The Markets
Stocks did an about-face midday on Tuesday, shaving away all of the morning gains as the afternoon wore on and word from Europe was mixed. The Dow Jones Industrials and S&P 500 each made a run at the lower end of their 50-day moving averages, hit resistance and failed, badly.
All of the averages made suspicious-looking early moves between 10 and 11 am EDT, hovered near the highs, made new highs around 2:00 pm and then fell remarkably into the close, with not even a hint of a closing bounce.
From a technical point of view, meeting resistance at the 50-day MA makes perfect sense and the indices will likely take another run at it in coming days, though it seems a hurdle too high to surpass, considering all of the significant headwinds facing companies (lowered earnings forecasts) and nations, especially those in the Eurozone - Greece, Italy, Portugal, Ireland - to say nothing about the current poor economic conditions in the USA.
Stocks have been mired in a basically directionless trading range for the better part of two months and that's making people even more nervous and keeping significant amounts of money out of stocks and into treasuries, corporate paper, cash and equivalents, gold and other tangible assets. The fear surrounding a default by Greece and the associated fallout to other European countries and banks has the market in a condition of near paralysis.
Until the sovereign debt issues are resolved one way or another, stocks will be unlikely to advance as investors are simply too afraid to stake out new, large positions.
On the data front, housing starts fell to a three-month low, from 601,000 annualized in July to 571,000 in August. With such a glut of cheap foreclosures and bank REO property on the market, in addition to the nearly 300,000 residential homes held by Fannie Mae, hope for a recovery by the end of this year are fading fast. With the onset of colder weather and the usual seasonal downturn, one could easily suggest that housing will dive even lower or bounce around the bottom until Spring of 2012 at the earliest. Of course, such numbers didn't faze Wall Street in the least. Optimists pointed out that building permits rose from 601K in July to 620K in August, though it's only a 3% move, barely more than a rounding error.
So, with Europe still a basket case and the US close behind, the markets are stuck in neutral, awaiting some kind of announcement from the FOMC, which began a two-day meeting today with a rate announcement due out tomorrow around 2:15 pm. The wording of the FOMC statement is unlikely to change dramatically, though many on the street believe the Fed will either outline some new policy such as "operation twist" in which they purchase longer-dated securities in order to drive long rates lower, or announce another round of quantitative easing, which would be dubbed QE3, though that concept, having already failed to goose the economy twice in the past two years, is unlikely to gather much traction within the Fed circle.
All should be expecting something from the Fed, even though many believe that they have exhausted nearly all of their policy tools.
Dow 11,408.66, +7.65 (0.07%)
NASDAQ 2,590.24, -22.59 (0.86%)
S&P 500 1,202.09, -2.00 (0.17%)
NYSE Composite 7,217.11, -17.52 (0.24%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,942,335,500
NYSE Volume 4,250,461,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2261-4207
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 85-189
WTI crude oil: 86.89, +1.19
Gold: 1804.80, +26.30
Silver: 39.74, +0.09
Idea: Making and Sticking to a Budget
We've all heard forever that making a budget for household and/or business expenses and income is a smart and necessary step toward financial freedom and fiscal responsibility, but, taking our lead from Washington, few people seem able to keep the process honest or reach desired outcomes. Our federal government is probably the worst example of budgeting known to man, as the process is riddled with partisan politics, fudged calculations, unrealistic expectations and projections and extraneous falderol like earmarks, off-balance sheet expenditures and unfunded liabilities like Social Security and Medicare.
Household budgets are a bit simpler to make though not quite as difficult to keep. The best approach is to go for a monthly outlook, as most of us have recurring expenses that serve as a baseline. Things like utility bills, phone and cable bills, car payments, mortgage payments (though some of us have eliminated those recently) and credit card expenses come due at some time or another during the month and have to be paid in a reasonably timely manner.
After that, items such as food, clothing, entertainment, (liquor and cigarettes if so inclined) and other variable expenses should be calculated out on a monthly basis as best as possible. That way, one can readily see where overspending or potential savings might occur. The regular bills, known in the business world as "fixed expenses" aren't going to change much, if at all, month to month, and one will find that over time, even variable expenses don't bounce around very much.
Once one has all the monthly expenses lined up, then it's time to match it against income (if one still has any) and see how it balances out. If you are one of the lucky few who have an extra $5,000-$2,000,000 on the income side of the ledger, you can stop reading right here. You don't need a budget; you need a financial advisor or a beach house.
If, however, you're like most people, you'll see where all that money goes, and when you stop crying, you might find a little bit left over. Anything more than 10-20% above your monthly regular expenses would be a great sign. If you find yourself a few hundred dollars short each month, then there's work to do.
Where most people get into trouble is in making exceptions, overspending (usually caused by not thinking and acting on emotion), and bogus projections, like "I'll get a raise soon," or the classic fail, "when I start receiving Social Security checks..." as wishful thinking almost never returns positive results.
Another trap is not counting the little things that add up to big headaches without one noticing. Things like that morning latte - and doughnut, bagel, croissant or McDonald's McBiscuit - the extra tip for the heavenly lunch waitress or waiter, tolls, parking fees, snacks, bottled water, the occasional needed home item, more expensive gas than calculated, all contribute to budget busting in all but the most frugal environments.
There are remedies for those items, such as keeping receipts for everything or a log book exclusively for "little" expenses, but the best way is to take your monthly expense total and add 10% to it, calling it the miscellaneous expense column. If you're judicious and cautious, you'll find yourself spending less than that 10%, but it's doubtful it will add up to very much. The key concept is that every dime and dollar counts, even those $200 binge nights out with the guys or gals.
In the end, we'd all like to earn more and save more, the goal eventually being filthy rich and not having to worry about money any more. Since that's an unlikely event for the vast majority, taking a little time each month to review and preview income and expenses gives one a clearer outlook on where one's been, where one's money is going and what can be done about it.
There are an assortment of online tools and sites which can provide some assistance. Here's a good place to start, with brief reviews of some of the best budgeting websites.
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
No Rest for the Wicked; Stocks Fall Again
Conditions in Europe have not really changed much since yesterday's news of a crisis in Italy's continuing funding, except that Greece - before even receiving all of its most recent bailout money - already has put out its hand for more.
The word for the deepening debt crisis in Europe most-bantered about these days is contagion, the likelihood that issues of underfunding and failing to meet obligations by sovereign governments will spread. Here's a tip: contagion is already in effect. A few years ago Iceland defaulted on debt, refused to take austerity and cash from the IMF and is well on its way to a newfound prosperity without the rigors of international finance and fractional reserve banking.
However, on the continent, Ireland, Greece, and now Italy are suffering strains of the same disease - that of over-promising (mostly on government employee pensions and benefits) and failing to pull in enough revenue in taxes, fees and levies to pay out promptly and graciously. Portugal and Spain are not far behind, and the tiny nation of Belarus has already defaulted and devalued its currency. Belgium is also a basket case.
Contagion is here and its happening now.
What this really means is two things: 1) The European Union is in its death throes after just 11 years of existence, and, 2) Many of the largest banks in Europe are nearing the end of their government-supplied rope and will hang.
And maybe there's a third link to the disaster that is modern Europe: people will cheat, steal, riot, and eventually revolt. Forget collecting taxes. Government officials will be happy if they escape with the clothes on their backs and a few thousand Euros to see them safely out of their respective countries. Whether or not the contagion has enough virulence to travel across the Atlantic Ocean and infect the United States is a matter for politicians and their media lackeys, because the United States is the world's largest debtor with a total debt (on the books, not including the unfunded liabilities of Social Security, Medicade and Medicare) well beyond its annual GDP, making the United States the worst of all nations with a debt-to-GDP ration of over 100%.
Not only is the USA a basket case gone full retard, the debt is growing larger every day, and every day the Obama administration and the congress dithers over raising the debt ceiling (they all agree that the US cannot default), the situation worsens. We are in the midst of the most enthralling and frightening economic condition of all time. Many, many grave errors have occured over the past thirty years, not the least of which was the hollowing out of our industrial base which provided good jobs for millions of Americans. Those jobs went to Mexico and then to Southeast Asia and China. They are gone, many for good, and there is no way to bring them back soon.
It brings up an interesting proposition, supposing that the mindless cretins we call our "leaders" in Washington haggle and argue right up to the August 2nd deadline. Who gets stiffed in the case of a default? Would the US actually stop paying its military? Social Security recipients? Food stamp mouth-breathers? How about China?
There are no good answers, only bad and horrible conclusions. The answer is China. Stiff the Chinese on their $1.8 billion or so in bond holdings and go to war, as war solves all problems in a way. Both countries get decimated in a protracted struggle or blow each other and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere away in a nuclear holocaust. The first way is slow, painful and regrettable. The second is quick and completely devastating, and since neither side would likely opt for MAD (mutually assured destruction), the first choice is rather obvious.
Will it happen? Hopefully not. And there's the very good chance that the politicians, controlled by the banking and industrialist interests, would opt on stiffing seniors. What the heck, they're old and going to die soon anyway, why not just accelerate the process. And wipe out the food stamp class as well. They contribute nothing, so starve them to death. Nice scenarios, no?
Whatever happens over the next few weeks, nothing is really going to be solved. Even if the government officials decide on a compromise of $3 trillion in budget cuts over ten years, the annual deficit will probably be close to a trillion dollars each and every year. They're only cutting $300 billion a year out of the budget. It's kind of like using a sponge to empty a bucket. It works, but not very well. By 2022, the national debt will have grown to over $24 trillion, and that's if they work out a compromise that cuts some of the deficit and tax revenues remain steady for the next ten years, two possibilities that are not very good bets.
In other words, you, me, your kids, their friends, your neighbors and their neighbors are royally screwed unless we begin taking off the rose-colored shades and rid ourselves of the infliction known as normalcy bias pretty soon. Normal is going away. Austerity, poverty and desperation will become rampant, as they're already spreading across the land and are in place in Europe.
Not to sound like the whack-job on the street corner, shouting, "prepare or die," it is time to hunker down and get serious about the issues plaguing the globe, most of which start and end at your local bank branch, which is probably a Chase, Bank of America or Wells Fargo. They're the problem, have been the problem and will continue to be the problem until they are forced to meet their realities and be broken up, though that will not happen. We're beyond that, and, with the politicians thinking more about elections in 2012 rather than whether or not there will be a nation and an engaged electorate at that time, the chances of complete systemic breakdown are greater than they were in 2008, when the unthinkable almost happened. This time, there will be no bailout, because it will be the government going under.
Whether that's a good thing or not will be for historians to judge, but one thing's for certain: we cannot continue along this path much further without some kind of catastrophe. It's coming faster than anyone can imagine.
As for the markets, the major indices bounced along the flat line for most of the session, with the NASDAQ (where the highest risk stocks reside) taking the worst of it. There was a slight bounce after the Fed released the minutes from the last FOMC meeting, in which it was revealed that the Fed governors were torn between more stimulus and raising rates. There cannot be a greater divide of opinion, which, at such a critical time, is a very, very bad omen and portends more mistakes by the Fed straight ahead.
That bounce lasted only a few minutes as stocks fell to their worst levels of the day into the close. It was truly ugly and sets up some very dicey trading for the remainder of the week. Even as earnings are rolling out from a variety of companies, interpreting economic data is going to be a challenge. PPI is out on Thursday along with initial unemployment claims, and Friday, a veritable stew of data comes forth: CPI, Industrial Production, Capacity Utilization, the Empire Index for NY state and the Michigan gauge of consumer sentiment. Things could get very messy down on the trading floors. Good time to stock up on tissues and handkerchiefs because there's likely to be a bit of sweating and some crying before the week is out.
Dow 12,446.88, -58.88 (0.47%)
NASDAQ 2,781.91, -20.71 (0.74%)
S&P 500 1,313.64, -5.85 (0.44%)
NYSE Composite 8,192.75, -35.98 (0.44%)
Declining issues outpaced advancers, 3806-2726. There were 56 new highs and 37 new lows on the NASDAQ. The NYSE showed 46 new highs and 37 new lows. Combined, there were 102 new highs and 74 new lows. Not much margin for error as the tide seems to be turning very bearish, very quickly. Today's volume was a bit perky, with much of it occurring in the final two hours' rush for the exits, another disturbing sign.
NASDAQ Volume 2,028,997,125
NYSE Volume 4,215,946,500
For those of us who drive combustion engine vehicles, another knife in the back from our friendly oil producers, who drove the price of WTI crude up another $2.28, to $97.43. Gold, however, made a new all-time high at $1,562.30, gaining $16.20 on the day. Silver added 35 cents to $36.10.
With gold and silver rising, stocks falling, and, by the way, the 10-year note down to a yield of 2.87% - from 3.12% a week ago - all signs point to a very rough patch dead ahead. The flattening of the yield curve is happening at an unprecedentedly rapid pace. The clowns in Washington better come to a deal soon, like tomorrow, because financial armageddon awaits. The same goes for the millionaire players and billionaire owners of the NFL. People are tired of gamesmanship and waiting.
Now is the time for decisive action.
The word for the deepening debt crisis in Europe most-bantered about these days is contagion, the likelihood that issues of underfunding and failing to meet obligations by sovereign governments will spread. Here's a tip: contagion is already in effect. A few years ago Iceland defaulted on debt, refused to take austerity and cash from the IMF and is well on its way to a newfound prosperity without the rigors of international finance and fractional reserve banking.
However, on the continent, Ireland, Greece, and now Italy are suffering strains of the same disease - that of over-promising (mostly on government employee pensions and benefits) and failing to pull in enough revenue in taxes, fees and levies to pay out promptly and graciously. Portugal and Spain are not far behind, and the tiny nation of Belarus has already defaulted and devalued its currency. Belgium is also a basket case.
Contagion is here and its happening now.
What this really means is two things: 1) The European Union is in its death throes after just 11 years of existence, and, 2) Many of the largest banks in Europe are nearing the end of their government-supplied rope and will hang.
And maybe there's a third link to the disaster that is modern Europe: people will cheat, steal, riot, and eventually revolt. Forget collecting taxes. Government officials will be happy if they escape with the clothes on their backs and a few thousand Euros to see them safely out of their respective countries. Whether or not the contagion has enough virulence to travel across the Atlantic Ocean and infect the United States is a matter for politicians and their media lackeys, because the United States is the world's largest debtor with a total debt (on the books, not including the unfunded liabilities of Social Security, Medicade and Medicare) well beyond its annual GDP, making the United States the worst of all nations with a debt-to-GDP ration of over 100%.
Not only is the USA a basket case gone full retard, the debt is growing larger every day, and every day the Obama administration and the congress dithers over raising the debt ceiling (they all agree that the US cannot default), the situation worsens. We are in the midst of the most enthralling and frightening economic condition of all time. Many, many grave errors have occured over the past thirty years, not the least of which was the hollowing out of our industrial base which provided good jobs for millions of Americans. Those jobs went to Mexico and then to Southeast Asia and China. They are gone, many for good, and there is no way to bring them back soon.
It brings up an interesting proposition, supposing that the mindless cretins we call our "leaders" in Washington haggle and argue right up to the August 2nd deadline. Who gets stiffed in the case of a default? Would the US actually stop paying its military? Social Security recipients? Food stamp mouth-breathers? How about China?
There are no good answers, only bad and horrible conclusions. The answer is China. Stiff the Chinese on their $1.8 billion or so in bond holdings and go to war, as war solves all problems in a way. Both countries get decimated in a protracted struggle or blow each other and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere away in a nuclear holocaust. The first way is slow, painful and regrettable. The second is quick and completely devastating, and since neither side would likely opt for MAD (mutually assured destruction), the first choice is rather obvious.
Will it happen? Hopefully not. And there's the very good chance that the politicians, controlled by the banking and industrialist interests, would opt on stiffing seniors. What the heck, they're old and going to die soon anyway, why not just accelerate the process. And wipe out the food stamp class as well. They contribute nothing, so starve them to death. Nice scenarios, no?
Whatever happens over the next few weeks, nothing is really going to be solved. Even if the government officials decide on a compromise of $3 trillion in budget cuts over ten years, the annual deficit will probably be close to a trillion dollars each and every year. They're only cutting $300 billion a year out of the budget. It's kind of like using a sponge to empty a bucket. It works, but not very well. By 2022, the national debt will have grown to over $24 trillion, and that's if they work out a compromise that cuts some of the deficit and tax revenues remain steady for the next ten years, two possibilities that are not very good bets.
In other words, you, me, your kids, their friends, your neighbors and their neighbors are royally screwed unless we begin taking off the rose-colored shades and rid ourselves of the infliction known as normalcy bias pretty soon. Normal is going away. Austerity, poverty and desperation will become rampant, as they're already spreading across the land and are in place in Europe.
Not to sound like the whack-job on the street corner, shouting, "prepare or die," it is time to hunker down and get serious about the issues plaguing the globe, most of which start and end at your local bank branch, which is probably a Chase, Bank of America or Wells Fargo. They're the problem, have been the problem and will continue to be the problem until they are forced to meet their realities and be broken up, though that will not happen. We're beyond that, and, with the politicians thinking more about elections in 2012 rather than whether or not there will be a nation and an engaged electorate at that time, the chances of complete systemic breakdown are greater than they were in 2008, when the unthinkable almost happened. This time, there will be no bailout, because it will be the government going under.
Whether that's a good thing or not will be for historians to judge, but one thing's for certain: we cannot continue along this path much further without some kind of catastrophe. It's coming faster than anyone can imagine.
As for the markets, the major indices bounced along the flat line for most of the session, with the NASDAQ (where the highest risk stocks reside) taking the worst of it. There was a slight bounce after the Fed released the minutes from the last FOMC meeting, in which it was revealed that the Fed governors were torn between more stimulus and raising rates. There cannot be a greater divide of opinion, which, at such a critical time, is a very, very bad omen and portends more mistakes by the Fed straight ahead.
That bounce lasted only a few minutes as stocks fell to their worst levels of the day into the close. It was truly ugly and sets up some very dicey trading for the remainder of the week. Even as earnings are rolling out from a variety of companies, interpreting economic data is going to be a challenge. PPI is out on Thursday along with initial unemployment claims, and Friday, a veritable stew of data comes forth: CPI, Industrial Production, Capacity Utilization, the Empire Index for NY state and the Michigan gauge of consumer sentiment. Things could get very messy down on the trading floors. Good time to stock up on tissues and handkerchiefs because there's likely to be a bit of sweating and some crying before the week is out.
Dow 12,446.88, -58.88 (0.47%)
NASDAQ 2,781.91, -20.71 (0.74%)
S&P 500 1,313.64, -5.85 (0.44%)
NYSE Composite 8,192.75, -35.98 (0.44%)
Declining issues outpaced advancers, 3806-2726. There were 56 new highs and 37 new lows on the NASDAQ. The NYSE showed 46 new highs and 37 new lows. Combined, there were 102 new highs and 74 new lows. Not much margin for error as the tide seems to be turning very bearish, very quickly. Today's volume was a bit perky, with much of it occurring in the final two hours' rush for the exits, another disturbing sign.
NASDAQ Volume 2,028,997,125
NYSE Volume 4,215,946,500
For those of us who drive combustion engine vehicles, another knife in the back from our friendly oil producers, who drove the price of WTI crude up another $2.28, to $97.43. Gold, however, made a new all-time high at $1,562.30, gaining $16.20 on the day. Silver added 35 cents to $36.10.
With gold and silver rising, stocks falling, and, by the way, the 10-year note down to a yield of 2.87% - from 3.12% a week ago - all signs point to a very rough patch dead ahead. The flattening of the yield curve is happening at an unprecedentedly rapid pace. The clowns in Washington better come to a deal soon, like tomorrow, because financial armageddon awaits. The same goes for the millionaire players and billionaire owners of the NFL. People are tired of gamesmanship and waiting.
Now is the time for decisive action.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Problems Abound: Jobs, Italy, Greece; Stocks in Retreat
Quoting from Friday's post: "Monday may, in fact, turn into a real blood-bath."
Well, it may not have been real blood, and it was more of a dousing rather than a bath, but stocks got hit pretty hard on Monday, following the less-than-impressive sell-off after the dismal non-farm payroll report which ended last week's rally in rather abrupt fashion.
The poor start to the new week was blamed - according to most pundits and exclamatory TV barkers - almost entirely on debt issues related to Italy, though there are more issues and problems popping up every day. The scapegoat Italians seem to be having the same problem most Western nations are: too much debt and not enough revenue.
What has the EU concerned is the not the size of the bailout which might be needed to shore up Italy's evolving debt crisis, it is the size of Italy's economy, the third largest in the European Union. Halping out smaller countries like Greece or Ireland are mere child's play by comparison. Italy is a nation of 60 million people, or, about 1/5th the size of the United States. That's a big problem, akin to having Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming and Louisiana all threaten to default on public debt at once.
The absolute fact of the matter is that the EU simply cannot go about printing up more Euros to bail out nation after nation. Sooner or later, the currency will become worthless and the nascent "grand experiment" of a unified Europe will fall completely apart. Already, there are signs of trouble in Germany, which has been acting - along with the US Federal Reserve - as the main funding source for bailout money, but in the end the major European banks will become victims of their own Ponzi scheme.
You see, money really doesn't grow on trees and just whipping it up out of thin air makes for instability and eventual anarchy. This is the situation in which we all are headed, and in a hurry. Would the financiers of the leading nations have confessed to their sins during the Lehman debacle in 2008, much of this would not be occurring, but, being the type of people who are prone to lie and cover up crimes and major blunders, world leaders would rather play this silly game of bailout rather than face the music (and jail time or guillotines).
Eventually, it's all going to implode into a global depression, rivaling or exceeding the pain and suffering of the 1930s. By some accounts, parts of the world, such as the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, certain counties in Georgia and Florida, along with Greece and Ireland, are already in a deep, never-ending depression. All that's keeping the rest of the world from falling apart is the non-stop printing of US dollars and the helping hand of uncle Ben Bernanke at the Fed.
While there are those who believe we in America will suffer a bout of hyper-inflation a la the Weimar Republic, the fact remains that wage growth is stagnant, money supply is insufficient to handle all claims in a mass default and the other income-producing part of the great capitalist triangle (money, labor, materials), that being materials, are still rather abundant.
We should all be preparing for the "great reset" in which everything becomes worth less than it was the day before, except maybe food, for that is the only requisite commodity essential to sustaining human life. One hates to be the messenger for bad news, but starvation and death may indeed become preferable, for some, to living under the thumb of a global police state in a condition of abject poverty. It's coming, and, as today's evidence and that of the past three years can attest, it's gaining momentum.
Incidentally, only eight stocks in the S&P 500 were winners today, and all 30 Dow components finished on the downside. Financials led the way, with Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) hitting new 52-week closing lows.
Here are the sad facts from fat-cat Wall Street:
Dow 12,505.76, -151.44 (1.20%)
NASDAQ 2,802.62, -57.19 (2.00%)
S&P 500 1,319.49, -24.31 (1.81%)
NYSE Composite 8,228.73, -181.46 (2.16%)
Losing issues trampled gainers, 5494-1122, the largest margin of losers to winners in quite some time, probably not since 2008. On the NASDAQ, there were, hard to believe, 49 new highs and 32 new lows. On the NYSE, a little closer to reality, 34 new highs and 30 new lows. The combined total of 83 new highs and 66 new lows masks the fact that many of the new highs were nothing but bear funds, inverse, triple leveraged ETFs and other derivative products. Even looking through the listings of new highs on the NYSE shows most stocks finishing well below their stated 52-week high. Surely, we can trust the Rupert Muchdoch-owned Wall Street Journal to not fudge statistics, right?
Volume was pretty weak, even for a massive down day, though this low level of trading has by now morphed into a new normal, so lower and lower volume figures should not be cause for alarm as market participants exit or are destroyed.
NASDAQ Volume 1,778,419,250
NYSE Volume 3,843,530,000
WTI crude oil traded down again, losing $1.05, to $95.15. Gold gained $7.60, to $1,549.20, close to an all-time high, though silver was punished once more for attempting to be regarded as money, dipping 85 cents, to $35.70 per ounce.
Not all the news was bad... well, yes it was, as Alcoa (AA) reported after the bell that it missed LOWERED estimates by a penny, at 32 cents per share as opposed to the consensus of 33 cents. Share were lower all day, preceding the after-hours announcement and continued to slide.
That is not a good way to kick off 2nd quarter earnings season.
Well, it may not have been real blood, and it was more of a dousing rather than a bath, but stocks got hit pretty hard on Monday, following the less-than-impressive sell-off after the dismal non-farm payroll report which ended last week's rally in rather abrupt fashion.
The poor start to the new week was blamed - according to most pundits and exclamatory TV barkers - almost entirely on debt issues related to Italy, though there are more issues and problems popping up every day. The scapegoat Italians seem to be having the same problem most Western nations are: too much debt and not enough revenue.
What has the EU concerned is the not the size of the bailout which might be needed to shore up Italy's evolving debt crisis, it is the size of Italy's economy, the third largest in the European Union. Halping out smaller countries like Greece or Ireland are mere child's play by comparison. Italy is a nation of 60 million people, or, about 1/5th the size of the United States. That's a big problem, akin to having Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming and Louisiana all threaten to default on public debt at once.
The absolute fact of the matter is that the EU simply cannot go about printing up more Euros to bail out nation after nation. Sooner or later, the currency will become worthless and the nascent "grand experiment" of a unified Europe will fall completely apart. Already, there are signs of trouble in Germany, which has been acting - along with the US Federal Reserve - as the main funding source for bailout money, but in the end the major European banks will become victims of their own Ponzi scheme.
You see, money really doesn't grow on trees and just whipping it up out of thin air makes for instability and eventual anarchy. This is the situation in which we all are headed, and in a hurry. Would the financiers of the leading nations have confessed to their sins during the Lehman debacle in 2008, much of this would not be occurring, but, being the type of people who are prone to lie and cover up crimes and major blunders, world leaders would rather play this silly game of bailout rather than face the music (and jail time or guillotines).
Eventually, it's all going to implode into a global depression, rivaling or exceeding the pain and suffering of the 1930s. By some accounts, parts of the world, such as the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, certain counties in Georgia and Florida, along with Greece and Ireland, are already in a deep, never-ending depression. All that's keeping the rest of the world from falling apart is the non-stop printing of US dollars and the helping hand of uncle Ben Bernanke at the Fed.
While there are those who believe we in America will suffer a bout of hyper-inflation a la the Weimar Republic, the fact remains that wage growth is stagnant, money supply is insufficient to handle all claims in a mass default and the other income-producing part of the great capitalist triangle (money, labor, materials), that being materials, are still rather abundant.
We should all be preparing for the "great reset" in which everything becomes worth less than it was the day before, except maybe food, for that is the only requisite commodity essential to sustaining human life. One hates to be the messenger for bad news, but starvation and death may indeed become preferable, for some, to living under the thumb of a global police state in a condition of abject poverty. It's coming, and, as today's evidence and that of the past three years can attest, it's gaining momentum.
Incidentally, only eight stocks in the S&P 500 were winners today, and all 30 Dow components finished on the downside. Financials led the way, with Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) hitting new 52-week closing lows.
Here are the sad facts from fat-cat Wall Street:
Dow 12,505.76, -151.44 (1.20%)
NASDAQ 2,802.62, -57.19 (2.00%)
S&P 500 1,319.49, -24.31 (1.81%)
NYSE Composite 8,228.73, -181.46 (2.16%)
Losing issues trampled gainers, 5494-1122, the largest margin of losers to winners in quite some time, probably not since 2008. On the NASDAQ, there were, hard to believe, 49 new highs and 32 new lows. On the NYSE, a little closer to reality, 34 new highs and 30 new lows. The combined total of 83 new highs and 66 new lows masks the fact that many of the new highs were nothing but bear funds, inverse, triple leveraged ETFs and other derivative products. Even looking through the listings of new highs on the NYSE shows most stocks finishing well below their stated 52-week high. Surely, we can trust the Rupert Muchdoch-owned Wall Street Journal to not fudge statistics, right?
Volume was pretty weak, even for a massive down day, though this low level of trading has by now morphed into a new normal, so lower and lower volume figures should not be cause for alarm as market participants exit or are destroyed.
NASDAQ Volume 1,778,419,250
NYSE Volume 3,843,530,000
WTI crude oil traded down again, losing $1.05, to $95.15. Gold gained $7.60, to $1,549.20, close to an all-time high, though silver was punished once more for attempting to be regarded as money, dipping 85 cents, to $35.70 per ounce.
Not all the news was bad... well, yes it was, as Alcoa (AA) reported after the bell that it missed LOWERED estimates by a penny, at 32 cents per share as opposed to the consensus of 33 cents. Share were lower all day, preceding the after-hours announcement and continued to slide.
That is not a good way to kick off 2nd quarter earnings season.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Day-Traders Paradise
Forget fundamentals.
There is no reason to even bother examining a stock's recent performance, p/e ratio, cash flow, balance sheet or any other metric which might have some impact on earnings or performance because the stock market in the USA is now run by computers, and computers don't care about stocks, they only care about momentum, price and volume.
Add to that the fact that these computers are programmed by PhD's who don't know squat about markets, and even less about individual stocks. After that, add in near-infinite liquidity (free money) courtesy of the Federal Reserve's QE2 program and you have the makings for one very dysfunctional investment landscape.
Therefore, mere humans, especially those trading from the comforts of home, are at a distinct disadvantage. Only the major brokerages and banks are allowed to reap huge profits, not mere mortals who suffer from emotion and are terribly slow compared to the market-busting super-computers employed by the big firms and the HFTs.
Today was a perfect example of the dysfunction prevalent throughout the securities complex. In the morning, amid fears of growing problems in Europe on the back of the Ireland bank-bailout, stocks suffered enormous losses, with the Dow dipping by as many as 162 points shortly after 10:00 am. Of course, that was before the Fed floated some $9 billion to their pals on Wall Street to stage a comeback.
The day-trading slobs, like Lloyd Blanfien, CEO of Goldman Sachs, surely made a killing, as they do every day, manipulating the markets to their own delight and profit, all the while hammering the small investor and mutual fund managers at the margins.
Dow 11,052.49, -39.51 (0.36%)
NASDAQ 2,525.22, -9.34 (0.37%)
S&P 500 1,187.76, -1.64 (0.14%)
NYSE Composite 7,483.34, -17.20 (0.23%)
By the final bell, things were still in the red, though only slightly. Losers beat winners by a margin of 3645-2787; 155 issues made new highs, 85 recorded new lows. Volume was as usual: pathetic, but that's what you get when only computers are playing. Someday - and we can only hope it is soon - the computers will be forced to prey upon each other.
NASDAQ Volume 1,693,482,250
NYSE Volume 4,207,444,500
Oil priced itself another $1.87 higher, to $85.73 a barrel. Gold bounded all over the place, last showing a gain of $3.20, at $1367.40. Silver added 43 cents, to $27.13.
Just for those who think they've got it rough, here's a touching story about a family who blew $14 million in ten years. A great read, if you dislike people with money who are simply morons.
And, in the latest pandering PR move from the White House, President Obama called for a two-year wage freeze for civilian federal employees. The timing of this is particularly amusing, since federal wages reached an all-time high in 2010. The proposal needs congressional approval, so we'll see if the Tea Partiers recently elected to congress have any bite. It should be noted that some of them ran on platforms that called for cutting federal pay by 7-10%.
Good luck with that.
The final piece of sobering news is how governments will readily use public trust money to ensure than wealthy bondholders don't suffer any losses. The case in point is Ireland's 85 billion Euro aid package, which will be funded in part from government pension reserves, to the tune of 17.5 billion Euros.
That's how it's going to play out here in America, too, folks. All you people thinking you're going to get a nice pension check every month better start learning the new math. Cut that check in half by 2015, if you're lucky. As for Social Security, the Ponzi scheme of the past century, one would be well-advised to not count on that at all.
There is no reason to even bother examining a stock's recent performance, p/e ratio, cash flow, balance sheet or any other metric which might have some impact on earnings or performance because the stock market in the USA is now run by computers, and computers don't care about stocks, they only care about momentum, price and volume.
Add to that the fact that these computers are programmed by PhD's who don't know squat about markets, and even less about individual stocks. After that, add in near-infinite liquidity (free money) courtesy of the Federal Reserve's QE2 program and you have the makings for one very dysfunctional investment landscape.
Therefore, mere humans, especially those trading from the comforts of home, are at a distinct disadvantage. Only the major brokerages and banks are allowed to reap huge profits, not mere mortals who suffer from emotion and are terribly slow compared to the market-busting super-computers employed by the big firms and the HFTs.
Today was a perfect example of the dysfunction prevalent throughout the securities complex. In the morning, amid fears of growing problems in Europe on the back of the Ireland bank-bailout, stocks suffered enormous losses, with the Dow dipping by as many as 162 points shortly after 10:00 am. Of course, that was before the Fed floated some $9 billion to their pals on Wall Street to stage a comeback.
The day-trading slobs, like Lloyd Blanfien, CEO of Goldman Sachs, surely made a killing, as they do every day, manipulating the markets to their own delight and profit, all the while hammering the small investor and mutual fund managers at the margins.
Dow 11,052.49, -39.51 (0.36%)
NASDAQ 2,525.22, -9.34 (0.37%)
S&P 500 1,187.76, -1.64 (0.14%)
NYSE Composite 7,483.34, -17.20 (0.23%)
By the final bell, things were still in the red, though only slightly. Losers beat winners by a margin of 3645-2787; 155 issues made new highs, 85 recorded new lows. Volume was as usual: pathetic, but that's what you get when only computers are playing. Someday - and we can only hope it is soon - the computers will be forced to prey upon each other.
NASDAQ Volume 1,693,482,250
NYSE Volume 4,207,444,500
Oil priced itself another $1.87 higher, to $85.73 a barrel. Gold bounded all over the place, last showing a gain of $3.20, at $1367.40. Silver added 43 cents, to $27.13.
Just for those who think they've got it rough, here's a touching story about a family who blew $14 million in ten years. A great read, if you dislike people with money who are simply morons.
And, in the latest pandering PR move from the White House, President Obama called for a two-year wage freeze for civilian federal employees. The timing of this is particularly amusing, since federal wages reached an all-time high in 2010. The proposal needs congressional approval, so we'll see if the Tea Partiers recently elected to congress have any bite. It should be noted that some of them ran on platforms that called for cutting federal pay by 7-10%.
Good luck with that.
The final piece of sobering news is how governments will readily use public trust money to ensure than wealthy bondholders don't suffer any losses. The case in point is Ireland's 85 billion Euro aid package, which will be funded in part from government pension reserves, to the tune of 17.5 billion Euros.
That's how it's going to play out here in America, too, folks. All you people thinking you're going to get a nice pension check every month better start learning the new math. Cut that check in half by 2015, if you're lucky. As for Social Security, the Ponzi scheme of the past century, one would be well-advised to not count on that at all.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
The Greatest Scam on Earth Run by Tyrants, Thieves and Traitors
If one didn't know any better, one might come to the conclusion - after viewing market activity on the NYSE and NASDAQ for a few days - that the markets are somehow rigged to never give correct signals and to never follow the same pattern as the day before.
And so it is with our markets, constantly being churned by the big players who will use CNBC as their foil to gin up any kind of story that fits the desired narrative of the day. Yesterday, Ireland's bailout, a flare-up in tensions on the North-South Korea border and raids on hedge funds by the FBI (no, CNBC barely mentions that dirty bit of business), sent stocks down for the day, with the Dow surrendering 142 points.
Today, based solely on improved numbers from the greasy BLS stack of initial unemployment claims (407,000 for the week, a short week at that and sure to be revised higher as they do 90% of the time) stocks gapped up as though yesterday's event occurred in a vacuum or were never really a big deal after all. What gap ups or downs at the open do is trap traders in overnight positions. Only the deft day-trading sharpies at Merrill, Goldman Sachs, et. al., are able to slide seamlessly in and out of stocks without mishap. Individual investors have the deck stacked entirely against them, suffering from limited knowledge, and, as the FBI raids confirm, widespread use of illegal inside information.
Trading in US stocks has become such an open scam that it's laughable to even think of investing in any listed companies. The markets have become completely the province of sophisticated high-rollers who daily prey on the wealth of those invested in mutual funds, 401K plans or individual stocks.
No further proof is needed. It's so blatant and obvious, just compare the trading yesterday and today (scroll down for yesterday's final numbers), and you can see for yourself that the Wall Street mob is running a game more crooked than any three-card monty would ever aspire to be.
In case you're unconvinced, consider that "traders" today completely ignored a 28% drop in new home sales year-over-year and a 3.3% decline in durable goods orders from the previous month.
The closing numbers for the two days are virtually a mirror image with only the plus and minus signs the only differential. What was down yesterday was up today, and the same thing happens over and over and over, until, of course, the big money wants to take it all radically higher or lower and then they induce panic or a two month rally, like the one we just had, lasting from September through the end of October.
A recent government report implied that 20% of Americans are mentally ill, but the number of suckers stuck in retirement plans and mutual funds that are invested in stocks suggests that the number should be much higher, because one would have to be out of their mind to invest in what is nothing more than a rigged carnival game, complete with the same bells at the open and close that one would hear at a casino when the slot machines hit a jackpot.
Except in the case of Wall Street the jackpot is only for the privileged few.
Dow 11,187.28, +150.91 (1.37%)
NASDAQ 2,543.12, +48.17 (1.93%)
S&P 500 1,198.35, +17.62 (1.49%)
NYSE Composite 7,579.26, +108.49 (1.45%)
Advancing issues ramped up well beyond decliners, 5191-1273. New Highs topped new lows, 329-53. Volume was at its lowest level in weeks, which the absolute moronic explanation would be due to the impending holiday, though it really is only more evidence of fraud.
NASDAQ Volume 1,648,491,625
NYSE Volume 3,743,356,250
Another big surprise was the rise in the price of oil, which is tied to gasoline prices at the pump, which shot up $2.61, to $83.86, just before one of the busiest driving periods of the year. Again, big surprise.
Gold fell $3.90, to $1372.60. Silver added six cents, to finish at $27.57. One can clearly see more evidence of fraud on a day that the dollar is up sharply and oil sets off on its own. The normal relationship is for oil to lessen in price when the dollar strengthens and increase when the dollar falls. It's what we've come to expect, though one should suppose that with the now-permanently rigged markets, the only relationship that matters is the big money trying to take more from unprotected individuals.
The FBI raids are a unique feature of the completed control market. Those being raided are the low-hanging fruit. We're tantalized by Goldman Sachs being mentioned as part of the probe, though we know they are exempt. No truly big players will ever receive as much as a subpoena, as the government needs those guys to keep funding their illicit raiding and fining procedures.
And that's all it's about. The government isn't squeezing enough money out of ordinary taxpayers - that well's run dry - so they go after the low hanging fruit that is the hedge fund industry.
Will the fraud and abuse ever end? Absolutely, but the price paid will be either buckets of blood from patriots willing to stand against the oppressive, fascist government-finance coalition, or the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans and their children and grandchildren, a longer, more devastating prospect.
One need not look for this writer in the bread lines or poverty camps. He'll gladly die for what's right than live a lie, without a future. The frauds must be exposed and the guilty tried, jailed and made to make restitution for the billions stolen from ordinary Americans. That day may never come, but if it does, it will be none too soon.
Be thankful for what we have today, but bear in mind that we are being denied much more, as long as we remain in the grip of tyrants, thieves and traitors.
And so it is with our markets, constantly being churned by the big players who will use CNBC as their foil to gin up any kind of story that fits the desired narrative of the day. Yesterday, Ireland's bailout, a flare-up in tensions on the North-South Korea border and raids on hedge funds by the FBI (no, CNBC barely mentions that dirty bit of business), sent stocks down for the day, with the Dow surrendering 142 points.
Today, based solely on improved numbers from the greasy BLS stack of initial unemployment claims (407,000 for the week, a short week at that and sure to be revised higher as they do 90% of the time) stocks gapped up as though yesterday's event occurred in a vacuum or were never really a big deal after all. What gap ups or downs at the open do is trap traders in overnight positions. Only the deft day-trading sharpies at Merrill, Goldman Sachs, et. al., are able to slide seamlessly in and out of stocks without mishap. Individual investors have the deck stacked entirely against them, suffering from limited knowledge, and, as the FBI raids confirm, widespread use of illegal inside information.
Trading in US stocks has become such an open scam that it's laughable to even think of investing in any listed companies. The markets have become completely the province of sophisticated high-rollers who daily prey on the wealth of those invested in mutual funds, 401K plans or individual stocks.
No further proof is needed. It's so blatant and obvious, just compare the trading yesterday and today (scroll down for yesterday's final numbers), and you can see for yourself that the Wall Street mob is running a game more crooked than any three-card monty would ever aspire to be.
In case you're unconvinced, consider that "traders" today completely ignored a 28% drop in new home sales year-over-year and a 3.3% decline in durable goods orders from the previous month.
The closing numbers for the two days are virtually a mirror image with only the plus and minus signs the only differential. What was down yesterday was up today, and the same thing happens over and over and over, until, of course, the big money wants to take it all radically higher or lower and then they induce panic or a two month rally, like the one we just had, lasting from September through the end of October.
A recent government report implied that 20% of Americans are mentally ill, but the number of suckers stuck in retirement plans and mutual funds that are invested in stocks suggests that the number should be much higher, because one would have to be out of their mind to invest in what is nothing more than a rigged carnival game, complete with the same bells at the open and close that one would hear at a casino when the slot machines hit a jackpot.
Except in the case of Wall Street the jackpot is only for the privileged few.
Dow 11,187.28, +150.91 (1.37%)
NASDAQ 2,543.12, +48.17 (1.93%)
S&P 500 1,198.35, +17.62 (1.49%)
NYSE Composite 7,579.26, +108.49 (1.45%)
Advancing issues ramped up well beyond decliners, 5191-1273. New Highs topped new lows, 329-53. Volume was at its lowest level in weeks, which the absolute moronic explanation would be due to the impending holiday, though it really is only more evidence of fraud.
NASDAQ Volume 1,648,491,625
NYSE Volume 3,743,356,250
Another big surprise was the rise in the price of oil, which is tied to gasoline prices at the pump, which shot up $2.61, to $83.86, just before one of the busiest driving periods of the year. Again, big surprise.
Gold fell $3.90, to $1372.60. Silver added six cents, to finish at $27.57. One can clearly see more evidence of fraud on a day that the dollar is up sharply and oil sets off on its own. The normal relationship is for oil to lessen in price when the dollar strengthens and increase when the dollar falls. It's what we've come to expect, though one should suppose that with the now-permanently rigged markets, the only relationship that matters is the big money trying to take more from unprotected individuals.
The FBI raids are a unique feature of the completed control market. Those being raided are the low-hanging fruit. We're tantalized by Goldman Sachs being mentioned as part of the probe, though we know they are exempt. No truly big players will ever receive as much as a subpoena, as the government needs those guys to keep funding their illicit raiding and fining procedures.
And that's all it's about. The government isn't squeezing enough money out of ordinary taxpayers - that well's run dry - so they go after the low hanging fruit that is the hedge fund industry.
Will the fraud and abuse ever end? Absolutely, but the price paid will be either buckets of blood from patriots willing to stand against the oppressive, fascist government-finance coalition, or the lives and livelihoods of millions of Americans and their children and grandchildren, a longer, more devastating prospect.
One need not look for this writer in the bread lines or poverty camps. He'll gladly die for what's right than live a lie, without a future. The frauds must be exposed and the guilty tried, jailed and made to make restitution for the billions stolen from ordinary Americans. That day may never come, but if it does, it will be none too soon.
Be thankful for what we have today, but bear in mind that we are being denied much more, as long as we remain in the grip of tyrants, thieves and traitors.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Investor Pain Spreading Rapidly
Ireland's continuing crisis, more trouble ahead in the Eurozone, a skirmish on the Korean border and general unease led to the stock markets finally breaking in a definitive way to the downside.
Unlike yesterday's miracle, out-of-the-blue rally, there was no such respite or savior for stocks today as the realization that while many businesses are doing well, the general global economy continues to display weakness in slack demand, collapsing governments and seas of debt.
Dow 11,036.37, -142.21 (1.27%)
NASDAQ 2,494.95, -37.07 (1.46%)
S&P 500 1,180.73, -17.11 (1.43%)
NYSE Composite 7,470.77, -139.53 (1.83%)
Declining issues crushed advancers, 4960-1560, though it was much worse through much of the session. Combined NYSE and NASDAQ new highs were 92, edged by 93 new lows. Volume was a little better than previous sessions, though that's not necessarily good news as investors were selling en masse.
NASDAQ Volume 1,902,546,250
NYSE Volume 4,711,580,500
Oil closed down 49 cents, at $81.25. Gold surged $19.80, to $1,377.60 and silver added 11 cents, at $27.57.
The Fed released minutes of their most recent meeting (November 2-3), which revealed that there was a sizable split between factions for and against a second round of qualitative easing. It would appear that Chairman Ben Barnanke does not have the support he might desire in his mad dash to destroy the US currency.
Seven days into QE2, the markets have gone straight backwards and interest rates on 5-and-10-year Treasury bonds have spiked, though they have leveled off over the past few days. It's evident to anyone with half a brain that the US economy and the banking sector, in particular, are still suffering from the strains of near-collapse and the methods employed to contain the damage, which, to date, haven't worked.
If Ban Bernanke is hell-bent on throwing away $700-800 billion dollars, the taxpayers should not be on the hook for it, but try telling that to our do-nothing president, largely absent and presumably on mood-altering drugs Congress, insipid Treasury Secretary and invisible Attorney General.
They're not listening, so you should not be paying. Period.
Unlike yesterday's miracle, out-of-the-blue rally, there was no such respite or savior for stocks today as the realization that while many businesses are doing well, the general global economy continues to display weakness in slack demand, collapsing governments and seas of debt.
Dow 11,036.37, -142.21 (1.27%)
NASDAQ 2,494.95, -37.07 (1.46%)
S&P 500 1,180.73, -17.11 (1.43%)
NYSE Composite 7,470.77, -139.53 (1.83%)
Declining issues crushed advancers, 4960-1560, though it was much worse through much of the session. Combined NYSE and NASDAQ new highs were 92, edged by 93 new lows. Volume was a little better than previous sessions, though that's not necessarily good news as investors were selling en masse.
NASDAQ Volume 1,902,546,250
NYSE Volume 4,711,580,500
Oil closed down 49 cents, at $81.25. Gold surged $19.80, to $1,377.60 and silver added 11 cents, at $27.57.
The Fed released minutes of their most recent meeting (November 2-3), which revealed that there was a sizable split between factions for and against a second round of qualitative easing. It would appear that Chairman Ben Barnanke does not have the support he might desire in his mad dash to destroy the US currency.
Seven days into QE2, the markets have gone straight backwards and interest rates on 5-and-10-year Treasury bonds have spiked, though they have leveled off over the past few days. It's evident to anyone with half a brain that the US economy and the banking sector, in particular, are still suffering from the strains of near-collapse and the methods employed to contain the damage, which, to date, haven't worked.
If Ban Bernanke is hell-bent on throwing away $700-800 billion dollars, the taxpayers should not be on the hook for it, but try telling that to our do-nothing president, largely absent and presumably on mood-altering drugs Congress, insipid Treasury Secretary and invisible Attorney General.
They're not listening, so you should not be paying. Period.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Ireland and FBI Hedge Fund Raid Don't Dent POMO-Driven Market
According to the World Bank, the population of Ireland (circa. 2008) is 4,425,675. On Sunday, ministers from the ECB, EC, IMF and the Irish government announced a bailout plan for the nation worth roughly $110 billion, or, $24,853.00 for each and every citizen on the island nation.
Naturally, the citizenry won't be getting any of the money. That's going to the banks. The public will be saddled with the debt, an amount so monstrous that one would wisely assume that it will never be repaid. The reason: the banks. Why would it be any other entity running up amazing mountains of debt. Earlier this year, the Irish government bailed out the banks to the tune of about $60 billion, but apparently, that wasn't quite enough, and now the government itself is threatened, by the populace on one side and the IMF and European Union on the other.
Some members of the government are already saying that they won't vote in favor of the package, and are calling for new elections in January. Protests sprung up on Monday, though they were small, organized by Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA.
Essentially, Ireland is the second in line - after Greece - for where most of Southern Europe is going: begging to the other members of the EU and the IMF for more money to keep their bankrupt economies going. Portugal is widely believed to be next, then Spain and Italy. These nations, should they accept the same or similar terms as the Irish, will be indentured to global banking interests until they default on the loans or rise up and through out the bankers and overthrow their governments. Either way, the populace will be the worse off for it, as tax hikes are certain on the one hand, and desperation and poverty in an every man for himself environment on the other.
There are those, and their numbers are growing, who believe that it's time for the people to take back their nations, though nobody is particularly keen on the idea of any brutal government crackdown that would surely come in response to a popular uprising.
Thus, the question on the minds of many Europeans tonight is: Would you rather pay taxes and just work your life away, saving nothing, to preserve the present order, or take the chance that things might be better after a bloody coup, a period of anarchy and a reformed Europe that isn't under the thumb of the banking and government oligarchy?
Good question. Only the future holds the answer. Ireland is giving us clues, though, thus far, most prefer the status quo, no violence and payment of tribute without end to governments which have proven to be at least incompetent and at worst, corrupt to the core.
Here in America, the condition is not nearly so dire, but it's close. Our $14 trillion debt is not going away any time soon, our government seems to stumble from one crisis to the next, never fixing anything, while the banks keep hiding their losses off their balance sheets through eased accounting rules and the help of the Federal Reserve.
Today's POMO (money for Wall Street) was a paltry $8.3 billion. More is scheduled for tomorrow, then after a break for Wednesday and Thursday, the injections of cash will continue without respite every business day through December 9. It's how we here in America have now confronted our massive, non-payable debt. We print more money.
The other major story today involved FBI raids on three hedge funds suspected of insider trading. That sent stocks - already down on the rising dollar and Irish blarney - to their lowest levels of the day, the Dow down by nearly 150 points just before 1:00 pm. But - and there's always a "but" these days - with all that POMO money sloshing around, this decline, like all others before it, was viewed as a buying opportunity by the Primary Dealers, flush with cash and stocks rallied for the remainder of the session, closing with marginal losses on the major exchanges, the NASDAQ actually sporting a solid advance.
Dow 11,178.58, -24.97 (0.22%)
NASDAQ 2,532.02, +13.90 (0.55%)
S&P 500 1,197.84, -1.89 (0.16%)
NYSE Composite 7,610.30, -30.78 (0.40%)
Advancers narrowly defeated decliners, 3249-3198. There were 368 new highs and just 68 new lows. Volume, the broken record, was laughably low.
NASDAQ Volume 1,865,878,625
NYSE Volume 4,305,755,500
Oil finished the day down just 24 cents, at $81.74, though it was off more than a dollar earlier in the day. Gold was lower earlier, but rallied to $1366.60, a gain of $12.50. Silver also showed upside, gaining 52 cents, to $27.87.
Naturally, the citizenry won't be getting any of the money. That's going to the banks. The public will be saddled with the debt, an amount so monstrous that one would wisely assume that it will never be repaid. The reason: the banks. Why would it be any other entity running up amazing mountains of debt. Earlier this year, the Irish government bailed out the banks to the tune of about $60 billion, but apparently, that wasn't quite enough, and now the government itself is threatened, by the populace on one side and the IMF and European Union on the other.
Some members of the government are already saying that they won't vote in favor of the package, and are calling for new elections in January. Protests sprung up on Monday, though they were small, organized by Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA.
Essentially, Ireland is the second in line - after Greece - for where most of Southern Europe is going: begging to the other members of the EU and the IMF for more money to keep their bankrupt economies going. Portugal is widely believed to be next, then Spain and Italy. These nations, should they accept the same or similar terms as the Irish, will be indentured to global banking interests until they default on the loans or rise up and through out the bankers and overthrow their governments. Either way, the populace will be the worse off for it, as tax hikes are certain on the one hand, and desperation and poverty in an every man for himself environment on the other.
There are those, and their numbers are growing, who believe that it's time for the people to take back their nations, though nobody is particularly keen on the idea of any brutal government crackdown that would surely come in response to a popular uprising.
Thus, the question on the minds of many Europeans tonight is: Would you rather pay taxes and just work your life away, saving nothing, to preserve the present order, or take the chance that things might be better after a bloody coup, a period of anarchy and a reformed Europe that isn't under the thumb of the banking and government oligarchy?
Good question. Only the future holds the answer. Ireland is giving us clues, though, thus far, most prefer the status quo, no violence and payment of tribute without end to governments which have proven to be at least incompetent and at worst, corrupt to the core.
Here in America, the condition is not nearly so dire, but it's close. Our $14 trillion debt is not going away any time soon, our government seems to stumble from one crisis to the next, never fixing anything, while the banks keep hiding their losses off their balance sheets through eased accounting rules and the help of the Federal Reserve.
Today's POMO (money for Wall Street) was a paltry $8.3 billion. More is scheduled for tomorrow, then after a break for Wednesday and Thursday, the injections of cash will continue without respite every business day through December 9. It's how we here in America have now confronted our massive, non-payable debt. We print more money.
The other major story today involved FBI raids on three hedge funds suspected of insider trading. That sent stocks - already down on the rising dollar and Irish blarney - to their lowest levels of the day, the Dow down by nearly 150 points just before 1:00 pm. But - and there's always a "but" these days - with all that POMO money sloshing around, this decline, like all others before it, was viewed as a buying opportunity by the Primary Dealers, flush with cash and stocks rallied for the remainder of the session, closing with marginal losses on the major exchanges, the NASDAQ actually sporting a solid advance.
Dow 11,178.58, -24.97 (0.22%)
NASDAQ 2,532.02, +13.90 (0.55%)
S&P 500 1,197.84, -1.89 (0.16%)
NYSE Composite 7,610.30, -30.78 (0.40%)
Advancers narrowly defeated decliners, 3249-3198. There were 368 new highs and just 68 new lows. Volume, the broken record, was laughably low.
NASDAQ Volume 1,865,878,625
NYSE Volume 4,305,755,500
Oil finished the day down just 24 cents, at $81.74, though it was off more than a dollar earlier in the day. Gold was lower earlier, but rallied to $1366.60, a gain of $12.50. Silver also showed upside, gaining 52 cents, to $27.87.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Dull End to a Wild Fortnight
At the end of a wild two weeks, everybody needed a break and they got one, in one of the slowest trading days in some time. News flow was also minimal.
In sync with the rest of the market, General Motors (GM), on its second day of trading as a new, reformed entity, fell almost back to its IPO price, hitting 33.11 at just about 10:00 am. The stock and the rest of the market (Dow was down 62 points) took a sudden turn and churned to slight, positive gains by the sessions end.
Overall, the major indices have barely moved since the mid-term elections. The Fed's incessant currency devaluation efforts have also, thus far been for naught.
Dow 11,203.55, +22.32 (0.20%)
NASDAQ 2,518.12, +3.72 (0.15%)
S&P 500 1,199.73, +3.04 (0.25%)
NYSE Composite 7,641.08, +21.14 (0.28%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,878,265,250
NYSE Volume 3,921,869,500
Advancers finished well ahead of losers, 3546-2632. There were 279 new highs and 73 new lows. Volume was extremely light.
Oil was flat, at $81.85. Silver last printed 27.35, +0.36. Gold spot closed at $1354.10, up 60 cents.
Rinse, repeat, ponder the future. Ireland remains in talks with the EC, ECB and IMF. They're getting the "full monty" from the financiers, if you will.
In sync with the rest of the market, General Motors (GM), on its second day of trading as a new, reformed entity, fell almost back to its IPO price, hitting 33.11 at just about 10:00 am. The stock and the rest of the market (Dow was down 62 points) took a sudden turn and churned to slight, positive gains by the sessions end.
Overall, the major indices have barely moved since the mid-term elections. The Fed's incessant currency devaluation efforts have also, thus far been for naught.
Dow 11,203.55, +22.32 (0.20%)
NASDAQ 2,518.12, +3.72 (0.15%)
S&P 500 1,199.73, +3.04 (0.25%)
NYSE Composite 7,641.08, +21.14 (0.28%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,878,265,250
NYSE Volume 3,921,869,500
Advancers finished well ahead of losers, 3546-2632. There were 279 new highs and 73 new lows. Volume was extremely light.
Oil was flat, at $81.85. Silver last printed 27.35, +0.36. Gold spot closed at $1354.10, up 60 cents.
Rinse, repeat, ponder the future. Ireland remains in talks with the EC, ECB and IMF. They're getting the "full monty" from the financiers, if you will.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Market Motors Ahead on GM IPO
The entire trading day was a well-orchestrated event staged by the power brokers of Wall Street, the government and the shills on CNBC, designed exclusively to give the pet project of the bailout bunch, General Motors, a bright and cheery IPO send-off.
Shares of GM's rebirth IPO (initial public offering - somewhat of an oxymoron in this case) priced the previous day at $33 and opened with immediate upticks shortly after the general markets had commenced trading. That it would get a positive set up was assured by a gargantuan ramp-up in the futures, ostensibly on news that Ireland was veering toward accepting a bailout from either the EU or the IMF or a combination of both. Only in these wacky times can the fact that a nation is being saved from ruin by the very same bankers who ruined it foment a powerful rally, but, that's the world in which we now live.
The set-up got GM off to a nice start with the rest of he market despite fears that some traders would "flip" the stock, and surely some did. Shares of GM hit a high of 35.99 shortly after the open and retreated the rest of the day, hitting a low of 33.89 before settling at 34.19 at the close for a gain of 3.61%, no big deal.
The Fed pumped more money in the direction of the primary dealers. This is a permanent fixture now as the Fed has already set down a timetable for a daily POMO through December 9, with the exception of the Wednesday before and the Friday after Thanksgiving (next week).
Another interesting note was news that Warren Buffet was to receive the Medal of Freedom, just a day after practically falling all over himself in praise of the government in his NY Times op-ed. At least he'll be in equally-suspect company. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former US President George H.W. Bush are among other recipients named by President Obama.
From this we can only surmise that the level of greed, corruption and naked narcissism has finally reached critical mass amongst the elitists.
Dow 11,181.23, +173.35 (1.57%)
NASDAQ 2,514.40, +38.39 (1.55%)
S&P 500 1,196.69, +18.10 (1.54%)
NYSE Composite 7,619.94, +131.18 (1.75%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,083,305,250.00
NYSE Volume 5,373,779,000
Advancers trounced decliners, 5093-1419; new highs surpassed new lows for the second straight session, 299-59, but volume, up to 20% of which on the NYSE was attributed to trades on GM, was weak.
Commodities also ramped up. The front end of the crude oil futures gained $1.41, to $81.85. Gold picked up $16.10, to $1,353.00, while silver rose more than 5%, up by $1.32, to $26.83.
Unemployment claims were little changed from the previous week and October stock options expire tomorrow. The latest word from the continent is that Irish leaders are still resistant to a bailout, though the pressure is building for them to take the money and plunge the country into an even worse situation, with bills and interest owing to the IMF with no hope of ever paying its way out. This same thing has happened before, in Argentina and other South American countries. The usual outcome is the rape of the nation's wealth to the detriment of the populace.
Erin go Bragh, indeed.
Shares of GM's rebirth IPO (initial public offering - somewhat of an oxymoron in this case) priced the previous day at $33 and opened with immediate upticks shortly after the general markets had commenced trading. That it would get a positive set up was assured by a gargantuan ramp-up in the futures, ostensibly on news that Ireland was veering toward accepting a bailout from either the EU or the IMF or a combination of both. Only in these wacky times can the fact that a nation is being saved from ruin by the very same bankers who ruined it foment a powerful rally, but, that's the world in which we now live.
The set-up got GM off to a nice start with the rest of he market despite fears that some traders would "flip" the stock, and surely some did. Shares of GM hit a high of 35.99 shortly after the open and retreated the rest of the day, hitting a low of 33.89 before settling at 34.19 at the close for a gain of 3.61%, no big deal.
The Fed pumped more money in the direction of the primary dealers. This is a permanent fixture now as the Fed has already set down a timetable for a daily POMO through December 9, with the exception of the Wednesday before and the Friday after Thanksgiving (next week).
Another interesting note was news that Warren Buffet was to receive the Medal of Freedom, just a day after practically falling all over himself in praise of the government in his NY Times op-ed. At least he'll be in equally-suspect company. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former US President George H.W. Bush are among other recipients named by President Obama.
From this we can only surmise that the level of greed, corruption and naked narcissism has finally reached critical mass amongst the elitists.
Dow 11,181.23, +173.35 (1.57%)
NASDAQ 2,514.40, +38.39 (1.55%)
S&P 500 1,196.69, +18.10 (1.54%)
NYSE Composite 7,619.94, +131.18 (1.75%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,083,305,250.00
NYSE Volume 5,373,779,000
Advancers trounced decliners, 5093-1419; new highs surpassed new lows for the second straight session, 299-59, but volume, up to 20% of which on the NYSE was attributed to trades on GM, was weak.
Commodities also ramped up. The front end of the crude oil futures gained $1.41, to $81.85. Gold picked up $16.10, to $1,353.00, while silver rose more than 5%, up by $1.32, to $26.83.
Unemployment claims were little changed from the previous week and October stock options expire tomorrow. The latest word from the continent is that Irish leaders are still resistant to a bailout, though the pressure is building for them to take the money and plunge the country into an even worse situation, with bills and interest owing to the IMF with no hope of ever paying its way out. This same thing has happened before, in Argentina and other South American countries. The usual outcome is the rape of the nation's wealth to the detriment of the populace.
Erin go Bragh, indeed.
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