Flash Crash Proves Individuals are OUT of the Market and Computers Run the Show

As mentioned briefly yesterday, US and European markets are a joke. They are manipulated beyond one's wildest imagination and almost exclusively, the trading is done by computer algorithms, as was made entirely too clear by the action in yesterday's hacked AP Twitter account-flash crash.

In case you missed it - after all, it was only a four minute event - stocks lost all of their gains when somebody hacked into the Twitter account of the Associated Press (AP) and posted that there were two explosions at the white House and that President Barack Obama had been injured.

The tweet was a hoax, but the computers - which cannot deduce and make value judgements - responded by selling off all stocks. Volume, as displayed in animations from nanex.net completely dried up, leaving a few computers trading with a few other computers.

In other words, there were very few, if any, human responses to the fake tweet. Welcome to the bidless US stock markets, where only the computers can get the best prices and humans are relegated to a back seat. Any wonder why individual investors are wary of the stock markets? The same conditions likely exist - though not in such a pronounced manner - in forex and commodity markets.

It's time the American people disengage from this lunacy where only the bankers, exchanges and traders profit.

Take, for instance, today's trading, in which, when all was said and done at the close, the S&P gained a penny, the NASDAQ, 32 cents, while the Dow was down 43 points and the NYSE Composite gained almost 34 points. Surely that makes sense to some master algo inside a supercomputer somewhere beneath the trading floors, but to us dumb humans, it's somewhat confounding and confusing.

CNBC's Rick Santelli astutely pointed out that the other trade impacted by the phony tweet was none other than the Japanese Yen - US Dollar cross and the Yen/Euro cross, making the point that the Yen is now also tied into US stocks by HFT algos. Lovely.

Sooner or later, there's going to be a mistake somewhere, or some purposeful key-logging or hacking that completely disrupts trading in markets nearly around the world, and by then it will be too late. Obviously, having algos that trade on the basis of tweeted information is rife with flaws and ripe for harvest by nefarious forces.

As far as today's trading is concerned, nothing really mattered, even though the US was hit with another poor economic report, this one on durable goods orders for March, which came in at -5.1% on expectations of -3.1, so it was a bad miss on an equally bad forecast.

The spate of bad economic data has been partially offset of late by fairly good earnings reports from a smorgasbord of companies, close to half the S&P 500 having already reported. Of course, the algos are all over those, programmed to buy heavily on any earnings beats and disregard most misses.

Reality seems to have evaded Wall Street on a semi-permanent basis, but, Wall Street has never purported to have been a place for well-grounded types of people in the first place.

With sociopaths running the computers which trade the world, humans are bound to get bruised, and badly.

Gold and silver got a little bit of a bid, but a good chuck of it after the COMEX trading session ended. Oil was the top-performer with a gain of more than two percent. Oil never seems to be able to stay down for long. Funny how that always seems to be the case.

Dow 14,676.30, -43.16 (0.29%)
NASDAQ 3,269.65, +0.32 (0.01%)
S&P 500 1,578.79, +0.01 (0.00%)
NYSE Composite 9,147.77, +32.65 (0.37%)
NASDAQ Volume... 1,643,812,625.00
NYSE Volume 3,647,139,250
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4021-2343
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 381-36
WTI crude oil: 91.43, +2.25
Gold: 1,423.70, +14.90
Silver: 22.83, +0.016

St. Valentine's Day Mascara

No, that's not a misprint in the headline. The word is "mascara" - the stuff women apply to darken, thicken, lengthen, and/or define their eyelashes. It's a cosmetic, as in rouge, or lipstick, as in lipstick on a pig, which is exactly what the algos and buy-siders did to today's undeniably weak, directionless market.

Face it, Europe is a bona-fide basket case, Japan is devaluing its currency so fast that George Soros made nearly a billion dollars on the trade in just over three months.

The news coming out of Euro-fantasy-land was less than encouraging. Eurozone fourth quarter 2012 GDP fell by 0.6%.

Making matters a little more interesting - and more frightening - were the figures for the zone's three largest economies - Germany, France and Italy - whose own GDP fell by 0.6%, 0.3% and 0.9%, respectively.

The Eurozone, even after all the bank and sovereign bailouts, pledges of doing everything possible to promote growth by the likes of Germany's Angela Merkel and EU President Mario Draghi, has resulted in three consecutive quarters of negative GDP. Europe is already in the throes of an economic collapse, thanks largely to protectionism for banks and excessive liquidity from European central bankers (most of whom are Goldman Sachs alum, BTW).

While the GDP numbers may be bad enough, consider youth unemployment (ages 15-25) in the Eurozone to be spreading like the bubonic plague. Greece reported youth unemployment over 60%; Spain over 50% and Portugal just topped 40%. Thirteen of the 27 EU member states are reporting youth unemployment over 25%. Austerity: it's what's for dinner.

Europe is solid proof that the elite class is making up the rules as they go along, and the general public is viewed as collateral damage only. Here in the good old USA, we have our own concerns with the sequestration schedule to commence March 1, which will result in massive federal budget cuts. The president and congress haven't even begun to discuss how they'll handle that, though they uniformly say that sequestration (it doesn't rhyme with castration for no reason) is something they'd prefer to avoid.

Have they acted? No. Will they? Probably, but, like the fiscal cliff deal this past December, it will be a stop-gap measure and cost taxpayers more. Nobody ever cuts anything in Washington, only the rate of growth of programs, because what's important to them is keeping lobbyists and voters (government employees and beneficiaries of government largesse) dumb and happy.

So, on what does this algo-concocted market focus? Berkshire Hathaway's buyout of Heinz. Poor suckers that Americans are, they put ketchup on their chicken and pork hot dogs on day old buns while Uncle Warren reaps the profits. If ever there was a crony capitalist, Warren Buffet's picture belongs next to the definition.

Sure, unemployment claims were down - from 368K to 341K - but aren't those figures still too high? The new normal means just doing better than expectations, even if those expectations are sub-par. It's akin to taking your kid out for ice cream because he got a C in math instead of a D. As a nation, we've lowered our standards in everything from our political leaders to what passes for entertainment.

Along with everything else, we've lowered our standards for rational markets. Today's split decision is just another shining example of the truth hiding in plain sight. Sooner or later, even the talking heads on CNBC are going to come to the realization that making new all-time highs with a -0.1% GDP and unemployment at eight percent doesn't really pass the smell test. Someday. Maybe. Note the video below with Rick Santelli, everyone's favorite financial ranter, extrapolating out on what we've been saying nearly every day on this blog: that being a trader is nearly impossible under current conditions.

And, just as a side note, New York Mayor Bloomberg, who first banned drink containers larger than 16 ounces, has proposed a ban on styrofoam containers, and... it's likely to pass his rubber stamp city council.

Let's see, smokes are $10-12 a pack in NY, you can't smoke in any of the bars, night clubs or public buildings; you must drink from small containers and those soon cannot be made of styrofoam. All this makes one pine for the good old days of the seventies. Ed Koch was mayor. Son of Sam was shooting kids in parking lots. Reggie Jackson was blasting balls out of the original Yankee Stadium and you could buy just about any kind of drug - from weed to cocaine - on just about any street corner. Bloomberg. He's just not a fun guy.

Dow 13,973.39, -9.52 (0.07%)
NASDAQ 3,198.66, +1.78 (0.06%)
S&P 500 1,521.38, +1.05 (0.07%)
NYSE Composite 8,951.33, -4.27 (0.05%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,884,832,750
NYSE Volume 3,867,864,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3259-3130
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 505-39
WTI crude oil: 97.31, +0.30
Gold: 1,635.50, -9.60
Silver: 30.35, -0.516

Stocks Are Boring; Alcoa Shows Why; Europe Punts

On a midsummer's day upon which the biggest news was awaiting the second quarter earnings report from ALCOA, after he closing bell, stocks simply drifted below the break-even line in a tight range throughout the session.

With earnings season at hand, one would normally expect more excitement, but, alas, all is not well with what used to be known as the perfect discounting mechanism, i.e., the Wall Street stock exchanges.

Like it or not, continued central bank intervention on the grandest of scales ever witnessed has done nothing to revitalize global industry. The world has been in a funk for at least the past four years - since the epochal events of fall, 2008 - banks are all insolvent zombies and a global slowdown is coming at a time when monetary authorities are at their weakest, with zero to near-zero base interest rates the norm, bloated central bank balance sheets, full of faulty debt instruments nobody else wants to own, and sovereign debt exploding everywhere.

The world is full of debt and overcapacity, yet those in charge, scared to death as they may be, relent whenever an adult solution - like actually writing down bad debts - is needed and instead pass the hat to neighboring countries, the next central banker or the IMF, which, incidentally, is funded by the same over-indebted nations that borrow from it.

In the corporate sector, the slowdown can be seen everywhere, but especially tantalizing was Alcoa's (AA) second quarter, in which the company posted a loss.

Of all the goofy headlines designed to make people think everything is OK, the only one to get it right was the AP, which blared, Alcoa Inc. posts 2Q net loss in slowing economy.

Aluminum manufacturer Alcoa Inc. says it lost $2 million in the second-quarter as revenue dropped due to weaker prices and pockets of declining demand in the slowing global economy.

Alcoa on Monday posted break-even earnings per share for the April-through-June quarter. That compares with net income of $322 million, or 28 cents a share, a year ago.

Revenue fell 9 percent to $5.96 billion.

The world's largest producer of aluminum has been squeezed into a condition in which it can no longer shed employees to save money, command a profitable price for its products due largely to over-supply, and thus, limps into the second half of the year off a loss with prospects for growth jaded, at best.

If Alcoa is any kind of bellwether, and, as a standing member of the Dow 30, it should be, the prospects for a robust earnings season have just been significantly reduced, maybe obliterated.

Companies can only do so much in stagnant or imploding economies, which is what the global condition is today, and just breaking even (or, taking a small loss) is probably considerably better than some of the companies to follow will do.

It's a very tough environment - one in which large firms have limited pricing power and smaller firms can't find financing. That's oversimplifying matters to a large degree, but there will be fire sales, clear misses and break evens on lowered expectations this quarter and going forward, unless and until central banks take their foot off the accelerator of the money-printing press.

Early signs of total collapse came from Europe today, where the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) - a permanent funding source of 500 billion Euros - was to be established, but was delayed amid growing discontent among participants, and the nagging need for the fund to not only bail out nations, but also the banks of those nations, without any preconditions.

The delay, just 10 days after a euphoric european summit ended with apparent agreement, sent Spanish bonds soaring over seven percent and confusion reigning supreme in the Eurozone.

This clip from CNBC, featuring two of the most vocal critics of centralized economic planning, central bank intervention and bailouts, Rick Santelli and Nigel Farage tells the story of the growing discontent perfectly well.

Dow 12,736.29, -36.18 (0.28%) NASDAQ 2,931.77, -5.56 (0.19%) S&P 500 1,352.46, -2.22 (0.16%) NYSE Composite 7,736.22, -20.40 (0.26%) NASDAQ Volume 1,358,825,380 NYSE Volume 2,810,960,750 Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2427-3155 Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 293-51 WTI crude oil: 85.99, +1.54 Gold: 1,589.10, +10.20 Silver: 27.44, +0.52

Stocks Hammered Again, But It Should Have Been Worse

After falling below key support on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrials, and US equities in general, were pounded down as fears of bank nationalization and unease over the future of the economy and even the welfare of the nation itself scared investors out of many positions.

While the technical damage on the Dow was serious, it should have been even worse, if not for subversive afternoon intervention by the usual corrupt cast of characters - the PPT, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, et. al. - which brought the Dow all the way back from a 215 point loss at 1:15 pm to a small gain at 10 minutes until 3:00.

At the heart of the matter was the fates of Bank of America and Citigroup, which suffered another day of crippling losses. At the low point of the day, Bank of America (BAC) was down 1.40, to 2.53, while Citigroup (C) fell 90 cents, to 1.51. On a basis unadjusted for splits, both were at all-time lows. Bank of America closed the day down a mere 14 cents, at 3.79, though Citigroup was not so fortunate, finishing 22% lower, down 56 cents at 1.95.

BofA CEO Ken Lewis was also subpoenaed by NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over the bonuses paid to Merrill Lynch executives in 2008. BofA took over Merrill under government supervision during the meltdown last fall.

It was only a hastily-prepared White House statement pledging a commitment to keeping banks in private hands that kept the markets from an all-out rout.

There's little doubt that the some kind of solution must be found for the ailing banking session, and soon. The public, however, has seen enough of bailouts and handouts, so the newly-installed Obama administration and Democratically-led congress must tread lightly.

Truth of the matter is that two of the nation's largest banks (and probably more) will have to be managed by the government, or somebody sober, for some time, in order to restore even a hint of credibility in the markets. There is also a distinct possibility that the government may not have sufficient power to prevent a complete collapse of an over-leveraged banking sector. In some ways, it is nothing more than the market hurrying the bankers' self-inflicted collapse.

Yesterday's rant by Rick Santelli at the Chicago Board of Trade (Feb. 19, 2009) on CNBC created no small sensation across the blogosphere. One of his more poignant remarks was his this gem:

You know, they’re pretty much of the notion that you can’t buy your way into prosperity, and if the multiplier that all of these Washington economists are selling us is over… that we never have to worry about the economy again. The government should spend a trillion dollars an hour because we’ll get 1.5 trillion back.

Santelli was even called on the carpet by NBC's Brian Williams and Matt Lauer (NBC owns CNBC) on this morning's Today Show and put across the screen from his network nemesis, Steve Leisman, a puppy lapdog for the industrial-military-communications junta which rules the government and the nation. Santelli certainly has never backed down from a fight, and his performance on the Today Show was remarkably well-reasoned and honest with obvious middle-class populist overtones.

And now the censorship begins. While attempting to retrieve the code, I was initially met with a mention that the above-referenced video was no longer available on Youtube.com, a not-very-subtle attempt by the media elite to silence the truth and keep the public under wraps.. Don't be surprised if Santelli isn't quietly relieved of his duties soon or, more likely, continually marginalized. Nevertheless, as mentioned yesterday, the genie is well out of the bottle and the public outrage at just about anything and everything concerning government and big business will not be contained much longer.

Dow 7,365.67, -100.28 (1.34%)
NASDAQ 1,441.23, -1.59 (0.11%)
S&P 500 770.05, -8.89 (1.14%)
NYSE Compos 4,804.51, -76.65 (1.57%)

Internals were as expected, favoring declining issues over advancing ones, 4906-1775. New lows dominated new highs, expanding to new levels with 1119 new lows and a mere 25 new highs. The massive number of stocks hitting 52-week lows (1 in 6) have only been seen on days of extreme market turmoil, and today surely fit that bill. Volume was the highest in weeks, owing to options expirations, market intervention, usual trading and high levels of outright open executions on the sell side.

NYSE Volume 2,117,367,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,560,465,000

Commodities remained on their own track. Oil for March delivery closed down 54 cents, at $38.94 on the final day of that contract. Gold topped the $1000 mark, gaining $25.70, to $1,002.20. In concert, silver gained 56 cents, to $14.49. All food-related commodity futures were markedly lower.

The CPI figures released this morning demonstrated an increase of 0.4%, the first gain since July, 2008, though it is more than likely only an aberration in the continuing deflationary spiral.

Stocks should have finished much lower than they did today, which only means that they will fall further at some future date. Considering the level of angst in the market, in the public, and the ineptitude of government and corporate business to constrain the wealth destruction leads one to believe that the market is well into the third and most crucial phase of the bear market, total, utter, final capitulation.

All of the major indices finished the week with substantial losses. The Dow registered its lowest close since October 27, 1997.

For the week, the Dow was down a whopping 485 points, and closing in on a 50% decline from the October 2007 all-time high. The NASDAQ lost 93 points; the S&P surrendered 57; the NYSE Composite was down 402 points.

It's not a pretty picture and not likely to improve soon.