving averages on the major exchanges was a major tipping point, signaling uncertainty and despair in markets stemming from unsustainable long-term economic conditions.

What began as a fraud, the sub-prime crisis, in which billions were swindled from the system and from individuals and from taxpayers (people not even engaged in the market), has evolved into a serious debate over the future of the United States of America and its Ponzi-like scheme of unfunded liabilities (mainly Social Security, Medicare and Medicade), debt-laced, unbalanced state and federal budgets and a national debt well into the trillions of dollars which will never be repaid.

Phase one was the meltdown of Autumn 2008 into 2009, with the requisite recovery bounce in the markets which gracefully lasted for over a year. Phase two is likely to last longer, move at a slower pace, but end up being even more severe. By the end of phase two, prior to another false bounce, most stock prices will lose half of their value or more as the panic and race for liquidity (cash) ensues. Figure that this phase will take us through the next election cycle, through the end of 2012, before any meaningful bounce, more than likely tied to false hope of a new "conservative" president and congress.

The end will come sometime within the following years - not to put too fine a point upon it - within the first two years of the next administration, when fear and panic have turned to rage and near-anarchy, when stocks will be viewed with contempt and the government (given there even is a government in control) disrespected and almost universally hated and blamed (rightfully) for the entire collapse of the economy.

In phase two, bottoms will form below the previous 2009 lows. The Dow will likely bottom out in the 4500-5000 range, the S&P around 450 and the NASDAQ in the range of 950 to 1100. After a brief sideways to upward move which will suck the last remaining dollars from those foolish enough to jump into the market while it is still collapsing, the major indices will approach levels not seen in 30 years or more. By 2014 the Dow Jones Industrials may well be hovering around 2-3000, the S&P 500 in the 300 range and the NASDAQ shattered beyond belief, possibly around 600-750. Stocks will lose almost all of their value, just as many did during the Great Depression of the 1930s, because, in reality, we are entering the most brutal stage of an even Greater Depression, one which, in all likelihood, will finish the Federal Reserve, fractional banking and fiat money.

Gold will probably reign, selling at unbelievable prices of over $4000 per ounce, as the last and only reliable store of value.

Of course, time being purely a relative factor in the grand economic experiment of the Keynesians, phases two and three could all occur in a much more compressed time frame. There will be days of maximum despair, of the Dow losing 1000 points in a day, aided by computer-generated program trading. There is no escaping the truth, nor the massive, unpayable debt the nation's leaders have promised. Life in America is about to undergo an incredible transformation, from a great nation to a poor one, and we have nobody to blame but the politicians we elected, for they have truly sold out the American people to bankers, frauds, liars and thieves.

Those who believe the next election will usher in some new form of direction or control are absolutely without a clue. The current office-holders will only be replaced by more-corrupt, less talented crooks, liars and clowns, who have neither any skill at governing nor any intention of restoring the country to the middle-class values upon which it was founded.

On the day, stocks were spanked right out of the gate, with the Dow down more than 200 points within minutes and the NASDAQ taking the brunt of the assault, off by more than 60 points in the early going. Stocks did not even attempt a rally at any point during the session, indicating broad distribution and a severe lack of buyers.

Bears took the day fully, and are just getting warmed up for the slaughter that is certain to occur over the next two months, as economic data will continue to demonstrate severe weakness in markets and stresses to the financial core. It is worth noting that US indices were not alone in their decimation. Asian and European bourses also were down by significant levels.

There was significant chart damage to the major averages. All closed well below their 200-day moving averages, a move widely expected only by honest economists with market understanding. The Dow fared better than the rest of the averages, as most of the representative stocks carry dividends, holding their values a little bit better than the majority of publicly-traded equities.

Dow 10,378.83, -265.42 (2.49%)
NASDAQ 2,208.63, -68.54 (3.01%)
S&P 500 1,089.47, -31.59 (2.82%)
NYSE Composite 6,902.72, -237.03 (3.32%)

Internals showed just how severe the damage was. Declining issues absolutely punished advancers, by a 6-to-1 tally, 5600-922. New lows clambered past new highs for the first time in well over a month, 216-210, a trend worth watching, which is likely to continue flashing bearish indications. Volume, though still at reduced levels, was much stronger today than on any of the previous two days of the week. There was enough selling strength to indicate more strain to come for the rest of the week and no end in sight, near-term.

NASDAQ Volume 2,114,243,500
NYSE Volume 4,857,608,500

On the commodity front, crude oil was crushed by the appreciation of the US dollar against most other currencies, especially the Euro, sending the front-end futures contracts down $2.23, to $78.02, the lowest level in two weeks. While most consider gold to be a safe haven, it was not an overwhelming favorite, gaining $1.30, to $1,197.50, though its positive finish was much more acceptable than what occurred in equities. The issue with gold is that it is, as a store of value, also inert. It has no usefulness other than as a place-holder. In times of unusual economic stress and especially in illiquid markets, there is a tendency for redemption. Gold gets liquidated just as quickly as other assets, as was seen during the 2008-09 phase of the crisis. It is, however, more resilient, and will probably, in the long run, prove to be more valued than any paper assets, like stocks or even cash.

The more-commoditized metal, silver, slipped 26 cents, to $17.89. One would expect silver to relinquish gains at a faster pace than gold, though it is likely more volatile as well.

It's not the beginning of the end, nor is it too late to make changes in one's asset allocations, from stocks and bonds into gold, cash, tools of trade and arable land. For those chasing value, like the millions stuck in mutual funds, pension funds and the like, there is nothing but pain ahead for years to come.

Many household names hit new 52-week lows, including our personal favorite, the discredited and illiquid Bank of America (BAC).

A Thousand Points of (False) Hope

Stocks on the major indices closed near their highs of the day, pushing the averages ahead for the 14th time in the last 21 sessions - about a month's worth.

Most of the upside movement since the 4th of July holiday has been on lighter-than-normal volume, and today was certainly no exception. Out of a universe of over 3000 stocks, the top five most active on the NYSE accounted for 12.5% of the volume, a skewing to the degree of magnitude of nearly 100 times normal, proving that when analysts say that most people trade the same stocks, they surely aren't lying about it.

Those five stocks - Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Motorola (MOT), Pfizer (PFE) and Ford (F) all trade for under $20 per share and have since Autumn of 2008, when the systemic financial collapse made everyone rethink valuation models. It's patently clear that investors have gotten stuck in a routine, especially in the case of Citi and BofA, two stocks which, under better-managed conditions would have been bankrupted and de-listed long ago. The pair of zombie banks consistently lead the most actives, as gamblers attempt to profit from fairly large percentage moves in what have become, essentially, penny stocks.

Another interesting side note on those top five is that all but Bank of America posted a gain, though Citigroup's was only a slim penny advance. BofA dropped by 14 cents, making the two most actively traded stocks the worst of the bunch. One can only speculate as to why so many trades occur on these two dogs, but there are, almost without a doubt, plenty of sellers, long-term holders who a quietly slipping their money out of them.

The advances over the past three days have pushed the Dow to a 1000-point gain over the past month, putting them right at (for Fibonacci fans) a 67% retracement of the 1500-point decline which commenced from mid-April to the first days of July.

At what appears to be a key inflection point, stocks face an uphill battle to surpass the April high of 12,200 on the Dow. Since the latest move has been fueled largely by excellent second quarter results from a wide swath of companies (notably, neither BAC nor C among them), the propellant seems to be missing for the final push, replaced by two key data points: Thursday's unemployment claims figures and Friday's July non-farm payroll report.

There were an equal amount of groans and cheers this morning when ADP released its own private payroll report for July, showing 42,000 new jobs being created during the month. Since the report does not include government employment, it serves as a proxy for Friday's figures, which are likely to come in only slightly on the positive side or even negative, due to layoffs from expired census employment. Thursday morning's unemployment data will provide another clue.

It's probably safe to say, barring any outsize surprise on the upside, that stocks are ready for a reversal after a month in a fantasy zone, though those of the bearish camp will contend that the stock market does not represent the US economy, and thus will continue to climb on their own.

There is some degree of truth to that argument, but if US-based companies refuse to hire US citizens, as they have for the past two years (ad for some, much longer than that), there will be bottom-line damage eventually, unless the companies in question are doing 75% or more of their business outside the USA, in which case they should be listed on another, non-US exchange. The US market is still the largest and most important, and people without jobs cannot continue to buy good and services at a steadily-growing rate. Of course, should congress deem that unemployment benefits should continue indefinitely, beyond the currently-absurd 99 weeks, companies might as well just lay off all US employees and allow the government to pick up the tab.

ISM services index rose from 53.8 in June, to 54.3 in July, eliciting another big whoop from perma-bulls, various tea-partiers and clueless analysts, who seem to be everywhere at once this summer.

Dow 10,680.43, +44.05 (0.41%)
NASDAQ 2,303.57, +20.05 (0.88%)
S&P 500 1,127.24, +6.78 (0.61%)
NYSE Composite 7,182.14, +35.15 (0.49%)

Advancing issues dominated decliners on the day, 4577-1880; new highs soared past new lows, 408-68; but volume, as previously mentioned, was the real story, well below normal levels and embarrassingly below what used to serve as average prior to the 2008 meltdown.

NASDAQ Volume 1,881,489,125
NYSE Volume 4,293,061,500

Commodity traders seemed unable to gain traction. Oil paused, dropping 8 cents, to $82.47. Gold gained $8.50, to $1,193.70, though silver did not follow on, losing 14 cents to $18.26.

With new economic data on the horizon, there appears to be no new catalyst with which to lift equities near-term, and longer-term prospects, heading into 2011, also seem pinned to dim, or even false, hopes.

SMASHING! Stock Hammered as Banks, Google Disappoint

The first week of second quarter earnings season actually came to an abrupt end on Tuesday, when all the major indices topped out after a six day rally. Wednesday and Thursday were flat-lined, as nervous investors jockeyed in and out of equities. With options expiring on Friday, the stage was set for a near-panic sell-off, and it was a doozy.

When Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) followed JP Morgan Chase's lead with unsettling results prior to Friday's open, the trade was set and sellers pounded stocks in the opening minutes. Just before 10:00 am, the university of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index delivered another in a series of economic blows, as the gauge fell from 76.0 in June, to 66.5 for the current month. The rout was on, as the Dow soon dipped down 200 points from the previous close.

There was no relief for stockholders in a relentless grind lower which lasted through the end of the session.

For the week, all f the major indices ended with losses, as the Dow finished 100 points lower, the NASDAQ shed 17 points, the S&P 500 surrendered 13 points and the NYSE Composite dropped 99 points.

Dow 10,097.90, -261.41 (2.52%)
NASDAQ 2,179.05, -70.03 (3.11%)
S&P 500 1,064.88, -31.60 (2.88%)
NYSE Composite 6,709.51, -207.30 (3.00%)

As expected, internals told the same stark story. Decliners pounded advancers, 5321-1154, with losers beating winners by a 7:1 margin on the NASDAQ. New highs managed to stay ahead of new lows, 150-124, though that trend is weakening and about to roll over again. Volume was not spectacular, though it was far better then the previous three sessions.

NASDAQ Volume 2,183,108,750
NYSE Volume 6,016,648,500

Stock investors were not alone in their desperation. Commodities were also pummeled in concert with the CPI reading (0.2). Crude for August delivery fell another 61 cents, to $76.01. Gold continued its recent shaky form, losing $20.10, to $1,188.00. Silver followed that lead, dropping 57 cents, to $17.77.

Gold hit its lowest level since May, though it is still well above its 200-day moving average. Silver continues to flirt with its 200-day MA, touching it again today. Any further deterioration in precious metals prices might just spread the panic through the commodity space in a deflationary sell-off.

Bank of America was the Dow's worst performer, losing 1.41, to 13.98, a decline of 9%. Citigroup fell 26 cents, to 3.90, a 6.25% loss. Google, after announcing a slight miss on earnings per share Thursday after the close, was punished with a 7$ decline, off 34.41, to 459.61.

All of this in the middle of earnings season does not bode well for bulls. The next two weeks will be interesting, to say the least, and challenging to see where any support might appear.

Got Bank Stocks? Sell Them on Monday.

Ever since the financial meltdown - which actually began in August of 2007 (Trust me, I'm a doctor.) when the Primary Trend in the Down Jones Industrials turned from a bull to a bear - the banks have gotten a lot of attention. Many of us do our banking at either a locally-owned bank or a friendly Credit Union. If you're smart enough to have made the decision to keep your money out of major national banks, good or you.

The too-big-to-fail national banks - Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase - also known as money center banks, are the main reason for the economic calamity which still grips this country, and to a lesser extent, the rest of the world. These were the ones engaged in all that risky behavior with sub-prime mortgages, credit default swaps and, more recently, the bailouts. Add to them Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and you have the gang of six which nearly brought down Western capitalism as we know it.

Two of their brethren - Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros. - could not be saved, and were more than likely swallowed up more or less whole to hide the extent of the fraud, inside dealings, manipulations and other horse-trading that was so widespread during the late 90s and though the first years of the new millennium. What's troubling is that they are nowhere near out of the woods. The four big banks mentioned above are nearly insolvent. Only free money from the Federal Reserve, in the form of overnight loans at just about ZERO percent, has kept them from complete collapse. They are still poring though the toxic assets on their books, hiding and keeping off market millions of foreclosed homes and struggling to stay in business.

In case you're unaware of the ongoing problems with the big banks, just consider: JP Morgan's provision for credit losses totaled $7.28 billion during the fourth quarter.

That's about all you have to know... well, and that the other banks will report similar losses. Somehow, through financial alchemy which only the banks can perform, JP Morgan Chase posted a 4th quarter profit. Let's face it, They're full of brown stuff. Credit card delinquencies were at 8.64% in the 4th quarter. People are defaulting on credit cards at an historic rate. They're also walking away from homes in droves, many of them because they are upside-down, in other words, the amount of the mortgage exceeds the fair market price of the home.

Without work and with mortgages higher than the value of their homes, the latest trend is to make a strategic default, either through bankruptcy or by just failing to make mortgage payments, leading to the eventual foreclosure. This is what's known as a self-reinforcing feedback loop. The more home prices fall, the more people default, leading to more foreclosures and lower prices again. Soon enough, it's going to become cheaper to rent than to own as vulture landlords scoop up the foreclosed properties at a fraction of their value and rent them out to strapped, credit-less former homeowners.

The banks will never survive the onslaught of foreclosures that are due to escalate once again this Spring. Common practices by the banks now are to offer buy-downs, short sales, loan modifications and extensions in order to avoid foreclosure. Once a property is foreclosed upon, the banks are on the hook for the upkeep of the property and the taxes. With homes in some areas sitting on the market for a year to two years, eventually selling for much less than the foreclosed value, the banks are in a tough spot and doing all they can to prevent foreclosure, a lengthy, expensive process which seldom produces a positive result.

Eventually, in a foreclosure, the bank gets the property, the homeowner is put out and the vacant property deteriorates, leading to further losses. There are numerous reports, especially in the Northeastern "rust belt" of banks starting foreclosures but never finishing the process. Homeowners, thinking they have to bail, leave the property, only to receive tax bills later on, because the bank did not proceed with the sheriff's sale.

The whole mess is not going to end soon or well. It's going to take 6-10 years for the banks to work off the excesses of the sub-prime credit expansion. In The meantime, property values and interest rates will remain at historically low levels. If you own shares of any of the aforementioned banks, you should dump them if you haven't already. In fact, with the market close to highs, today could have been a warning shot for further declines to come. The economy continues to stumble along and eventually, the stock wizards will get out of the way, Government bailouts and stimulus have only paved the way for another round of declines in the stock market and in prices generally.

Dow 10,609.65, -100.90 (0.94%)
NASDAQ 2,287.99, -28.75 (1.24%)
S&P 500 1,136.03, -12.43 (1.08%)
NYSE Composite 7,356.79, -91.73 (1.23%)

Losers beat winners by a wide margin, 4664-1864; there were still 340 new highs, to just 44 new lows. Volume was substantially better than it has been all week. Uh, oh.

NYSE Volume 5,426,332,500
NASDAQ Volume 2,662,195,750

With the dollar stronger, oil took a nosedive, losing $1.44, to $78.00 (still too high). Gold lost $12.00, to $1,131.00. Silver was down 22 cents, to $18.44. The pause in the rise of the precious metals may be signaling a buy. If the economy worsens, the dollar should weaken (though as gauged against other currencies, some of which aren't doing very well themselves, the dollar may just waffle around), sending gold and silver higher. Even if the dollar doesn't lose value, the metals may still be the play as more and more people look for their perceived safety.

Tip for the day: Go to a coin dealer and buy a common silver dollar, or, as many as you can reasonably afford to put away for a couple of years. It's a near-certainty they'll be worth just as much or more in 2012. You can't say that about any other asset class, except maybe bonds.

Ending String of Advances, Markets Lower Ahead of Fed

Was Monday the top?

A day after reaching 14-month highs, stocks trended lower on Tuesday on inflationary PPI data (+1.8%, more than double the predicted rise) and a strengthening US Dollar.

It was a confusing day fro traders in everything from stocks to currencies to commodities as markets moved in unusual directions in relation to each other. Oil managed to post its first gain after nine straight sessions in the red, while stocks broke a string of five straight winning sessions. Gold and silver fought against the flat line all day long.

Other economic news items sent mixed messages. The Empire State manufacturing index suffered a steep decline, dropping to a level of 2.55 in December after posting a figure of 23.51 in November. Nationally, capacity utilization continued to improve, up to 71.3% in November, following a reading of 70.6% in October.

Meanwhile, fears of more banking capitulation in Europe took on new meaning as Austria nationalized a major regional bank overnight.

Also weighing on the market was the issuance of more than $50 billion in new stock hitting the markets, stemming from the repayment of TARP funds by Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo. The idea that the market could sustain itself with so much new paper on the street without as much as a hiccup stoked the backs of the bulls. Shares of major banks, including Dow components JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) fell sharply during the session, however.

Struggling through most of the day in the red, the major indices slumped to intra-day lows in the final hour even though the losses were somewhat compromised by the release of comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke with less than 15 minutes left in the trading day. Those comments, obviously timed to prevent a major sell-off prior to tomorrow's FOMC policy statement, cut the losses on the Dow by about 1/3. Nonetheless, stocks finished near the lows of the day with many investors seeking clarity on a range of issues from inflation to whether China would continue buying US treasuries.

Dow 10,452.00, -49.05 (0.47%)
NASDAQ 2,201.05, -11.05 (0.50%)
S&P 500 1,107.93, -6.18 (0.55%)
NYSE Composite 7,141.44, -45.05 (0.63%)

Market internals were clearly bearish. Losers beat winners, 3993-2529. New highs continued to outpace new lows, though by a margin less than Monday's extreme, 423-70.

NYSE Volume 5,604,492,500
NASDAQ Volume 1,921,278,875

Crude oil for January delivery was up $1.18, to $70.69. Gold lost $1.10, to $1,122.70, while silver gained 13 cents, to $17.47.

There was more than enough conflicting data and news to confound investors, and, if markets hate anything, it is uncertainty, of which there was an oversupply.

The avalanche of data will only worse on Wednesday, with November CPI, building permits, housing starts and the Treasury's current account balance on tap prior to the opening bell. Shortly after 2:00 pm, the Fed is expected to keep interest rates steady, though the statement wording will be closely watched for signs that the central bank may be considering raising rates.

It seems that the Fed has already tipped its hand concerning the all-important statement, not wanting to destroy the rally so close to Christmas. There's something to be said about Fed Chairman Bernanke: he definitely does not want to take away the punch bowl at the height of the party, but eventually that is what he will be forced to do. In the meantime, Treasuries have been rising over the past two months, which should serve as signal enough for investors that the top may already be in for stocks, or, at the very least, very close.

Wall Street has had a phenomenal year, considering how it began. Whether the markets will sustain themselves though the end of the year will be partially answered tomorrow after 2:00 pm.

ADP Employment Number Trumped by Stronger Dollar

The market loves liquidity, lately, the kind that gushes forth from the font of a weaker US dollar. And since the market did not get what it wanted today, stocks pouted, putting on their most forlorn looks and stubbornly refusing to come out of their basement room.

After a relatively strong start, boosted by the private ADP Employment Report for November (-169.000 jobs), stocks took note of the dollar's strength against both the Yen and the Euro and headed South for the day. Coming one day after a major uptick, it probably wasn't such a bad move, and consequently a light one, though many were more hopeful for some follow-through on the back of Tuesday's semi-sweet rally. When all was said and done, of the major markets, only the Dow Jones Industrials finished in the red. Other indices posted marginal gains.

The Forex wouldn't allow stocks to advance much at all, however, as the perverse risk trade trumped all bets, good, bad or indifferent.

Dow 10,452.68, -18.90 (0.18%)
NASDAQ 2,185.03, +9.22 (0.42%)
S&P 500 1,109.24, +0.38 (0.03%)
NYSE Composite 7,222.42, +10.34 (0.14%)

Internals belied the headline numbers. Advancing issued finished the day well ahead of decliners, 4091-2396, and new highs beat new lows, 467-86. Volume was surprisingly strong for such a light news day, once again slightly better than usual. These indications bode well for the remainder of the week and month. It should be reiterated that stocks have patterned in the same manner over the past three months, with the best gains in the first 10-12 days of the month.

NYSE Volume 4,568,939,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,076,633,000

Strength in the US Dollar didn't stop gold from continuing its dramatic climb, posting another record close at $1,213.00, after gaining $12.80 on the day. Silver improved, though only by 12 cents, to $19.33. Crude oil lost $1.77, to $76.60, though that decline was keyed mostly to improvement in existing supply than anything else. In general, the energy and food complexes were all lower, with precious metals the only sector showing gains.

After the close came news - from CNBC's Charlie Gasparino - that Bank of America would exit the government's TARP program, with plans to raise capital to repay the entire $45 billion to get out from under the government's thumb. Some of the reasoning behind such a move would surely include the search for a new CEO to replace Ken Lewis, who has stated that he would step down from the position at the end of 2009. Government strictures on pay levels for executives whose firms have received TARP funds have limited BofA's search for a new CEO. Lifting the government pressure from the firm would pave the way for a new Chief Executive free to earn a competitive salary.

The surprising announcement also revives the conspiracy theory that the entire "financial armageddon" scenario of 2008 was smoke and mirrors orchestrated by the banks in the largest swindle ever perpetrated on the public. If Bank of America - like many of its colleagues - can suddenly find the means to repay an emergency loan all in one fell swoop, the veracity of the entire financial industry should be scrutinized with a more curious eye.

No matter the case, Bank of America's departure from the TARP is welcome news at a time the market needs a bit of a catalyst to move ahead. Whether this is really the kind of event which will propel stocks will have to wait until tomorrow.

Short Session, Big Losses on Dubai Debt

Friday's abbreviated session answered the question of why stocks did not advance much in Wednesday's pre-holiday trading, when all of the economic news was positive. Overhanging the market was word from Dubai - on Wednesday - that the government was requesting a six-month moratorium on interest payments, mostly from its major real estate developer, Dubai World.

While the news did not noticeably affect markets in the US, the news shook Asian and European markets violently on Thursday. US stock exchanges were closed for Thanksgiving.

Quoting the NY Times:

According to data from the Bank for International Settlements, foreign banks have $130 billion of exposure to the United Arab Emirates, with Britain having the largest exposure, $51 billion. Banks in the United States have debts of $13 billion.

At the open on Friday, stock futures were indicating a massive sell-off, with Dow futures down more than 200 points. After an initial selling spree which sent the Dow down more than 230 points, cooler heads prevailed for a time, bringing the indices back to some level of respectability and calm. By the close, however, fears of another round of banking crises had investors scurrying for the exits, not wanting to hold positions over a weekend in which many of these issues would be pondered.

Dow 10,309.92, -154.48 (1.48%)
NASDAQ 2,138.44, -37.61 (1.73%)
S&P 500 1,091.49, -19.14 (1.72%)
NYSE Composite 7,070.09, -162.03 (2.24%)

On the day, declining issues far outpaced advancers, 5211-1086. New highs held a slim edge over new lows, 98-85. Volume was only average, indicating a hope that markets would return to a more normal tone in days ahead. There was little panic to speak of, though every sector finished in the red.

NYSE Volume 2,846,343,000
NASDAQ Volume 972,038,750

Commodities took the bigger hit. Oil tumbled $3.06, to $74.90, its lowest close in months. Gold fell $12.60, to $1,176.00, though the price had fallen by as much as $30 during the day. Silver slipped 47 cents, holding at $18.34.

What Dubai means to US banking interests is a relatively small matter, as only Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) hold anything approaching what would be considered large obligations. The general fear - a holdover from last year's major meltdown - is a more severe liquidity issue, cascading across the financial landscape in unpaid loans and the roll-over of resultant guarantees (Credit Default Swaps) which would put more banks at risk.

While it is possible that another severe shock could ensue, it's more likely that central banks will intervene in the interest of the banks, propping them up with more guarantees and looser credit facilities, much like last year's rescue. Still, there are palpable fears out there, that the entire system is prone to disruptions like this as more emerging markets face similar issues.

Paper money rolling off printing presses at high speed can only delay the inevitable. Eventually, losses must be taken or parties made whole. The most probable outcome is continuation of the deflationary spiral, which the central bankers of the world wish to avoid.

The simplest way to understand the issue is in terms of mortgages. As more money is pumped into the system, chasing the bad, assets - everything from stocks to houses - become less valuable. The home purchased for $200,000 a year ago is only worth $160,000, an so on. Devaluing currencies to reflect lower asset values, a hard, painful choice, seems the proper medicine, but one which world banking and political leaders have yet refused to consider.

Bear Market Rally Built on Fraud

Every day, day after day after day, the sharks on Wall Street do the same thing, over and over and over again. According to the new rules of the game, stocks are suddenly much more attractive at 2:30, or 3:00, or 3:15, or 3:30, without any news, without any economic reports, without any technical rationale, than they were earlier in the day.

This is called manipulation. Manipulation which occurs every day, without fail.

The pattern is so established and so obvious, eventually, the only people trading stocks will be the manipulators themselves, scratching and clawing for scraps, quarter points, half points, here and there, churning, deceiving, shorting stocks they are recommending to their clients and taking every last bit of available capital out of the hands of investors and into the black holes of the banks and brokerages.

It will eventually fail, and fail miserably. The smartest money got out of this market on Friday, the marginally less smart, Monday, and those with any brain cells left, after being slammed and hammered by instability and volatility, got out today.

With each passing day that the seven largest banks in America are allowed to continue doing business under a government-sponsored shroud of solvency - a complete and total fraud which I called as early as 2007, and others called even before me - stocks will be a very dangerous gamble. Those banks - Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and American Express - are all insolvent and have been at least since September of 2008, some even sooner. All have benefited from injections of liquidity, cash and other government largess, courtesy of the US taxpayer, and still are underwater.

Finally, today, cracks began to widen in the flimsy fraud facade of "improving conditions", "signs of recovery", and other such nonsense being thrown around by the insipid morons on CNBC, on corporate boards and in the minds of witless fools who think they can make money in this environment.

After shaving 75 points off its 210-point loss in the final 1 1/2 hours, the markets were met with a torrent of selling in the final ten minutes of trading, pushing stocks close to their lows of the day. This should usher in more selling in days and weeks to come, as the rally built on nothing by hype, hope, lies and greed, completely falls apart. Conditions are not improving overall. They are getting worse, the recession deepening, business conditions deteriorating, credit squeezed to the breaking point, and fear re-emerging as the dominant sentiment.

And signs are clear that the economy will face heightened challenges in the months ahead, if the Business Roundtable Survey of 100 CEOs [PDF] is to be believed. Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed expected sales to decrease over the next six months. 66% expect to decrease capital spending, and 71% expect to lower employment over the same period. THESE GUYS SHOULD KNOW. THEY RUN PUBLICLY-TRADED COMPANIES.

The economic outlook index of the same survey fell to -5 (negative 5.0) in the period, the lowest level ever recorded in the six years of the survey and markedly lower than last quarter's reading of 16.5.

In case you need more proof of Wall Street's fraud and the true condition of the US economy, consider reading this New York Times story which explains how analysts expect earnings to be 37% lower than a year ago - a year which was already down from the previous year for many companies. You will learn that Standard and Poors reported that companies cut a total of $77 billion in dividends in the first quarter of 2009, the worst record of dividend cuts on record.

There was more bad news as the Times of London reported that the IMF may issue a report that bank toxic assets could reach as high as $4 trillion. Their previous estimate was $2.1 trillion. The report is due April 21.

Dow 7,789.56, -186.29 (2.34%)
NASDAQ 1,561.61, -45.10 (2.81%)
S&P 500 815.55, -19.93 (2.39%)
NYSE Composite 5,120.67, -128.81 (2.45%)

On the day, declining issues thumped advancers, 4897-1477. New lows were reached at 75 stocks, while a mere 10 recorded new 52-week highs. Volume was decimated by the lack of buyers. The smart money was moving out. The stubborn and the ill-informed remained in the market as stocks commence a cascade to lower levels. Volume has not been this low in four weeks, prior to the beginning of the massive ramp-up in stocks. Bulls will say the volume points out that today's decline is unimportant, though bears will point to three consecutive gains of lower highs and lower lows as proof that the bear market rally is out of gas.

NYSE Volume 1,261,882,000
NASDAQ Volume 1,868,136,000

Commodities were split, with the metals up and energy and food futures lower. Oil fell $1.90, to $49.15, on increased concerns over slack global demand. Gold ended a three-day losing streak, up $10.50, to $883.30. Silver added 10 cents to $12.21.

Finally, after the bell, Alcoa kicked off earnings season with a 59 cent per share loss, greater than the 56-cent loss analysts were expecting. It was the second straight quarter the company has posted a loss.

And, late in the day, news leaked out that General Motors (GM) was in "intense and earnest" preparations of a bankruptcy filing, in case the company fails to meet the requirements of the Obama administration's stringent restructuring plan.

I could not make this stuff up, folks. We, as a nation, are headed for economic hell.

What's in Your Wallet? Not Much, Says Capital One

I'm not sure, but probably more than 30% of all adult Americans have a Capital One credit card. I used to have two, before the company - kicking and screaming all the way - finally acceded to my demands to combine them into one.

While checking some financial sector stocks earlier today, I noticed that Capital One (COF) has taken a hellacious beating this year. Since closing at 31.05 on December 31, 2008, the stock has received a 67% haircut, down to 10.13. Capital One is the nation's largest purveyor of individual credit cards, but also dabbles in making new car loans, home equity loans and other, similarly risky endeavors.

The company is notably the subprime credit lender of nearly last resort to consumers who have tapped out their home equity and are now piling up credit card debt, typically at rates of 15% and higher, and now it appears that many are not paying back their lender, as Forbes reports:

The company also reported its annual net charge-off rate a measure of credit default, for U.S. credit cards rose to 7.82% in January from 7.71% in December.

Apparently, when it comes to paying their debt to Capital One, there really isn't much left in people's wallets, much to the displeasure of COF shareholders, as the company wiped out all of the year's gains in 2008 with a 4th quarter loss of $3.74 per share.

Much of Wall Street was sharing the pain with Capital One, as stocks took yet another drubbing, with the Dow falling to within a whisker of the November 20 low (7552.29), closing right at the lows of the day, 7552.60.

This sets the stage for an interesting remainder of the week, as today's close is undeniably a double bottom on the Dow. The other majors are close to their previous lows, but not quite there.

Dow 7,552.60, -297.81 (3.79%)
NASDAQ 1,470.66, -63.70 (4.15%)
S&P 500 789.17, -37.67 (4.56%)
NYSE Compos 4,939.12, -267.64 (5.14%)

The NASDAQ has another 154 points to go, the S&P would have to shed another 36 points and the NYSE Composite is still 288 above its November 20 close. Obviously, the bank and financial stocks of the Dow have weighed heavily of late.

Bank of America (BAC) crossed the $5 Rubicon again, closing at 4.90, down 67 cents. CitiGroup (C) continued down the rat hole, losing 43 cents, to 3.06. even venerable JP Morgan Chase (JPM) lost 3.04, to 21.65. Each of those company's shares were down by more than 12% on the session.

Market internals verified just how rough a day it was for US stocks. Declining issues absolutely slammed advancers, 5803-775. New lows expanded to 555, versus a paltry 18 new highs. Volume was outstanding, signaling more selling dead ahead. Only one issue of the Dow 30 closed with a gain: Wal-Mart (WMT). For more on that, see below.

NYSE Volume 1,590,783,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,395,914,000

Commodities were split down the middle. Anything consumable, from unleaded gas to pork bellies, was down, while the precious metals shot to short term highs. Crude oil for March delivery were down $2.58, to $34.93; natural gas was off 22 cents, to $4.22, and wholesale unleaded gas closed at $1.11, begging the question as to how most consumers are paying roughly $2.00 at the pump. Look for another record quarter for the oil companies.

Gold gained $25.30, to $967.50. Silver broke 39 cents higher, to $14.01. With deflation clearly the issue, one has to wonder how far the bulls will push the metals. They are, after all, investment hedges - primarily against inflation - but commodities at heart.

Investors find themselves at a critical crossroad at the open tomorrow. Considering that only the Dow has retraced its low, it should be a pretty safe bet that all indices are heading lower in the short term.

Want to know why Wal-Mart was the only Dow component to show a gain on the day? Watch the video below:

Bye, Bye, Bank of America

There was a rally underway on Wall Street, until, that is, around 10:30 am, when President Obama announced that executive pay for bankers whose institutions receive TARP funds would be capped at $500,000. That's when stocks peaked, eventually losing more than 200 points from top to bottom on the Dow, which was the worst affected of all indices.

Dow 7,956.66, -121.70 (1.51%)
NASDAQ 1,515.05, -1.25 (0.08%)
S&P 500 832.23, -6.28 (0.75%)
NYSE Composite 5,242.75, -25.27 (0.48%)

The blue chips were aided in their descent by 4th quarter earnings reports from Disney (DIS) and Kraft (KFT), in addition to Bank of America (BAC), which reportedly lost 12 investment bankers on the Obama announcement, jumping ship to join Deutsche Bank (DB), which has received no TARP funds nor money from their home, German government.

Among the three big losers on the Dow, Kraft posted a 72% earnings decline year-over-year, losing 9% on the day as traders punished the stock, sending it to 26.13, down 2.61 at the close. Disney suffered through a troubling fiscal first quarter, earning 45 cents a share in the quarter ended Dec. 27, compared with 63 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago. Disney finished at 19.00, off 1.60, a 7.8% loss.

Bank of America was hit with massive selling, with more than 600 million shares changing hands, almost 4 times the average daily volume. shares fell to 4.60, a 17-year low, off 0.60, a decline of more than 11%. The number of shares trading is significant in that many funds, by charter, cannot maintain positions in stocks valued under $5 per share. The rout of the bank's backers should continue as long as the company's shares remain at depressed levels.

In truth, Bank of America should already have filed for bankruptcy protection as its operations have been underwater for quite some time. Continuing to shovel money into the bottomless pits of BofA and Citigroup, particularly, has been a mistake from the very start. No business is "too big to fail" and pouring taxpayer money into these obviously failed institutions is a monumental blunder on the part of the federal government, more likely to prolong and deepen the financial crisis than repair it.

A very astute rendering of the current economic malaise is offered by Ismael Hossein Zadeh, in "Too Big to Fail:" a Bailout Hoax at counterpunch.org. This article should be required reading for all of our elected federal officials, who, as a group, are poorly prepared to handle any kind of economy, especially one which is in dire straits.

Sadly, most of them will not read it or any other tract on economics, being that, for most of them, their major accomplishments involve using other people's money to land big-time government jobs. Of all the 650 or so congresspeople there is maybe a handful (10 to 20) who really have a grasp for economics of this scale. The rest simply are led by their noses by supposed government "experts" who dictate policy. There's little doubt that the worst enemy of the United States of America does not domicile in Afghan or Pakistani caves, but in tony residences around the Capitol. The lot of them and their predecessors has led America down this path of destruction since 1980 at least. Those currently holding office in congress will certainly finish the job in a smashing manner, impoverishing the nation in a manner never before seen.

As for the president who promised change, little has. Instead, he has surrounded himself with the very same people who are responsible for the whole mess. Yes, I voted for him, thinking he could turn around many of our mistakes, but, thus far, he has been a huge disappointment, favoring massive deficit spending over actual, practical solutions, like cutting the payroll tax, surely the easiest and quickest way to stimulate the overall economy.

Interestingly, and probably not coincidentally, today's morning rally stalled out just above my magic 8149.09 mark, the level which cannot be penetrated before lows are retested. This number is turning out to be a very strong resistance point, one that could endure for months, if not years. The Dow needs to fall further and our economy needs to find a solid footing before advancing in any meaningful way. That, sadly, is also months, or years, away and seemingly getting pushed further along the horizon every day.

The sooner the pols in Washington realize that decentralization of everything from the energy grid to banking to politics is at the heart of recovery, the sooner various parts of the country can begin to function well again. What's interesting and even amusing about this economic era is that the people being damaged the most are, not in any particular order, the rich, Wall Street, and Washington politicians, the last of which is rapidly losing credibility and relevance.

Recovery will begin more on local levels than at the federal. Communities with forward-looking. realistic activists will be better prepared to deal with the downturn and offer solutions for recovery. Those solutions will be more proactive and less involved with government and other macro-style solutions. They are likely to be based on models of sustainability, conservation and localism. The ideas are emerging. Many of them will be featured on this very blog as they become evident.

On the day, market internals confirmed the absolute pummeling the markets took on Wednesday. Declining issues overwhelmed advancers, 3732-2766. New lows expanded their edge over new highs, 235-17. Volume was strong, indicating that the decline is gaining momentum.

NYSE Volume 6,413,953,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,187,395,750

Commodities continue to trade in mixed fashion with oil falling 46 cents to $40.32, while gold gained $9.70, to $902.20, and silver posting a 17 cent gain, to $12.47. This is likely a trend which will continue. Commodities which are used widely - energy and food stocks - should continue to feel the pinch of deflation, while the safety of the precious metals will attract smart money seeking safety. Naturally, when the real effects of government overspending become evident in a weakened dollar, those same commodities should rise, and the metals will go parabolic. That eventuality is likely 2-3 years away, maybe longer.

In the interim, the US and world economies are undergoing a massive shift from globalization to localization. More and more people every day are understanding that their basic needs are not being met by government and ultra-national corporate entities, but by local economies, farms, businesses and people. This could be the beginning of the absolute end of big government in its many layers. From towns and villages all the way up to the federal level, the American public is increasingly weary of being overtaxed and underserved, harassed and obligated to the very institutions which are supposed to support and protect us.

Wall Street and Washington has screwed us all the way down. The American people will fix this on the way up, but, like a drunk with a problem, the first step is bottoming out, and we haven't done that yet. Mostly, we are still in denial.

More tomorrow.

Oil and Gas Killing Economy

Regardless of the causes, the recent spike in the prices of crude oil and gasoline are killing the US and other economies. Middle and lower class consumers are the hardest hit and also the least likely to continue spending on other goods and services, since the cost of transportation has risen more than 35% over the past year and has also caused the price of another basic element of life - food - to skyrocket in the past 3 months.

Higher energy prices overall are great for oil and utility companies, but they come at the expense of curtailed retail spending in nearly all other areas and also contribute to a vicious price spiral since almost all goods are transported. Similarly, most services have energy expenses they cannot absorb, and these are passed along to the consumer in the guide of higher prices.

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The entire world is feeling the pain from the seemingly unending rise in the price of basic fuel, and with gas nationwide at $3.50 per gallon in the US, average people and businesses are having a hard time keeping pace, much less enjoying the fruits of their labors.

Thus far, the stock markets and big business have been able to maintain profitability in the face of spiraling fuel costs, but a significant pullback by consumers will damage (and already have) some segments of the business community. It's difficult to cut back on fuel expenses for most individuals, so in this case, the Exxons and Chevrons of the world win, at the expense of everything else.

Dow 12,825.02 -24.34; NASDAQ 2,408.04 +5.07 (0.21%) S&P 500 1,388.17 -2.16; NYSE Composite 9,312.29 +2.05

The major indices finished mixed, with the Dow and S&P lower, while the NASDAQ and NYSE Composite posted marginal gains. Actually, all of the indices were lower for the better part of the day, but regained much of what they lost thanks to a late-day surge.

After all was said and done, declining issues outpaced advancers, 3521-2749. New highs outdid new lows for the second straight session, though only marginally, 183-177. All indications are that the market is searching for direction in the aftermath of 4-5% gains last week.

Oil closed at a new record of $117.48, up 79 cents on the day. Gold gained $2.40 to $917.60, while silver lost 46 cents to close at $17.36.

Companies reporting earnings were mostly in line with expectations, though Bank of America (BAC) experienced a 77% decline in earnings for the first quarter on a year-over-year basis.

Bank of America's shares dropped 95 cents, to $37.61.

NYSE Volume 3,379,862,250
NASDAQ Volume 1,636,458,250