15 Global Banks Downgraded by Moody's; Stocks Rally (Really!)

Wrapping up the week that was, it can truly be said that the level of fraud and deceit by the banks and brokerages is matched only by the complacency of the general public.

Fifteen major global banks were downgraded by Moody's late Thursday afternoon - after markets had closed, though news of the downgrades had been leaking out all say - setting up denial central, in which the very banks' downgraded criticized Moody's for being, among other things, "unwarranted," "arbitrary," and "backward-looking." Too bad these scammers can't take honest medicine, even from a firm that is purportedly "one of their own."

Readers should recall that during the sub-prime scams of 2005-09, Moody's was one of the select ratings firms that deemed the obtuse and overtly fraudulent residential MBS as AAA-rated.

In an outlandish market reaction, financials led Friday's early advance. So much for fundamental analysis. Ratings, upgrades and downgrades now count for about as much as Jamie Dimon's hat size, which we have heard is rather enormous.

The list of downgrades (which took more than a half hour's time to locate) includes Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse Group AG, HSBC Holdings, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland Group, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Royal Bank of Canada, Societe Generale and UBS AG. That's all 15, though Moody's website features a grand runaround to find the list including the actual levels of downgrades (we gave up because apparently, this information is not conducive to the free flow of information and markets).

In a fitting riposte, Max Keiser channels Friedrich Neitzsche in this interview, intoning, in the finest guttural indignation, "Banks are Dead!"



Stocks registered broad gains during the session, especially on the NASDAQ, which outpaced the other indices handily. Volume was heavy.

In closing, our steadfastness in calling banking and financial institutions criminal enterprises is often chided, but sometimes brought to light as truth. In a fascinating story by Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone, the details of how Wall Street gangsters (dressed like bankers) skimmed millions of dollars from states, cities, towns and villages all across America is revealed.

OK, just one more: Our friends at Zero Hedge report that the ECB Officially Announces Easing Of Collateral Rules, essentially confirming that Europe has run out of assets.

Go easy on the champagne, kids, and have a great weekend!

Dow 12,640.78, +67.21 (0.53%)
NASDAQ 2,892.42, +33.33 (1.17%)
S&P 500 1,335.02, +9.51 (0.72%)
NYSE Composite 7,616.59, +50.48 (0.67%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,801,777,000
NYSE Volume 4,210,423,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3892-1703
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 117-81
WTI crude oil: 79.76, +1.56
Gold: 1,566.90, +1.40
Silver: 26.66, -0.18