Just in case you are like about 98% of American's who will think that nothing of importance happened today, we duteously inform you that today, May 16, 2011, is a seminal date in American history, as it happens to be the day the US government purposely and willfully exceeded the statutory debt limit and began raiding the federal employees' pension fund, specifically, the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund (“CSRDF”), in order to keep the federal government operating.
It's all laid out in detail in this letter [PDF] from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to Senate majority leader Harry Reid.
In a nutshell, since Treasury cannot issue any more debt by which to operate the hopelessly bankrupt government, they will take the funds from whatever government agencies have money, with a promise to repay once congress acts to increase the debt limit. In case they don't - and there's ample reason to believe that this current bunch of uneducated, deceptive and uncontrollable legislators may not - then too bad for all those federal employees who thought they had it made in the shade. The government will shaft you first. The rest of the public citizenry will be shafted in other ways, at a later date.
This is pretty serious stuff, and the end-run by Geithner around the debt limit gives the congress until August 2nd to sort things out. But, it's by no means a done deal or even close to it. The Republicans are calling for steep deficit reductions in the upcoming 2012 budget, while the Democrats are pushing for tax increases. In all seriousness, neither idea has any chance of passing, so the obvious alternative is to declare war and issue emergency powers.
What's that? We're already at war? In three different countries? Well, then, no problem-o! Spend at will.
Last week - and in measured ways over the last three years - this blog prepared its readers for calamity of varying degrees to be foisted upon the public, saying that chaos would prevail and with today's action by the Treasury, so it has.
Now we have rigged markets, a rogue government, spending completely out of control and borrowing beyond constitutional limits. The government has commenced paying back debt and paying bills with money collected from federal employees; money that was supposed to fund retirements and payments to disabled workers. And while no current retiree will be affected, future ones may well be. It's all in the hands of probably the worst congress (and that's saying something) ever to be seated. Well, good luck with that.
The stock markets took it in stride, first dipping into the red, then going positive, then the NASDAQ taking a nose-dive, and a final-hour smash-crash which took down the other indices. It was spooky, surreal and and absolutely frightening day.
On top of that, over the weekend, the head of the IMF, one Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested in New York on a range on charges related to his alleged rape and sodomizing of a hotel maid. Since then, Mr. Strauss-Kahn has been denied bail and formally charged.
So, we now have a rogue congress, administration and the head of the world's most powerful and influential financial organization behind bars. Can it get any more ridiculous, any worse? Oh, yes, and it definitely will, shortly.
QE2 ends in a few more weeks, and with the free Fed money spigot about to be closed, expect the ruinous crowd on Wall Street to head for the hills, selling as many stock certificates as they can unload before peeling out the door. One problem may be that there will be no takers for their inordinately over-hyped investments, and they will have to sell them for much less than the levels at which they currently trade. If that occurs, we like to call such events a market crash, and there will be no bailing out this time, no savior from above, like the Fed, because they too are over-leveraged and tapped out. This time it will be for real, and it will not recover.
So, hang in there, buy more silver and gold and hope that your garden vegetables head for harvesting before the wheels fall completely off the federal fiasco and the world ends.
And, if you're scared, worried and/or confused by all this, take heart that you should be and that you are by no means alone. We all stand to lose everything if this doesn't go well.
Dow 12,548.37 47.38 (0.38%)
NASDAQ 2,782.31 46.16 (1.63%)
S&P 500 1,329.47 8.30 (0.62%)
NYSE Compos 8,336.59 35.08 (0.42%)
Declining issues took the measure of advancers, 4744-1843. Just in case more proof of the severity of this unannounced crisis was needed, the NASDAQ provided it in the form of flipping the new highs-new lows metric. Today, there were only 40 new highs and 67 new lows. The NYSE compressed, but did not flip (it will), with 104 new highs and 35 new lows. Volume was fairly pathetic, especially on the NYSE. In coming days and weeks, expect more and more stocks to begin selling off, first, in a somewhat orderly fashion, but as the end of QE2 approaches, in a real rush for the exits. Incidentally, banking stocks fell anywhere from 1/2 to 1% on the day. It's only fitting that the companies that led us into depression will be - again - the worst affected.
NASDAQ Volume 2,071,148,875
NYSE Volume 3,888,652,000
Commodities were a mixed bag. Crude oil slipped $2.28, to $97.37. What's of particular concern, however, is that while oil has slumped 14% over the past two weeks, the price of gasoline in the USA has fallen only ONE CENT PER GALLON. The rule of thumb used to be that the price of gas would rise or fall two to two-and-a-half cents for every dollar per barrel move in oil.
Apparently, now that the kleptocracy has gone full retard, that rule no longer applies. Gas will, from now on, cost whatever the oil cartel believes it can charge whether that price be fair, rational or based upon any measure of supply and demand.
Gold was higher earlier in the day, but now trades $5.40 lower, at $1489.80. Silver continues to be the bankers' favorite whipping boy, losing another $1.70, to trade at $33.60 [ON SALE, BUY MORE]. Under siege from HSBC and JP Morgan Chase, the world's biggest shorters of the commodity, silver should continue to experience weakness and erode down to the upper 20s in price. This is a unique buying opportunity in one of history's most manipulated and currently-undervalued pure forms of money.
It will get even more strange and perverse in global markets. Today was only the beginning.
Showing posts with label Timothy Geithner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Timothy Geithner. Show all posts
Monday, May 16, 2011
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Geithner's Incredible AIG Testimony
Looking back on the financial panic of fall 2008, a House Committee today grilled Treasury Secretary Timothy Giethner on his recollections and his role - as President of the NY Federal Reserve, and, later, as Treasury Secretary - in the bailout of American international Group (AIG).
AIG, which received enormous sums of taxpayer money via TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) has been a lightning rod for all manner of political posturing by some of the very same legislators who passed the bailout bill at the height of the extraordinary events of 2008. The mega-insurer, which had engaged in the risky credit default swaps business and was in danger of default, received assistance of upwards of $180 billion, much of which was funneled back to counter-parties such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and other TARP recipients to make them whole.
Geither's testimony today often included the phrase "working in the public interest" when questioned on his decisions regarding AIG. While in Tim Geithner's mind, he may believe that he works - or worked - in the public interest as NY Fed President or as Secretary of the Treasury, but, in the former, at the very least, he worked to protect the interests of the NY Federal Reserve, a private baking system.
While representatives in the house queried and posed for the cameras with what sounded like tough questions for the Secretary today, Geithner's answers continued in the same vein as all who have gone before him, making the deals by which some of the nation's largest financial firms were recipients of congress' largesse sound like there was no other choice available.
Whether Geithner, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the trokia who worked out the various aspects of the TARP and doled out the money, were correct in their assumptions concerning the bailouts - that the entire financial system would collapse - probably will never be known, but at least this much is: the collapse of Goldman Sachs, AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup and other large banks which took inordinate risks with money entrusted to them by shareholders, investors and depositors would have affected the CEOs and top executives of those firms in far greater degree than any single American taxpayer.
Geithner worked for banks, continues to work for banks and will always work in the interest of banks, bankers and friends of bankers, like the very people questioning him now on Capitol Hill. The idea that he, or any Fed president, works for the people, in the "public interest," is laughable and deserves condemnation, though not much in the way of criticism has effused from the collective mouths of the Washington babblers.
That's probably because, when the history books years from now look back on this episode, it will be recorded as one of the great and grandest swindles of all time, and will likely be regarded by future generations (if any happen to exist) as one of the key elements which took down the greatest democracy ever invented. Crooks and criminals generally, when they are caught, are tried, convicted and jailed. That is, unless they are bankers and wall Streeters wearing pin-striped suits and draped gloriously in patriotism and self-importance. Not only did the wall Street banks pull off the greatest heist ever, but they were aided and abetted every step of the way by high officials of the government, from congressmen and senators all the way up to both presidents who served during the time of this swindle, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Instead of the parade of toothless hearings which congress continues to hold, trials for treason should have already been well underway, though it stretches credulity to believe there would be enough innocent parties in our nation's capitol to even impanel a 12-member jury for such an event.
Geithner was at the heart of the swindle, which eventually had its roots at the Fed, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, where lax regulation or the absence of such created toxic financial instruments from mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) to Credit Default Swaps (CDS). The truly sad and frightening chapter of this saga is that these very same instruments are still being actively promoted, traded, bought and sold, all with the implicit consent and nodding approval of the Federal Reserve and the federal government.
Apparently, $700 trillion was not enough to cripple the nation irrevocably. The captains of finance are prepared to make matters even worse with another round of theft, obfuscation and sincere lies, and, no doubt, they will, just as sure as they will make sure that they are handsomely rewarded for their work in the "public interest."
AIG, which received enormous sums of taxpayer money via TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) has been a lightning rod for all manner of political posturing by some of the very same legislators who passed the bailout bill at the height of the extraordinary events of 2008. The mega-insurer, which had engaged in the risky credit default swaps business and was in danger of default, received assistance of upwards of $180 billion, much of which was funneled back to counter-parties such as Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and other TARP recipients to make them whole.
Geither's testimony today often included the phrase "working in the public interest" when questioned on his decisions regarding AIG. While in Tim Geithner's mind, he may believe that he works - or worked - in the public interest as NY Fed President or as Secretary of the Treasury, but, in the former, at the very least, he worked to protect the interests of the NY Federal Reserve, a private baking system.
While representatives in the house queried and posed for the cameras with what sounded like tough questions for the Secretary today, Geithner's answers continued in the same vein as all who have gone before him, making the deals by which some of the nation's largest financial firms were recipients of congress' largesse sound like there was no other choice available.
Whether Geithner, former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the trokia who worked out the various aspects of the TARP and doled out the money, were correct in their assumptions concerning the bailouts - that the entire financial system would collapse - probably will never be known, but at least this much is: the collapse of Goldman Sachs, AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup and other large banks which took inordinate risks with money entrusted to them by shareholders, investors and depositors would have affected the CEOs and top executives of those firms in far greater degree than any single American taxpayer.
Geithner worked for banks, continues to work for banks and will always work in the interest of banks, bankers and friends of bankers, like the very people questioning him now on Capitol Hill. The idea that he, or any Fed president, works for the people, in the "public interest," is laughable and deserves condemnation, though not much in the way of criticism has effused from the collective mouths of the Washington babblers.
That's probably because, when the history books years from now look back on this episode, it will be recorded as one of the great and grandest swindles of all time, and will likely be regarded by future generations (if any happen to exist) as one of the key elements which took down the greatest democracy ever invented. Crooks and criminals generally, when they are caught, are tried, convicted and jailed. That is, unless they are bankers and wall Streeters wearing pin-striped suits and draped gloriously in patriotism and self-importance. Not only did the wall Street banks pull off the greatest heist ever, but they were aided and abetted every step of the way by high officials of the government, from congressmen and senators all the way up to both presidents who served during the time of this swindle, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Instead of the parade of toothless hearings which congress continues to hold, trials for treason should have already been well underway, though it stretches credulity to believe there would be enough innocent parties in our nation's capitol to even impanel a 12-member jury for such an event.
Geithner was at the heart of the swindle, which eventually had its roots at the Fed, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, where lax regulation or the absence of such created toxic financial instruments from mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) to Credit Default Swaps (CDS). The truly sad and frightening chapter of this saga is that these very same instruments are still being actively promoted, traded, bought and sold, all with the implicit consent and nodding approval of the Federal Reserve and the federal government.
Apparently, $700 trillion was not enough to cripple the nation irrevocably. The captains of finance are prepared to make matters even worse with another round of theft, obfuscation and sincere lies, and, no doubt, they will, just as sure as they will make sure that they are handsomely rewarded for their work in the "public interest."
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Stocks Are Cheap, I Guess
According to the expert headline writers at Yahoo! Finance, "Insurance Companies and Homebuilders Sparked Wednesday's Rally."
Really! They said that, which doesn't adequately explain why the NASDAQ was sporting an 85-15% up to down volume bias, and probably wasn't the reason for any rally at all. Why stocks rallied today may have been hope for more crookedness, in the form of a relaxation of shorting rules proposed by the SEC, or maybe they were right in part, at least as far as concerns insurance companies, because the Treasury is rumored to be planning to include some life insurance companies under the bailout umbrella of TARP.
As for homebuilders, Pulte Homes (PHM) agreed to purchase Centex (CTX) for $1.3 billion in stock, which is amazing in that its hard to believe any homebuilder could even be worth $1.3 billion, let alone have that amount of stock available for the purchase of another homebuilder. Maybe they've been getting secret TARP funds from Tim Geithner.
In any case, the rally was not all that large as to get uptight about it, considering that it is occurring in the middle of the worst financial meltdown in the history of the world. Yes, you read that right. The worst EVER. Beating the tulip bust, the fall of Rome and even our very own Great Depression. Additionally, the rally fell apart precisely at 2:00 pm. So much for homebuilders and failed insurance providers.
Why is this the worst financial meltdown ever, you ask? Simple, because during the Great Depression the USA was a net exporter and routinely ran budget surpluses rather than deficits. We were on the gold standard then, as compared to the "thin air" standard we've been on since 1971, when the great (satire), late Richard Nixon repudiated our debts by refusing to honor the Bretton Woods agreements, thus taking our currency from one being backed by gold to one being backed by "the full faith and credit" of the United States of America, which is a very bad joke today because nobody has any faith in America anymore and we are a nation strung out on credit. The burgeoning national debt, now surging past $12 trillion, will never be repaid, ever, so, yes, this is the worst economic crisis and collapse in the history of the planet.
There are other reasons, such as the fact that we no longer have an industrial base, having shipped all of that to foreign countries, and the social safety net, which includes social security, welfare, and unemployment benefit recipients, were not even around during the Great Depression, though now they act only as an increase on GDP and a net productivity loss. Those people are freeloaders, producing nothing. So, those of you who believe the official government figure of 8.5% unemployment, start including retirees, welfare loafers and people supposedly seeking work, and you can just jump that number up to about 20-25% of the population, the same unemployment that we had during the 30s, but now we simply don't count those people as it might scare some other people.
America is collapsing quickly, so one naturally wonders why stocks are going up when all indications are that they should be going down. Maybe not you, but that's how I spend my idle hours, which are growing by the day due to my outstanding investment (make that trading) skills, thank you.
Apparently, today's little rally was short-circuited precisely at 2:00 pm because that's when the Fed minutes from the last FOMC meeting were released, and, of course, the Fed said that conditions sucked (they use bigger words) and the geniuses on Wall Street - who apparently were unaware of the horrible economic conditions - decided they should sell.
This market sucks, though. It has no direction except down. The rally of the last 4 weeks was a mirage, a total fraud. The economy sucks, your stocks suck, this country is headed straight into a black hole, and the worst part of it is that because of our corrupt politicians, bankers, CEOs and news media, the American public is largely unaware of the condition. That, however, is expected, as the majority of Americans have college degrees but are dumber than nails about anything that really matters, like the economy, the constitution, the rule of law, etc.
Dow 7,837.11, +47.55 (0.61%)
NASDAQ 1,590.66, +29.05 (1.86%)
S&P 500 825.15, +9.60 (1.18%)
NYSE Composite 5,176.48, +55.81 (1.09%)
On the day, advancing issues actually outdid decliners, 4628-1772, but the one true gauge which has remained constant throughout this episode, stretching back to October of 2007, new lows exceeded new highs, 69-10. Volume was weak, well off levels of just a week ago, another signal that nobody is buying except insiders with positions to protect.
NYSE Volume 1,314,803,000
NASDAQ Volume 1,851,850,000
Commodities also spent most of the day yo-yoing up and down, like there was something to decide as concerns the direction of prices. Oil was down, then up, then finished with a minuscule gain of 23 cents, at $49.38. Whoop-de-do! Gold gained $2.26, but remains at depressed levels, closing at $885.90. Silver also was up 13 cents, to $12.34.
Our fabulous Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, said that results of the bank stress tests will not be released until after earnings for the guilty parties are announced, a sure signal that all the books have been fully cooked. Geithner is an obvious obfuscator and a complete, incompetent liar.
The nation has been led by elite crooks and criminals and the American people are paying a huge price for allowing it. In the end, one can only hope that the politicians and bankers will receive the treatment they so richly deserve. While today's tidy gains may look positive to some, they were merely a means for the banksters to steal again from both sides, buyers and sellers.
Stocks were completely out of kilter. The NASDAQ gapped up and stayed up, the Dow underperformed, all manner of technical levels were violated, including the most important support at 7775 on the Dow, but none of that matters since fundamentals don't matter, nor does sentiment, economic reports, earnings or any other measure. The big money makes the markets dance and they are playing all the wrong tunes right now.
The move engulfed yesterday completely, marking the 4th straight day of lower highs and lower lows, leaving investors scratching their heads in search of direction. Don't be fooled. The fundamentals are horrid and the markets will continue to decline. It's just a matter of when and by how much. Dow 5500 is looking pretty good, but 4000 is certainly not out of the question.
Stocks really aren't cheap, considering that in the near future, say six to nine months, most of them will be bankrupt or close to it. Some already are.
Really! They said that, which doesn't adequately explain why the NASDAQ was sporting an 85-15% up to down volume bias, and probably wasn't the reason for any rally at all. Why stocks rallied today may have been hope for more crookedness, in the form of a relaxation of shorting rules proposed by the SEC, or maybe they were right in part, at least as far as concerns insurance companies, because the Treasury is rumored to be planning to include some life insurance companies under the bailout umbrella of TARP.
As for homebuilders, Pulte Homes (PHM) agreed to purchase Centex (CTX) for $1.3 billion in stock, which is amazing in that its hard to believe any homebuilder could even be worth $1.3 billion, let alone have that amount of stock available for the purchase of another homebuilder. Maybe they've been getting secret TARP funds from Tim Geithner.
In any case, the rally was not all that large as to get uptight about it, considering that it is occurring in the middle of the worst financial meltdown in the history of the world. Yes, you read that right. The worst EVER. Beating the tulip bust, the fall of Rome and even our very own Great Depression. Additionally, the rally fell apart precisely at 2:00 pm. So much for homebuilders and failed insurance providers.
Why is this the worst financial meltdown ever, you ask? Simple, because during the Great Depression the USA was a net exporter and routinely ran budget surpluses rather than deficits. We were on the gold standard then, as compared to the "thin air" standard we've been on since 1971, when the great (satire), late Richard Nixon repudiated our debts by refusing to honor the Bretton Woods agreements, thus taking our currency from one being backed by gold to one being backed by "the full faith and credit" of the United States of America, which is a very bad joke today because nobody has any faith in America anymore and we are a nation strung out on credit. The burgeoning national debt, now surging past $12 trillion, will never be repaid, ever, so, yes, this is the worst economic crisis and collapse in the history of the planet.
There are other reasons, such as the fact that we no longer have an industrial base, having shipped all of that to foreign countries, and the social safety net, which includes social security, welfare, and unemployment benefit recipients, were not even around during the Great Depression, though now they act only as an increase on GDP and a net productivity loss. Those people are freeloaders, producing nothing. So, those of you who believe the official government figure of 8.5% unemployment, start including retirees, welfare loafers and people supposedly seeking work, and you can just jump that number up to about 20-25% of the population, the same unemployment that we had during the 30s, but now we simply don't count those people as it might scare some other people.
America is collapsing quickly, so one naturally wonders why stocks are going up when all indications are that they should be going down. Maybe not you, but that's how I spend my idle hours, which are growing by the day due to my outstanding investment (make that trading) skills, thank you.
Apparently, today's little rally was short-circuited precisely at 2:00 pm because that's when the Fed minutes from the last FOMC meeting were released, and, of course, the Fed said that conditions sucked (they use bigger words) and the geniuses on Wall Street - who apparently were unaware of the horrible economic conditions - decided they should sell.
This market sucks, though. It has no direction except down. The rally of the last 4 weeks was a mirage, a total fraud. The economy sucks, your stocks suck, this country is headed straight into a black hole, and the worst part of it is that because of our corrupt politicians, bankers, CEOs and news media, the American public is largely unaware of the condition. That, however, is expected, as the majority of Americans have college degrees but are dumber than nails about anything that really matters, like the economy, the constitution, the rule of law, etc.
Dow 7,837.11, +47.55 (0.61%)
NASDAQ 1,590.66, +29.05 (1.86%)
S&P 500 825.15, +9.60 (1.18%)
NYSE Composite 5,176.48, +55.81 (1.09%)
On the day, advancing issues actually outdid decliners, 4628-1772, but the one true gauge which has remained constant throughout this episode, stretching back to October of 2007, new lows exceeded new highs, 69-10. Volume was weak, well off levels of just a week ago, another signal that nobody is buying except insiders with positions to protect.
NYSE Volume 1,314,803,000
NASDAQ Volume 1,851,850,000
Commodities also spent most of the day yo-yoing up and down, like there was something to decide as concerns the direction of prices. Oil was down, then up, then finished with a minuscule gain of 23 cents, at $49.38. Whoop-de-do! Gold gained $2.26, but remains at depressed levels, closing at $885.90. Silver also was up 13 cents, to $12.34.
Our fabulous Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, said that results of the bank stress tests will not be released until after earnings for the guilty parties are announced, a sure signal that all the books have been fully cooked. Geithner is an obvious obfuscator and a complete, incompetent liar.
The nation has been led by elite crooks and criminals and the American people are paying a huge price for allowing it. In the end, one can only hope that the politicians and bankers will receive the treatment they so richly deserve. While today's tidy gains may look positive to some, they were merely a means for the banksters to steal again from both sides, buyers and sellers.
Stocks were completely out of kilter. The NASDAQ gapped up and stayed up, the Dow underperformed, all manner of technical levels were violated, including the most important support at 7775 on the Dow, but none of that matters since fundamentals don't matter, nor does sentiment, economic reports, earnings or any other measure. The big money makes the markets dance and they are playing all the wrong tunes right now.
The move engulfed yesterday completely, marking the 4th straight day of lower highs and lower lows, leaving investors scratching their heads in search of direction. Don't be fooled. The fundamentals are horrid and the markets will continue to decline. It's just a matter of when and by how much. Dow 5500 is looking pretty good, but 4000 is certainly not out of the question.
Stocks really aren't cheap, considering that in the near future, say six to nine months, most of them will be bankrupt or close to it. Some already are.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Geithner Passes Committee; Housing, Unemployment Reach Records
Tim Geithner was approved by the Senate Finance Committee (guess we all can cheat on our taxes without worry now!) earlier today, as the process of confirmation as Treasury Secretary now passes to the full Senate. The AP wire lit up with the story at 12:37 pm EST, just about the same time the Dow crossed back above 8000 and started a mini-rally (by 2:15 pm, the Dow snuck past 8200).
Coincidence? I think not. Wall Street's fate is now tied to Geithner and how he and Ben Bernanke, over at the Fed, interact and respond to the ongoing obliteration of the nation's largest financial firms.
The euphoria over having one of their own (Geithner's resume is full of Wall Street, World Bank and NY Fed connections) with his hands nearly on the US Treasury quickly faded as those in the know remembered that the US government is carrying a debt load of close to $11 Trillion, so maybe Geithner won't be able to help in the long run. Shortly after 3:00 pm, the Dow was down 150 points again, and matters didn't improve much heading into the closing bell.
Dow 8,122.80, -105.30 (1.28%)
NASDAQ 1,465.49, -41.58 (2.76%)
S&P 500 827.50, -12.74 (1.52%)
NYSE Composite 5,171.74, -102.25 (1.94%)
On top of this is a growing concern over how stable the Federal Reserve is. Bearing in mind that the Fed is a private bank, albeit with deep tethers to the government, the Fed has been buying up more than its fair share of rotten assets and throwing around money like Bernie Madoff on an investor hunt.
With more and more economists and commentators openly saying that the large banking institutions are insolvent (something I and others have known and written about since 2007), reality is taking a heavy toll on investor sentiment. (I'll have much more about the Fed, the banks, the bailouts and our future in a blockbuster report tomorrow)
While the marketeers were making the most of their man being appointed to Treasury, an earnings miss and announced layoffs by Microsoft and more dismal data from the housing and employment sectors overhung the entire session, acting as the metaphorical ton of bricks weighing down all sectors.
New unemployment claims hit a level not reached since 1982, with 589,000 new applications for the week ended January 16.
New home construction and permits fell to record low levels in December, the Commerce Dept. reported.
Taken together, the news could not have been much worse, though investors are getting used to the endless stream of bad news coming out of government and private analyses. The poor earnings reports for the 4th quarter are a relatively recent add to the mix, but earnings season is getting into full swing. Google reports after the bell today. (Update: Google beat analyst expectations ($4.98), posting Non-GAAP EPS for the fourth quarter of 2008 of $5.10.)
Declining issues outweighed advancers by a wide margin, 4867-1560. New lows: 230. New highs: 12. Volume was consistent with the past few days, generally on the high side.
NYSE Volume 1,554,123,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,347,116,000
Oil finished with a 12 cent gain, closing at $43.67, though US inventories were reported 14% above last year's levels. Oil traded lower for much of the session before recovering into the close. Natural gas fell 9 cents, to $4.65. Gold gained $8.70, to $858.80; silver finished the day 4 cents to the good, at $11.37 the ounce.
A catalyst to propel the bulls has yet to emerge, though at this juncture, small bits, like Google's good report, may be enough to keep what little is left of investor confidence. Today's close on the Dow, however, was the second this week below 8149, the interim low (Dec. 1) following the November 20 collapse and bottom (7552).
The markets have traded sideways for two months running, so a betting man might be inclined to look for a change in dynamics. I make the prospects of closing below the Nov. 20 lows within a month at 70%, and a gain to 8750 in the same time frame almost nil.
Coincidence? I think not. Wall Street's fate is now tied to Geithner and how he and Ben Bernanke, over at the Fed, interact and respond to the ongoing obliteration of the nation's largest financial firms.
The euphoria over having one of their own (Geithner's resume is full of Wall Street, World Bank and NY Fed connections) with his hands nearly on the US Treasury quickly faded as those in the know remembered that the US government is carrying a debt load of close to $11 Trillion, so maybe Geithner won't be able to help in the long run. Shortly after 3:00 pm, the Dow was down 150 points again, and matters didn't improve much heading into the closing bell.
Dow 8,122.80, -105.30 (1.28%)
NASDAQ 1,465.49, -41.58 (2.76%)
S&P 500 827.50, -12.74 (1.52%)
NYSE Composite 5,171.74, -102.25 (1.94%)
On top of this is a growing concern over how stable the Federal Reserve is. Bearing in mind that the Fed is a private bank, albeit with deep tethers to the government, the Fed has been buying up more than its fair share of rotten assets and throwing around money like Bernie Madoff on an investor hunt.
With more and more economists and commentators openly saying that the large banking institutions are insolvent (something I and others have known and written about since 2007), reality is taking a heavy toll on investor sentiment. (I'll have much more about the Fed, the banks, the bailouts and our future in a blockbuster report tomorrow)
While the marketeers were making the most of their man being appointed to Treasury, an earnings miss and announced layoffs by Microsoft and more dismal data from the housing and employment sectors overhung the entire session, acting as the metaphorical ton of bricks weighing down all sectors.
New unemployment claims hit a level not reached since 1982, with 589,000 new applications for the week ended January 16.
New home construction and permits fell to record low levels in December, the Commerce Dept. reported.
Taken together, the news could not have been much worse, though investors are getting used to the endless stream of bad news coming out of government and private analyses. The poor earnings reports for the 4th quarter are a relatively recent add to the mix, but earnings season is getting into full swing. Google reports after the bell today. (Update: Google beat analyst expectations ($4.98), posting Non-GAAP EPS for the fourth quarter of 2008 of $5.10.)
Declining issues outweighed advancers by a wide margin, 4867-1560. New lows: 230. New highs: 12. Volume was consistent with the past few days, generally on the high side.
NYSE Volume 1,554,123,000
NASDAQ Volume 2,347,116,000
Oil finished with a 12 cent gain, closing at $43.67, though US inventories were reported 14% above last year's levels. Oil traded lower for much of the session before recovering into the close. Natural gas fell 9 cents, to $4.65. Gold gained $8.70, to $858.80; silver finished the day 4 cents to the good, at $11.37 the ounce.
A catalyst to propel the bulls has yet to emerge, though at this juncture, small bits, like Google's good report, may be enough to keep what little is left of investor confidence. Today's close on the Dow, however, was the second this week below 8149, the interim low (Dec. 1) following the November 20 collapse and bottom (7552).
The markets have traded sideways for two months running, so a betting man might be inclined to look for a change in dynamics. I make the prospects of closing below the Nov. 20 lows within a month at 70%, and a gain to 8750 in the same time frame almost nil.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Geithner Appointment Boosts Stocks in Final Hour
I used to call this kind of activity "proof" of the existence of the PPT (Plunge Protection Team), though such wild trading swings have become so commonplace that one has to question exactly what is going on.
There seems to be such a high level of concentrated insider trading on Wall Street that major moves - both up and down - have to be viewed with a large dose of skepticism.
Surely, stocks are down in a major way from a year ago, but the evidence that there is a global recession in progress has yet to manifest itself in major ways. Maybe that is only my perception, and to a large degree it must be, though there are some indications that the economic downturn is still affecting only peripherally.
Most people still have jobs and are not in any immediate jeopardy of losing them. Gas prices are much lower than just months ago, and half what they were a year ago. The only visible signs of any crisis are evident only on Wall Street and in Washington, D.C. The tail is wagging the dog.
Today's final hour boost was credited to a news leak of President-Elect Barack Obama's imminent appointment of Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. Anonymous sources were credited by various news outlets, also mentioning that Lawrence Summers would become a senior advisor and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson would be appointed Commerce Secretary on Monday, November 24.
Dow 8,046.42 +494.13 (6.54%); NASDAQ 1,384.35 +68.23 (5.18%); S&P 500 800.03 +47.59 (6.32%); NYSE Composite 4,959.79 +308.58 (6.63%)
The day's trade generally vacillated along the break-even line until the 3:00 hour, and at that point began a wicked ascent which wiped away the losses incurred on Thursday on the Dow. Significant advances were made on the other major indices. Advancing issues surpassed declining ones, 4157-2514. New lows overwhelmed new highs 2575-46. Nearly 40% off all listed securities on the NASDAQ and NYSE fell to fresh lows today on significant volume.
NYSE Volume 2,372,786,000
NASDAQ Volume 3,128,916,000
Commodities all gained. Oil was higher by 51 cents, to $49.93. Gold was up a massive $43.10, to $791.80. Silver advanced 46 cents, to $9.51.
The average investor has to be confused with recent market volatility, and with good cause. It is unprecedented.
Have we seen the bottom? Who knows?
There seems to be such a high level of concentrated insider trading on Wall Street that major moves - both up and down - have to be viewed with a large dose of skepticism.
Surely, stocks are down in a major way from a year ago, but the evidence that there is a global recession in progress has yet to manifest itself in major ways. Maybe that is only my perception, and to a large degree it must be, though there are some indications that the economic downturn is still affecting only peripherally.
Most people still have jobs and are not in any immediate jeopardy of losing them. Gas prices are much lower than just months ago, and half what they were a year ago. The only visible signs of any crisis are evident only on Wall Street and in Washington, D.C. The tail is wagging the dog.
Today's final hour boost was credited to a news leak of President-Elect Barack Obama's imminent appointment of Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary. Anonymous sources were credited by various news outlets, also mentioning that Lawrence Summers would become a senior advisor and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson would be appointed Commerce Secretary on Monday, November 24.
Dow 8,046.42 +494.13 (6.54%); NASDAQ 1,384.35 +68.23 (5.18%); S&P 500 800.03 +47.59 (6.32%); NYSE Composite 4,959.79 +308.58 (6.63%)
The day's trade generally vacillated along the break-even line until the 3:00 hour, and at that point began a wicked ascent which wiped away the losses incurred on Thursday on the Dow. Significant advances were made on the other major indices. Advancing issues surpassed declining ones, 4157-2514. New lows overwhelmed new highs 2575-46. Nearly 40% off all listed securities on the NASDAQ and NYSE fell to fresh lows today on significant volume.
NYSE Volume 2,372,786,000
NASDAQ Volume 3,128,916,000
Commodities all gained. Oil was higher by 51 cents, to $49.93. Gold was up a massive $43.10, to $791.80. Silver advanced 46 cents, to $9.51.
The average investor has to be confused with recent market volatility, and with good cause. It is unprecedented.
Have we seen the bottom? Who knows?
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