Just in case anyone was keeping score, the United States of America - the world's largest creditor, by far - will begin defaulting on its debts on August 2, 2011. That is a date just eight days away and Wall Street seems to not be enjoying the drama one bit.
It's odd, considering how many of the professional politicians in DC have been hired, bought and paid for by the elite banking and corporate interests of Wall Street. Have the patsy politicians found a new sugar daddy? Are they just "acting out?" No matter the case, there's no deal on raising the debt ceiling, though there are competing scenarios and bills floating around the nation's capitol.
Other than the usual market noise about earnings reports, there was little else to report from the global financial capitol, except that they were all waiting on some clarity from Washington.
Thus, a day which started badly and in the middle was looking good, ended badly, as stocks fell in the final hour of trading. So long as the clown show in Washington continues, putting the finances of the entire world in a cross between jeopardy and limbo, expect more of these kinds of days in stocks. Wash, rinse, repeat until the weekend.
Dow 12,592.80, -88.36 (0.70%)
NASDAQ 2,842.80, -16.03 (0.56%)
S&P 500 1,337.43, -7.59 (0.56%)
NYSE Composite 8,357.57, -50.63 (0.60%)
Losers dominated winners, with 1474 stocks up ad 5133 down. On the NASDAQ, there were 41 new highs and 26 new lows. Over at the NYSE, a similar scenario, with 58 new highs and 38 new lows. The combined total of 99 new highs and 64 new lows suggests a very soft market, struggling to justify value. Volume was at an even slower pace than normal, which is uncomfortable, to say the least, and downright discouraging, in a real sense.
NASDAQ Volume 1,585,768,125
NYSE Volume 3,560,761,250
With the dollar up strongly against the Euro, oil took a bit of a breather, losing 67 cents to finish the day at $99.20. With all of the uncertainty in global finance, gold investors are stocking up, sending the yellow metal to a record close of $1,612.20, up $11.20 on the day. Silver did not fare quite as well, but still managed a healthy gain of 24 cents, at $40.36 per ounce.
Thirty-two NFL player reps ratified a new labor agreement which will be presented to players for final approval, ending the 132-day lockout and settling one of the more thorny issues of the summer. Now, if congress could only act like responsible adults and do what the NFL and its owners and players have done...
UPDATE: After the closing bell, Netflix (NFLX) beat earnings estimates but came up short on total revenues, sending the stock down more than 8% in after-hours trading.
A new nominee has emerged for Analyst Moron of the Month as Randall Dishmon, portfolio manager for the Oppenheimer Global Value fund, explains why its time to get bullish on Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC).
Dishmon, who desperately needs a new barber, says BofA is "wildly misunderstood" and that Citigroup is "one of the best, if not the best internatonal banking franchise ever assembled."
Among other Dishmon recommendations are Google (GOOG) - now that it's gone up 140 points in the past month - and Diagio (DEO), on the assumption that China and India want to imbibe regularly on their premium liquor brands. Diagio has nearly doubled in the past 18 months.
Maybe, just maybe, Dishmon should lay off the Diaigio booze and stick to plain old hookers and coke.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Week Ends with Split Decision; Gold, Silver on the Rise
After a week of ups and downs, it's probably appropriate the Friday ended with a bifurcated market: the Dow and NYSE down and the S&P and NASDAQ up.
It makes little sense to the casual observer, though the condition becomes more understandable if one is an insider, playing long and short, hedging positions, trading momentum and running super-fast computers in the 2011 version of "timing the market."
For the rest of us, forget it. Stocks have become nearly impossible to trade with any success unless one is truly gifted or just dumb lucky.
The White House and congress still haven't decided what to do about raising the debt ceiling. The Republicans' ploy of passing their ridiculous Cut, Cap and Balance bill in the House is a desperate and dangerous maneuver, costing more time as the ratings agencies and the rest of the civilized planet look on with alternate views of shock, horror and amusement. The continued stalemate virtually assures that the United States will receive a number of ratings downgrades no matter what happens from here on out.
By comparison, Europe appears far worse, though they have more than enough gall and arrogance to keep the media and the ratings agencies in check for the time being. With all of the Mediterranean nations in some sort of trouble or already having been bailed out, the European Union seems to be held together by duct tape and crewing gum.
There was nearly nothing worth reporting about this week, as the Ponzi schemers made it through another week without anybody receiving a subpoena or getting caught cheating. Score another one for the rich guys.
Dow 12,681.16, -43.25 (0.34%)
NASDAQ 2,858.83, +24.40 (0.86%)
S&P 500 1,345.02, +1.22 (0.09%)
NYSE Composite 8,408.20, -3.25 (0.04%)
Advancing issues narrowly beat decliners, 3293-3194. The NASDAQ showed 79 new highs and 23 new lows, while the NYSE registered 102 new highs and 24 new lows. The combined total of 181 new highs and 47 new lows is about par for the course in an upward-sloping market. Volume, however, dipped back into apathetic mid-summer malaise.
NASDAQ Volume 1,674,379,250
NYSE Volume 3,538,032,250
The commodity markets gave both good and bad news. Oil was up another 74 cents, to $99.87, which is bad news for everybody except oil company executives and Arab sheiks. The precious metals bore most of the good news, with gold up $14.50, to $1,601.50, and silver higher by $1.17, to $40.12. Silver appears ready to head into orbit, now that the new Hong Kong silver futures vehicle is offering some variation in pricing.
As the US economy becomes more and more bad theater, expect gold and silver to grind higher, with most of the explosive moves in silver, which is still underpriced at a 40-1 gold-silver ratio. The long-term trend is 16-1.
Today, House Republican "leader" John Boehner walked out of debt ceiling negotiations with the president, saying the two sides, "couldn't connect." No kidding, John, when you won't even allow for closing tax loopholes on millionaires and billionaires when we're suffering the worst depression of all time.
Boehner, and the rest of the "Tea Party" Nancies ought to be ashamed of what they're doing to the country. When the collapse comes, they should be handed the great bulk of the blame. President Obama has tried to deal with them, but it has become a losing battle.
God save us.
It makes little sense to the casual observer, though the condition becomes more understandable if one is an insider, playing long and short, hedging positions, trading momentum and running super-fast computers in the 2011 version of "timing the market."
For the rest of us, forget it. Stocks have become nearly impossible to trade with any success unless one is truly gifted or just dumb lucky.
The White House and congress still haven't decided what to do about raising the debt ceiling. The Republicans' ploy of passing their ridiculous Cut, Cap and Balance bill in the House is a desperate and dangerous maneuver, costing more time as the ratings agencies and the rest of the civilized planet look on with alternate views of shock, horror and amusement. The continued stalemate virtually assures that the United States will receive a number of ratings downgrades no matter what happens from here on out.
By comparison, Europe appears far worse, though they have more than enough gall and arrogance to keep the media and the ratings agencies in check for the time being. With all of the Mediterranean nations in some sort of trouble or already having been bailed out, the European Union seems to be held together by duct tape and crewing gum.
There was nearly nothing worth reporting about this week, as the Ponzi schemers made it through another week without anybody receiving a subpoena or getting caught cheating. Score another one for the rich guys.
Dow 12,681.16, -43.25 (0.34%)
NASDAQ 2,858.83, +24.40 (0.86%)
S&P 500 1,345.02, +1.22 (0.09%)
NYSE Composite 8,408.20, -3.25 (0.04%)
Advancing issues narrowly beat decliners, 3293-3194. The NASDAQ showed 79 new highs and 23 new lows, while the NYSE registered 102 new highs and 24 new lows. The combined total of 181 new highs and 47 new lows is about par for the course in an upward-sloping market. Volume, however, dipped back into apathetic mid-summer malaise.
NASDAQ Volume 1,674,379,250
NYSE Volume 3,538,032,250
The commodity markets gave both good and bad news. Oil was up another 74 cents, to $99.87, which is bad news for everybody except oil company executives and Arab sheiks. The precious metals bore most of the good news, with gold up $14.50, to $1,601.50, and silver higher by $1.17, to $40.12. Silver appears ready to head into orbit, now that the new Hong Kong silver futures vehicle is offering some variation in pricing.
As the US economy becomes more and more bad theater, expect gold and silver to grind higher, with most of the explosive moves in silver, which is still underpriced at a 40-1 gold-silver ratio. The long-term trend is 16-1.
Today, House Republican "leader" John Boehner walked out of debt ceiling negotiations with the president, saying the two sides, "couldn't connect." No kidding, John, when you won't even allow for closing tax loopholes on millionaires and billionaires when we're suffering the worst depression of all time.
Boehner, and the rest of the "Tea Party" Nancies ought to be ashamed of what they're doing to the country. When the collapse comes, they should be handed the great bulk of the blame. President Obama has tried to deal with them, but it has become a losing battle.
God save us.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Investment Ideas: Gold, Silver or Penny Stocks?
If you're young and brash, or even if you're old and still have some risk appetite, you may be looking around for new investment ideas.
Trouble is, you probably won't find any on CNBC, Fox Business or any of the traditional media outlets. You'll have to dig a little deeper, maybe even start researching financial blogs, but there are literally thousands of them. Finding the right kind of investing advice for your particular risk level can be as daunting a task as picking a particular stock out of thousands of those listed on the major exchanges.
For some, whose primary goal is to protect wealth, the answer is simple. Gold, gold and more gold, but make sure it's physical and you can keep it in your own possession. Playing around with the SPDR Gold Trust EFT (GLD) may bring you profits, but in the end you have paper, not gold. You want physical, and it's as easy to get as a trip to a local coin or precious metals dealer or from various international dealers such as AMPEX or KITCO, who generally can suit the needs whether you're spending $10,000 or $10 million.
Those same coin shops and dealers usually also do a brisk business in silver, which is a little more speculative, but carries the same kind of wealth protection as gold, but at a fraction of the cost (the current gold:silver ratio is right around 40:1, though it's traditionally been closer to 16:1).
Another place to buy silver and gold is - of all places - eBay, where there are hundreds, if not thousands of auctions for gold and silver every day. The prices are fair, usually around spot, often less, and the action is fast-paced and addictive.
For those who are tired of the mainstream stocks, many of which have been gyrating and grinding higher and lower without any regard to fundamentals, a more rigorous test of one's due diligence comes in the form of penny stocks, which are just what they sound like, small companies selling shares in a smaller, and consequently, less liquid, market, known in the trade as the "pink sheets" or simply, "the pinks."
Penny stocks are not for conservative investors; they carry a high level of risk. Many of these companies aren't even known to the general investing public and most of them are unprofitable or just barely turning a small profit. The key is to know which ones are actually going somewhere, have good management and are on their way to becoming the next Microsoft or Google. Most companies start small and penny stocks offer investors to get in on the ground floor, before their idea, application, service or product goes viral or mainstream.
Many of these companies are bought out by larger firms, resulting in hefty profits for shareholders, but finding the good ones takes time and research, to say nothing of an iron stomach.
There are dozens of sites offering penny stock picks but clicking the preceding link will take you to one that has a proven track record, offers quality content and does great research on companies you may have never heard of but could be regional powerhouses, national or global leaders years from now.
So, there you have it: three investments for three different levels of risk appetite. Low: Gold; Medium: Silver; High: Penny Stocks. And you don't have to watch a minute of CNBC for any of them.
Trouble is, you probably won't find any on CNBC, Fox Business or any of the traditional media outlets. You'll have to dig a little deeper, maybe even start researching financial blogs, but there are literally thousands of them. Finding the right kind of investing advice for your particular risk level can be as daunting a task as picking a particular stock out of thousands of those listed on the major exchanges.
For some, whose primary goal is to protect wealth, the answer is simple. Gold, gold and more gold, but make sure it's physical and you can keep it in your own possession. Playing around with the SPDR Gold Trust EFT (GLD) may bring you profits, but in the end you have paper, not gold. You want physical, and it's as easy to get as a trip to a local coin or precious metals dealer or from various international dealers such as AMPEX or KITCO, who generally can suit the needs whether you're spending $10,000 or $10 million.
Those same coin shops and dealers usually also do a brisk business in silver, which is a little more speculative, but carries the same kind of wealth protection as gold, but at a fraction of the cost (the current gold:silver ratio is right around 40:1, though it's traditionally been closer to 16:1).
Another place to buy silver and gold is - of all places - eBay, where there are hundreds, if not thousands of auctions for gold and silver every day. The prices are fair, usually around spot, often less, and the action is fast-paced and addictive.
For those who are tired of the mainstream stocks, many of which have been gyrating and grinding higher and lower without any regard to fundamentals, a more rigorous test of one's due diligence comes in the form of penny stocks, which are just what they sound like, small companies selling shares in a smaller, and consequently, less liquid, market, known in the trade as the "pink sheets" or simply, "the pinks."
Penny stocks are not for conservative investors; they carry a high level of risk. Many of these companies aren't even known to the general investing public and most of them are unprofitable or just barely turning a small profit. The key is to know which ones are actually going somewhere, have good management and are on their way to becoming the next Microsoft or Google. Most companies start small and penny stocks offer investors to get in on the ground floor, before their idea, application, service or product goes viral or mainstream.
Many of these companies are bought out by larger firms, resulting in hefty profits for shareholders, but finding the good ones takes time and research, to say nothing of an iron stomach.
There are dozens of sites offering penny stock picks but clicking the preceding link will take you to one that has a proven track record, offers quality content and does great research on companies you may have never heard of but could be regional powerhouses, national or global leaders years from now.
So, there you have it: three investments for three different levels of risk appetite. Low: Gold; Medium: Silver; High: Penny Stocks. And you don't have to watch a minute of CNBC for any of them.
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