Something Is Not Right

Nothing like a three-day weekend to rekindle those old "animal spirits" in the stock market.

Today's outsize gains come courtesy of the banking criminal cartel, whose sole mission in life is to separate regular people from their money. There was no good reason for stocks to go up, much the less by this inordinate amount. In the real world, economic indicators all pointed to a much weaker US economy than the mainstream media has been hyping, but the Wall Street floozies pumped their paper garbage all the same, and, apparently, there were plenty of pigeons to be plucked.

Before the market even opened, the S&P/Case Shiller 20-city index showed that the value of residential real estate has now fallen more than during the Great Depression. That's not some figure picked out of the blue. The link comes from none other than CNBC's Diana Olick, one very savvy real estate reporter who - unlike others from her network - can be trusted to share pertinent facts.

Olick points out that the big banks will definitely face more write-downs due to the massive unwind in real estate. Those big banks - PM Morgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WCF) and Citigroup (C) all finished 0.5 to 1.0% higher today. Either investors are whistling past their own graves or there is something definitely wrong with this picture. The banks are among the most unhealthy institutions in our unhealthy economy. The sooner they are wound down and bankrupted - because they really are insolvent, despite massive inflows of cash from the US taxpayer - the US can begin healing. Until then, we will head down the path of dollar destruction and desperation.

Just 15 minutes into the trading session, Chicago PMI posted a horrible read, with the index falling from 67.6 in April to 56.6 in May. Though the perma-bulls will contend that the index is still positive (anything over 50 is considered expansionary), an 11-point drop in one month is simply jaw-dropping. This actually took a little wind out of the Wall Street sails, as stocks drifted off their gap-up opening highs, hitting a bottom around midday. From there, however, the 30-minute attention span that seems to cover most of the trading public, kicked back in and stocks surged into the close, even though there was no catalyst - such as a sinking dollar - to prompt the gains.

Again, absent a falling dollar, stocks should have been flat or lower, considering how generally bad was the news today, but also every economic report from the past three weeks. Something is crooked, rotten, bad, awful, wrong, but since the stock market is now the special province of four or five major players, we may never know what the game really is until it comes.

At some point, Wall Street will be reconnected to Main Street, though the impression is clear that there will be many tears and disjointed days such as this. Until then, we can only marvel at the absurdity of centrally-planned economies and their formerly-free stock markets.

Dow 12,569.79, +128.21 (1.03%)
NASDAQ 2,835.30, +38.44 (1.37%)
S&P 500 1,345.20, +14.10 (1.06%)
NYSE Compos 8,477.28, +90.94 (1.08%)

Advancing issues buried decliners, 4904-1755. On the NASDAQ, 135 new highs dwarfed 46 new lows. The NYSE, not to be outdone, posted 224 new highs and just 11 new lows. Volume was terrific, something we have not witnessed since the collapse in 2008.

NASDAQ Volume 2,561,412,750
NYSE Volume 4,560,891,500

Oil was jacked another 2.11, to $102.70 per barrel for WTI crude. Gold lost $4.00, to $1535.10, but silver finished higher, up 40 cents, to $38.47.

The dollar index only fell 0.303, to 74.61. This was not a DXY move that could have produced the kind of gains seen today.

Something is definitely not right, and until we find out just what it is making stocks look like the values of the century, all due caution should be employed.

Come Back on Tuesday

For those who have to stay focused on the stock my for a living, condolences, for today was the culmination of three of the most boring, low-volume events in the history of the NYSE.

Stocks managed to eek out marginal gains.

There was an almost total news blackout as traders made their way to the Hamptons for the weekend.

Dow 12,441.58, +38.82 (0.31%)
NASDAQ 2,796.86, +13.94 (0.50%)
S&P 500 1,331.10, +5.41 (0.41%)
NYSE Composite 8,386.34, +44.68 (0.54%)

Advancers topped decliners, 4566-1953. On the NASDAQ, 87 new highs exceeded 33 new lows. The NYSE recorded 112 new highs and just 8 new lows. Combined, 199 new highs, 41 new lows. Crisis averted, for now. Volume: lowest of the year.

NASDAQ Volume 1,642,331,625
NYSE Volume 3,111,512,000

Crude oil gained 36 cents to finish the week at $100.59. Gold was the big winner for the day, gaining $17.00, to $1536.40. Silver tacked on 76 cents, to end at $37.95.

Nothing much of substance to report, except that the beer is cold and the grill, hot.

Have a great weekend. See you Tuesday, May 31.

Bye, Bye, American Pie

There are only a few facts that need to be known to understand what happened today on Wall Street, and, believe me, it wasn't nearly worth the effort.

New unemployment claims came in at 425,000, up 10,000 from an upwardly-revised (always) 414,000.

The government's second (rhymes with fecund) estimate of 1st quarter GDP was 1.8%, the same as the first estimate, but measured differently. For instance, the price index for US domestic purchases increased by 3.8% and motor vehicle output added 1.28% to real GDP for the quarter. Translation: inflation was the main driver behind the poor 1.8% gain and a lot of cars were produced, but only a fraction of that number were unsold. Were it not for government sleight of hand, we'd be going backwards, which we are, but nobody wants to use the "R" word just yet. Forget about growth in this environment. It's a mirage. Survival will be the operative term for the next five years, as it has been for the last three.

It was one of the five slowest trading day of the year thus far. The Dow was down as much as 76 points early on, up as much as 47 later and finished nearly flat.

In other words, if all the traders, bankers, money managers and other financial gurus had stayed home and done nothing, the same result could have been mailed in from a remote location without all the fuss. Tomorrow will likely be ever more boringly stupid as we approach a three-day weekend.

Judging by GDP, our elected officials reluctance to do anything constructive and the general lack of regard by the public, it's a safe bet that we've ceased to be a nation of people and are now just an amorphous aggregation of individuals foraging for life support. America is a dead duck and all that's left are whatever crumbs one can pick from others.

Today may not have been the day the Republic died - that was probably years ago - but anyone who believes that there's a future here is really on some powerful meds and should share with the rest of us.

The federal government is busily raiding the retirement funds of federal employees and will be coming after similar state funds in due time, then private accounts. Eventually, the banker class will have stripped the country of all assets, in plain sight of the populace. Bye, bye, American Pie. The levy truly is dry.

Dow 12,402.76, +8.10 (0.07%)
NASDAQ 2,782.92, +21.54 (0.78%)
S&P 500 1,325.69, +5.22 (0.40%)
NYSE Composite 8,341.66, +46.29 (0.56%)

Advancing issues outpaced decliners, 4663-1852. New highs on the NASDAQ were 64, compared to 51 new lows. On the NYSE, there were 77 new highs and 29 new lows. Total: 141 highs, 80 new lows. Volume? No.

NASDAQ Volume 1,859,346,250
NYSE Volume 3,656,113,250

Commodities were mostly down, with WTI crude oil off $1.09, to $100.23. Gold's latest reading was down $4.60, to $1521.20, with silver stepping in line, losing 50 cents, to $37.40.

Advice for Friday: Take the day off; make it a four-day weekend, maybe five.