I'm not going to win a Pulitzer Prize for this, but the reason the Fed did nothing again today is pretty simple.
1. The economy is being kept afloat by money being shoveled to banks, via nearly no interest loans, and people, via what the government likes to call "transfer payments," which are the usual, unemployment checks, social security checks, military and other federal retirement checks, disability checks, welfare checks.
2. The middle class pays most of their bills. They pay mortgages, taxes, utilities and they pay for necessities such as food, fuel, etc. Can anybody begrudge them the occasional splurge for a new shirt, car or iPad?
3. Private sector employment is becoming a myth and the more the government tries to tax every aspect of employment, the worse it's going to get. Private businesses must cut every imaginable corner just to stay in business.
Conclusion: the economy is still on the ropes. "Recovery" is an absolute joke. We are, as a nation, still scraping along the bottom. Public confidence in government is low and waning. Politicians grandstand for votes. Wall Street is still nothing more than a big casino. The Fed knows all of this and much more. They're scared to death. Eventually, the banks must give back all the money they stole from the middle class or the nation will never recover, probably splintering into a kind of new age Europe, which may, in fact, be the best thing that can happen.
Here's a plan: Expect the worst; enjoy what you have; don't pay retail for anything (including taxes; if you can get a deal on utilities, let me know how).
Dow 11,045.27, +53.28 (0.48%)
NASDAQ 2,471.73, +0.26 (0.01%)
S&P 500 1,191.36, +7.65 (0.65%)
NYSE Composite 7,499.72, +36.63 (0.49%)
Advancing issues, as expected, beat decliners, 3659-2857; there were 244 new highs (the lowest number in a month, at least) and just 48 new lows. Volume was solid.
NYSE Volume 7,046,415,500
NASDAQ Volume 2,728,942,500
Oil gained 78 cents, to $83.22. CNN Money ran a headline touting, Oil rises on Fed rate decision as if the two are somehow co-aligned. Maybe they are, but one has to really stretch imagination to figure out how that is.
Gold added $9.60, to $1,171.30, while silver fell a penny, to $18.11.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Goldman Execs Grilled; Market Stumbles as Greek Tragedy Unfolds
Aeschylus or Sophocles could not have written such a story as is unfolding in the finances of the nation of Greece and the Senate hearings on Goldman Sachs. It is as though the Gods themselves have delivered their wrath upon the wealthy, the greedy and the high-and-mighty of society.
On Capitol Hill, Senator Levin opened the current round of hearings in the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations by outlining the purported abuses by Goldman Sachs which helped lead the US real estate market and the general economy into what some are calling the "Great Recession" of 2008.
As the day and the questioning wore on, Goldman Sachs executives squirmed and cajoled and grimaced through arguments designed to clear them of even the appearance of impropriety in their mortgage securitization dealings and subsequent profiteering off the collapse of such investment vehicles. The polished and evidently well-trained Goldman executives kept a sombre tone as they alternately denied wrongdoing and admitted "mistakes" in the handling of their own and clients' money as the real estate market ballooned, popped and dropped from 2006 through 2008.
The questioning focused on a key point: whether Goldman Sachs was purposely betting it's own money against the very investments it had sold to clients. The firm admits losing money as the market cascaded lower, but then making more by buying credit default swaps which eventually paid off as the CDO market crashed. Goldman executives have steadfastly denied making trades at odds with those of their clients, though the argument is paper-thin and the Senate investigation has unearthed scores of examples exactly the opposite. Goldman calls their investments in credit default swaps pure hedging, but the tide certainly seems to be working against them, both in the hearing room and in the court of public opinion.
A continent away, Greek bond yields soared to over 18% on 2-year notes, as S&P cut its rating to junk status. Greece continues to struggle through one of its worst fiscal and monetary crises of the modern age, with government pay, pensions and entitlements pushing the government close to default. Today's development come in the wake of weeks of negotiations by the IMF and EU on a bailout package for the southern European nation.
There seems to be little doubt that Greece will default in part or in total, with Portugal, Italy and Spain next in line for the pain of financial armageddon. What worries officials in other European nations is the fate of the European Union itself and the ten-year experiment with the unified currency, the Euro.
Reaction was mostly aligned to the Greek story, though the Goldman Sachs hearings were riveting attention as well. Stocks in Europe suffered huge losses in all of its equity markets, with values of the major nation indices falling anywhere from 2% to nearly 4%. France's CAC 40 fell the most, down 3.82% on the day.
In the Americas, a similar story, with major indices piling on losses. The Canadian markets fared best of all, losing just more than 1 percent.
US stock losses come fast on the heels of an 8-week buying splurge despite signs everywhere that the global economy and sovereign debt issues were coming to a head. Even though it's the height of earnings season in the US, nothing could stem the stampede of sellers which descended on Wall Street. Stocks fell by their largest one-day amounts in months, on heavy volume, signaling that the worst may be yet to come.
Dow 10,991.99, -213.04 (1.90%)
NASDAQ 2,471.47, -51.48 (2.04%)
S&P 500 1,183.71, -28.34 (2.34%)
NYSE Composite 7,463.09, -214.56 (2.79%)
Declining issues overwhelmed advancers, 5396-1220, a better-than 4:1 ratio. The number of new highs was shaved down to 407, with 51 stocks recording new lows.
NYSE Volume 8,348,664,500.00
NASDAQ Volume 2,766,927,750.00
Commodity prices were mixed, due to differences in their utility. Crude oil, which is consumed worldwide, fell $1.76, to $82.44, mostly on fears of reduced demand. Gold, primarily a store of wealth or a hedge against currencies, was higher by $8.10, finishing at $1,161.70. Silver, however, which carries investment qualities and industrial functions, dropped 22 cents, to $18.12.
Elsewhere, consumer confidence in April galloped ahead to 57.9, from a March reading of 52.3, though the encouraging number was largely ignored. The Case-Shiller 20-City Real Estate index rose a disappointing 0.64% year-over-year for the month of February, stirring speculation that the US residential real estate market may be months - if not years - from recovery, with the potential for another 15% downturn still on the horizon.
All is not well in our financial world. Titans are being brought under the whip, nations may fail, social unrest may reach a fever pitch by the time our next federal elections roll around in November. With the usually-slow months of summer approaching, stocks seem unstable investments, at best.
Cash, equivalents, Treasuries and other highly-liquid assets are being preferred for the moment.
Making matters even more convoluted, on Monday, Republicans in the Senate blocked debate on Senator Dodds' Financial Reform legislation by a 57-40 vote. 60 votes are needed to bring the bill to the Senate floor. Another test vote failed on Monday, with Republicans grandstanding, saying dishonestly that the bill would reach deep “into every nook and cranny of American business.”
Bring on the sirens and the wailing.
On Capitol Hill, Senator Levin opened the current round of hearings in the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations by outlining the purported abuses by Goldman Sachs which helped lead the US real estate market and the general economy into what some are calling the "Great Recession" of 2008.
As the day and the questioning wore on, Goldman Sachs executives squirmed and cajoled and grimaced through arguments designed to clear them of even the appearance of impropriety in their mortgage securitization dealings and subsequent profiteering off the collapse of such investment vehicles. The polished and evidently well-trained Goldman executives kept a sombre tone as they alternately denied wrongdoing and admitted "mistakes" in the handling of their own and clients' money as the real estate market ballooned, popped and dropped from 2006 through 2008.
The questioning focused on a key point: whether Goldman Sachs was purposely betting it's own money against the very investments it had sold to clients. The firm admits losing money as the market cascaded lower, but then making more by buying credit default swaps which eventually paid off as the CDO market crashed. Goldman executives have steadfastly denied making trades at odds with those of their clients, though the argument is paper-thin and the Senate investigation has unearthed scores of examples exactly the opposite. Goldman calls their investments in credit default swaps pure hedging, but the tide certainly seems to be working against them, both in the hearing room and in the court of public opinion.
A continent away, Greek bond yields soared to over 18% on 2-year notes, as S&P cut its rating to junk status. Greece continues to struggle through one of its worst fiscal and monetary crises of the modern age, with government pay, pensions and entitlements pushing the government close to default. Today's development come in the wake of weeks of negotiations by the IMF and EU on a bailout package for the southern European nation.
There seems to be little doubt that Greece will default in part or in total, with Portugal, Italy and Spain next in line for the pain of financial armageddon. What worries officials in other European nations is the fate of the European Union itself and the ten-year experiment with the unified currency, the Euro.
Reaction was mostly aligned to the Greek story, though the Goldman Sachs hearings were riveting attention as well. Stocks in Europe suffered huge losses in all of its equity markets, with values of the major nation indices falling anywhere from 2% to nearly 4%. France's CAC 40 fell the most, down 3.82% on the day.
In the Americas, a similar story, with major indices piling on losses. The Canadian markets fared best of all, losing just more than 1 percent.
US stock losses come fast on the heels of an 8-week buying splurge despite signs everywhere that the global economy and sovereign debt issues were coming to a head. Even though it's the height of earnings season in the US, nothing could stem the stampede of sellers which descended on Wall Street. Stocks fell by their largest one-day amounts in months, on heavy volume, signaling that the worst may be yet to come.
Dow 10,991.99, -213.04 (1.90%)
NASDAQ 2,471.47, -51.48 (2.04%)
S&P 500 1,183.71, -28.34 (2.34%)
NYSE Composite 7,463.09, -214.56 (2.79%)
Declining issues overwhelmed advancers, 5396-1220, a better-than 4:1 ratio. The number of new highs was shaved down to 407, with 51 stocks recording new lows.
NYSE Volume 8,348,664,500.00
NASDAQ Volume 2,766,927,750.00
Commodity prices were mixed, due to differences in their utility. Crude oil, which is consumed worldwide, fell $1.76, to $82.44, mostly on fears of reduced demand. Gold, primarily a store of wealth or a hedge against currencies, was higher by $8.10, finishing at $1,161.70. Silver, however, which carries investment qualities and industrial functions, dropped 22 cents, to $18.12.
Elsewhere, consumer confidence in April galloped ahead to 57.9, from a March reading of 52.3, though the encouraging number was largely ignored. The Case-Shiller 20-City Real Estate index rose a disappointing 0.64% year-over-year for the month of February, stirring speculation that the US residential real estate market may be months - if not years - from recovery, with the potential for another 15% downturn still on the horizon.
All is not well in our financial world. Titans are being brought under the whip, nations may fail, social unrest may reach a fever pitch by the time our next federal elections roll around in November. With the usually-slow months of summer approaching, stocks seem unstable investments, at best.
Cash, equivalents, Treasuries and other highly-liquid assets are being preferred for the moment.
Making matters even more convoluted, on Monday, Republicans in the Senate blocked debate on Senator Dodds' Financial Reform legislation by a 57-40 vote. 60 votes are needed to bring the bill to the Senate floor. Another test vote failed on Monday, with Republicans grandstanding, saying dishonestly that the bill would reach deep “into every nook and cranny of American business.”
Bring on the sirens and the wailing.
Friday, April 23, 2010
No Doubt About It: The Banks Stole Your Money
So much for my triple-top theory.
With the Dow putting on gains to close out the week - finishing at new highs for the 8th consecutive week - the world's most watched index is now at 18-month highs, leaving the memories of Lehman Bros., TARP and the painful housing crisis far behind in the memory hole.
But while stocks and traders are rejoicing over their riches, they fail to see, or even understand, the devastation caused by kicking 2 million families out of their homes or 8 million (probably more) out of jobs. Wall Street pros have stars on their foreheads and in their eyes. They obviously do not share the same values as most middle-class Americans.
The rally which began on March 10, 2009 has now reached extraordinary status. It is a full 12 1/2 months old, and the percentage gains off the bottom are simply spectacular.
Let's Recap:
The following are the March 9, 2009 lows, then today's closing prices, followed by the percentage gains.
Dow... 6,547.05 ... 11,204.28 ... +71,13%
S&P 500... 676.53 ... 1,217.28 ... +79.93
NASDAQ... 1,268.64 ... 2,530.15 ... +99.44
NYSE Comp. ... 4,226.31 ... 7,701.61 ... +82.23
There you have it. All anyone had to really do to turn $10,000 into roughly $18,000 over the course of the past 13 months was to buy all the stocks in any index and let it ride. For the rich and powerful, such as the lead traders at Goldman Sachs, the trick was to turn $1 billion or $10 billion into $1.8 billion or $18 billion. Being even more sophisticated, they probably had returns which far outstripped those of the entire indices.
Is there any wonder how the biggest frauds and thieves eve to walk the face of the earth (the leaders of Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, et. al.) were all able to pay back the government's (read: taxpayers) TARP money within a year's time?
Not only did the financial calamity which took the stock market down in the Fall of 2008 through the Winter of 2009 appear to be contrived and driven by the same people who created it, so too the "miraculous" recovery of stocks overall, and their very own firms, to boot.
On March 9, 2009, Bank of America (BAC) closed at 3.74. Citigroup (C) finished the session at 1.05; Goldman Sachs (GS), 73.28; Morgan Stanley (MS), 16.34; JP Morgan Chase (JPM), 15.79; Wells Fargo (WFC), 9.89 (actually closed at 8.06 on March 5).
Today, Bank of America finished the session at 18.43; Citigroup, 4.86; Goldman Sachs, 157.40; Morgan Stanley, 31.94; JP Morgan Chase, 44.94; and Wells Fargo, 33.48.
These are the five largest private sector financial institutions in the country. They've all done exceedingly well over the past 13 months, mostly at the expense of foreclosed-upon homeowners, people strung out on credit cards carrying rates that used to be called usury and millions of unemployed workers who lost their jobs because these bankers and traders convinced most of corporate America that the sky was falling. That the crisis occurred at the very end of the Bush administration's reign of terror was no coincidence. It was easily the greatest crime of all time.
All of these firms ruthlessly cut their dividend payouts to shreds at the height of the crisis and are still paying out less than 1% each. Citigroup pays no dividend. Goldman Sachs is the most generous, at 0.90%, at a time in which they paid their employees 43% of profits. These guys never learned to share.
Wall Street has changed dramatically from the days in which prices were quoted in eighths and sixteenths. Today's "titans" need billions of dollars to fill up their coffers in the highly rigged game of liar's poker. As a market observer - and sometimes participant - of over 35 years, I can safely say I have never seen a crash nor a rally quite as spectacular as the ones witnessed over the past 19 months. And, as the saying goes, "if it looks to good to be true, it probably isn't."
I don't know where this rally will end, or how, but it will, I imagine. Maybe it won't. Maybe the "masters of the universe" will keep stocks on a permanent upward slope in order to capture even more of the world's money supply. After all, government's just keep printing the stuff, so the bankers and frauds have to use up more of it, don't they?
I've been out of this market since December of 2009 and won't venture back in until I see some of these companies' CEOs in leg irons, which means I've probably already made my last investment in equities. I consider the current regime of manipulators and skimmers to be nothing better than common crooks. Having already stolen much of America's private wealth, they're no doubt scheming to steal the rest. At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, I'll keep the reporting in this same vein.
Wall Street is the biggest fraud most of us will ever see. enjoy it while it lasts.
Dow 11,204.28 69.99 (0.63%)
NASDAQ 2,530.15 11.08 (0.44%)
S&P 500 1,217.28 8.61 (0.71%)
NYSE Compos 7,701.61 58.78 (0.77%)
Advancers led decliners by a wide margin, 4406-2097. So too, new highs, all 1130 of them, crushed the 68 new lows. Volume was slimmed down from the levels earlier in the week.
NYSE Volume 5,888,237,000.00
NASDAQ Volume 2,434,851,250.00
Oil gained $1.42, to $85.12. Gold gained $10.80, to $1,153.10. Silver was higher by 18 cents, finishing at $18.19.
Everything went up today except your paycheck. Seriously, working has become the toil of suckers. If the "retirement investments" aren't wiped out by the frauds of finance, the taxman will take whatever else there is.
Good grief. Good luck.
With the Dow putting on gains to close out the week - finishing at new highs for the 8th consecutive week - the world's most watched index is now at 18-month highs, leaving the memories of Lehman Bros., TARP and the painful housing crisis far behind in the memory hole.
But while stocks and traders are rejoicing over their riches, they fail to see, or even understand, the devastation caused by kicking 2 million families out of their homes or 8 million (probably more) out of jobs. Wall Street pros have stars on their foreheads and in their eyes. They obviously do not share the same values as most middle-class Americans.
The rally which began on March 10, 2009 has now reached extraordinary status. It is a full 12 1/2 months old, and the percentage gains off the bottom are simply spectacular.
Let's Recap:
The following are the March 9, 2009 lows, then today's closing prices, followed by the percentage gains.
Dow... 6,547.05 ... 11,204.28 ... +71,13%
S&P 500... 676.53 ... 1,217.28 ... +79.93
NASDAQ... 1,268.64 ... 2,530.15 ... +99.44
NYSE Comp. ... 4,226.31 ... 7,701.61 ... +82.23
There you have it. All anyone had to really do to turn $10,000 into roughly $18,000 over the course of the past 13 months was to buy all the stocks in any index and let it ride. For the rich and powerful, such as the lead traders at Goldman Sachs, the trick was to turn $1 billion or $10 billion into $1.8 billion or $18 billion. Being even more sophisticated, they probably had returns which far outstripped those of the entire indices.
Is there any wonder how the biggest frauds and thieves eve to walk the face of the earth (the leaders of Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, et. al.) were all able to pay back the government's (read: taxpayers) TARP money within a year's time?
Not only did the financial calamity which took the stock market down in the Fall of 2008 through the Winter of 2009 appear to be contrived and driven by the same people who created it, so too the "miraculous" recovery of stocks overall, and their very own firms, to boot.
On March 9, 2009, Bank of America (BAC) closed at 3.74. Citigroup (C) finished the session at 1.05; Goldman Sachs (GS), 73.28; Morgan Stanley (MS), 16.34; JP Morgan Chase (JPM), 15.79; Wells Fargo (WFC), 9.89 (actually closed at 8.06 on March 5).
Today, Bank of America finished the session at 18.43; Citigroup, 4.86; Goldman Sachs, 157.40; Morgan Stanley, 31.94; JP Morgan Chase, 44.94; and Wells Fargo, 33.48.
These are the five largest private sector financial institutions in the country. They've all done exceedingly well over the past 13 months, mostly at the expense of foreclosed-upon homeowners, people strung out on credit cards carrying rates that used to be called usury and millions of unemployed workers who lost their jobs because these bankers and traders convinced most of corporate America that the sky was falling. That the crisis occurred at the very end of the Bush administration's reign of terror was no coincidence. It was easily the greatest crime of all time.
All of these firms ruthlessly cut their dividend payouts to shreds at the height of the crisis and are still paying out less than 1% each. Citigroup pays no dividend. Goldman Sachs is the most generous, at 0.90%, at a time in which they paid their employees 43% of profits. These guys never learned to share.
Wall Street has changed dramatically from the days in which prices were quoted in eighths and sixteenths. Today's "titans" need billions of dollars to fill up their coffers in the highly rigged game of liar's poker. As a market observer - and sometimes participant - of over 35 years, I can safely say I have never seen a crash nor a rally quite as spectacular as the ones witnessed over the past 19 months. And, as the saying goes, "if it looks to good to be true, it probably isn't."
I don't know where this rally will end, or how, but it will, I imagine. Maybe it won't. Maybe the "masters of the universe" will keep stocks on a permanent upward slope in order to capture even more of the world's money supply. After all, government's just keep printing the stuff, so the bankers and frauds have to use up more of it, don't they?
I've been out of this market since December of 2009 and won't venture back in until I see some of these companies' CEOs in leg irons, which means I've probably already made my last investment in equities. I consider the current regime of manipulators and skimmers to be nothing better than common crooks. Having already stolen much of America's private wealth, they're no doubt scheming to steal the rest. At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, I'll keep the reporting in this same vein.
Wall Street is the biggest fraud most of us will ever see. enjoy it while it lasts.
Dow 11,204.28 69.99 (0.63%)
NASDAQ 2,530.15 11.08 (0.44%)
S&P 500 1,217.28 8.61 (0.71%)
NYSE Compos 7,701.61 58.78 (0.77%)
Advancers led decliners by a wide margin, 4406-2097. So too, new highs, all 1130 of them, crushed the 68 new lows. Volume was slimmed down from the levels earlier in the week.
NYSE Volume 5,888,237,000.00
NASDAQ Volume 2,434,851,250.00
Oil gained $1.42, to $85.12. Gold gained $10.80, to $1,153.10. Silver was higher by 18 cents, finishing at $18.19.
Everything went up today except your paycheck. Seriously, working has become the toil of suckers. If the "retirement investments" aren't wiped out by the frauds of finance, the taxman will take whatever else there is.
Good grief. Good luck.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
When Will the Music Stop, the Fraud End?
Following yesterday's post about Goldman Sachs, Greece and the intra-day triple top on the Dow, my midday work routine was broken by a screaming message from the ether: "Dow down 100 points in early trading!"
Being ever skeptical of my prognosticating prowess, I triple-clicked over to Yahoo! Finance (seriously, who puts an exclamation point after their corporate name? Wal-Mart!, Cisco!, Paris Hilton!) to confirm that stocks had already begun their ascent from the morning's depths. Surely, the short-covering and naked buying by all the Goldman traders was underway. By the time the market had closed, my best suspicions were confirmed, with the Dow finishing on the green side of the ledger, along with the S&P and a nifty gain on the NAZ.
Today's rally, as part of the endless rally that has become Wall Street in the post-crisis, pre-Goldman-settlement era, is about as plausible as 2007 California real estate prices. It's all part of the game, which, to my mind, only Robert Prechter (Elliott Wave) has figured out. Well, and me. Goldman moves the market, no doubt about it. They've been doing it since 1988 with ample assistance from the Plunge Protection Team and tacit approval from the upper crusters in DC.
Stocks can only go down when the powers that be wish them to do so. So it is written in the Book of Sachs. Fundamentals don't matter, p/e doesn't matter, all that matters is where the herd will head for feeding, following the hidden hand signals from the leader of the pack, clandestinely dictating market direction via sham trades, public bogus recommendations (remember Goldman's call for $200/barrel oil?) and equally dubious upgrades and downgrades.
Dow 11,134.29, +9.37 (0.08%)
NASDAQ 2,519.07, +14.46 (0.58%)
S&P 500 1,208.67, +2.74 (0.23%)
NYSE Composite 7,642.83, -1.84 (0.02%)
Advancing issues beat back decliners, 4085-2402, while new highs registered 867, to just 59 new lows. My occasional warning to ignore the new highs-lows divergence until at least June, as last year's fall and rise will produce a considerable amount of skew in those figures. Volume was again trending toward the upper end, which is reasonable considering the amount of trading that had to be undertaken to move the whole market higher.
NYSE Volume 6,682,984,000.00
NASDAQ Volume 2,727,952,500.00
What probably scared investors even more than bad news on the Greece front, and rightfully so, was the weekly initial unemployment claims figures issued at 8:30 am. Those came in at 456,000, below last week's unsightly 480,000, but still too high most most realists to stomach. Those figures must come down to around 300,000 weekly before anyone will speak "recovery" again.
But the chances of the unemployment figures falling soon seem slim, especially since congress passed an $18 billion extension last week that proffers "99 weekly unemployment checks averaging $335 to people whose 26 weeks of state-paid benefits have run out."
Yikes! That's two years worth of unemployment checks, or an average of just under $33,500 over the 99-week span, which is more than some people make actually working for a living. The government seems to be suggesting a longer-term unemployment lag than even most economists. Remember, employment is a lagging indicator, currently 9 months behind the official "end" of the recession.
Of course, Wall Street would rather most Americans believe the economy is continuing to improve, even while you're collecting unemployment checks and waiting for the bank to foreclose on your home. According to the elitists in our nation's capitol, it's all good.
Next they'll be selling us bridges... to nowhere, no doubt.
The underground economy is thriving on welfare, food stamps, unemployment and SS checks on a certain road to ruin.
Being ever skeptical of my prognosticating prowess, I triple-clicked over to Yahoo! Finance (seriously, who puts an exclamation point after their corporate name? Wal-Mart!, Cisco!, Paris Hilton!) to confirm that stocks had already begun their ascent from the morning's depths. Surely, the short-covering and naked buying by all the Goldman traders was underway. By the time the market had closed, my best suspicions were confirmed, with the Dow finishing on the green side of the ledger, along with the S&P and a nifty gain on the NAZ.
Today's rally, as part of the endless rally that has become Wall Street in the post-crisis, pre-Goldman-settlement era, is about as plausible as 2007 California real estate prices. It's all part of the game, which, to my mind, only Robert Prechter (Elliott Wave) has figured out. Well, and me. Goldman moves the market, no doubt about it. They've been doing it since 1988 with ample assistance from the Plunge Protection Team and tacit approval from the upper crusters in DC.
Stocks can only go down when the powers that be wish them to do so. So it is written in the Book of Sachs. Fundamentals don't matter, p/e doesn't matter, all that matters is where the herd will head for feeding, following the hidden hand signals from the leader of the pack, clandestinely dictating market direction via sham trades, public bogus recommendations (remember Goldman's call for $200/barrel oil?) and equally dubious upgrades and downgrades.
Dow 11,134.29, +9.37 (0.08%)
NASDAQ 2,519.07, +14.46 (0.58%)
S&P 500 1,208.67, +2.74 (0.23%)
NYSE Composite 7,642.83, -1.84 (0.02%)
Advancing issues beat back decliners, 4085-2402, while new highs registered 867, to just 59 new lows. My occasional warning to ignore the new highs-lows divergence until at least June, as last year's fall and rise will produce a considerable amount of skew in those figures. Volume was again trending toward the upper end, which is reasonable considering the amount of trading that had to be undertaken to move the whole market higher.
NYSE Volume 6,682,984,000.00
NASDAQ Volume 2,727,952,500.00
What probably scared investors even more than bad news on the Greece front, and rightfully so, was the weekly initial unemployment claims figures issued at 8:30 am. Those came in at 456,000, below last week's unsightly 480,000, but still too high most most realists to stomach. Those figures must come down to around 300,000 weekly before anyone will speak "recovery" again.
But the chances of the unemployment figures falling soon seem slim, especially since congress passed an $18 billion extension last week that proffers "99 weekly unemployment checks averaging $335 to people whose 26 weeks of state-paid benefits have run out."
Yikes! That's two years worth of unemployment checks, or an average of just under $33,500 over the 99-week span, which is more than some people make actually working for a living. The government seems to be suggesting a longer-term unemployment lag than even most economists. Remember, employment is a lagging indicator, currently 9 months behind the official "end" of the recession.
Of course, Wall Street would rather most Americans believe the economy is continuing to improve, even while you're collecting unemployment checks and waiting for the bank to foreclose on your home. According to the elitists in our nation's capitol, it's all good.
Next they'll be selling us bridges... to nowhere, no doubt.
The underground economy is thriving on welfare, food stamps, unemployment and SS checks on a certain road to ruin.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Triple Top or More Room to Roam?
Stocks just keep bounding up and down, but mostly up, though the activity since Thursday of last week (April 15) is suggesting that the top may be already set, or set up.
The Dow hit an intra-day high of 11,190.22 on Tuesday, after making stops at 11,189.61 on Thursday (4/15) and 11,186.82 on Friday (4/16). That appears to be the formation of some fairly significant resistance, especially considering today's close of 11,124.92, well below those lofty levels.
It's far too early to tell if that the 11,190 area will actually be the top, though the Transportation Index is signaling somewhat the same signs of waning interest, settling today some 124 points below its own intra-day high from April 15. Of course, more bad news for either Greece or Goldman Sachs will send the stock-pumping moles in the PPT scurrying into action with their billions of dollars of untraceable trades to keep stocks soaring and the public none the wiser.
If one is inclined to listen to financial news via the mainstream media (re: CNBC), the constant howling over "improving conditions", "V-shaped recovery" and similar bombast can be deafening, but make no doubt, dirty little secrets are being kept far from public view.
In that regard, the SC charges against Goldman Sachs are probably more of a decoy than anything else. If something critical were to occur - and break the collusion between the federal government and Wall Street - the Department of Justice would have filed criminal charges. The chances of anything like that actually happening are remote, though those of us who believe that the housing bubble and subsequent crash, bailouts and breakdowns were indeed high crimes remain hopeful.
Beating back the onrushing forces of government and big money at the same time is an uphill fight, one the American people seem ill-inclined to undertake. Tea parties have been largely a ploy of the right wing, do-nothing Republican party, which sees obstruction as a perfectly good alternative to actually legislating on the behalf of the American people.
Those days are long gone, and the folks occupying the high offices in Washington and Wall Street hope they will be soon forgotten as well. Politicians listen only for the sound of crisp bils being peeled off of large wads from well-heeled supporters, like oil companies, pharmas and banking interests. Nobody will go to jail after the banks literally stole billions of dollars in real estate assets through phony documentation, phony appraisals, phony credit reports and phony income statements.
The wizards of Wall Street are truthfully not wizards of high finance at all, but rather, masters of finagling every last dollar out of the pockets of the middle class. To them, working men and women are rabble, peons to be fleeced by their powerful financial acumen and lengthy over-worded documents. The government complies by not regulating and the courts further the fraud by failing to prosecute even when they have good actions with solid arguments in front of them.
Witness Federal Court Judge Virginia Phillips dismissing 8 separate class actions on the same pretext: that the banks and builders weren't responsible for the calamity which has put millions out of their homes, but that the "economy" or the "recession" was to blame. With judges like Phillips front-running litigation for the bank fraudsters, is there really any reason to believe in democratic principles like justice, fairness, or even due process any more?
The obvious answer is no, and that bodes ill for all of us, present and future. Baby boomers should face facts: our parents were probably the most prosperous generation ever in America, but we are less fortunate, with every excess dollar seemingly earmarked for either utility rate hikes, tax increases or supplements to the wildly out-of-control and under-funded entitlement programs. The baby-boomer generation will be lucky to retire with any kind of benefits, as the Social Security fund is already running current-account deficits. The government will have to either borrow or tax to pay the millions who will be retiring in the next decade, and borrow in enormous sums.
In the meantime, Americans mostly continue to work and try to save, though for many, that has become an increasingly difficult task. Unemployment is expected to remain stubbornly high for at least another three years, with 8% now being hailed as a benchmark, though in reality, the current 9.7% rate is actually closer to 18% when all the conditional arguments are removed from the government's calculations.
Wall Street could care less, though their rapacious greed could turn out to be their own worst enemy. Without a spending public, many of the major enterprises will crumble for lack of new suckers (funding). It cannot happen too soon, for only then will there be a reckoning and justice for all.
Dow 11,124.92, +7.86 (0.07%)
NASDAQ 2,504.61, +4.30 (0.17%)
S&P 500 1,205.93, -1.24 (0.10%)
NYSE Composite 7,644.67, -24.44 (0.32%)
Once again, the indices rendered a split decision, with two up and two down, indicating that a turn is approaching. Advancing issues led decliners, 3534-2957. 767 new highs overshadowed the mere 47 new lows. Volume was back up again, though it's likely due more to position trades than anything else, i.e., keeping the markets on an even keel by manipulating a range of stocks.
NYSE Volume 6,301,928,500
NASDAQ Volume 2,644,937,250
Oil was down, gold and silver, up, all three stuck in trading ranges they have occupies for months. Those prices are deliberately being manipulated to keep order in the global economy. Central banks fear gold because their currencies are backed by nothing but empty promises, and the oil sheiks and oligopolies can maintain production without social unrest at abysmally high prices.
Its a sad world condition, in which the rich now control a larger concentration of wealth than at any other time in history, except for maybe the Middle Ages or the Roman Empire.
The Dow hit an intra-day high of 11,190.22 on Tuesday, after making stops at 11,189.61 on Thursday (4/15) and 11,186.82 on Friday (4/16). That appears to be the formation of some fairly significant resistance, especially considering today's close of 11,124.92, well below those lofty levels.
It's far too early to tell if that the 11,190 area will actually be the top, though the Transportation Index is signaling somewhat the same signs of waning interest, settling today some 124 points below its own intra-day high from April 15. Of course, more bad news for either Greece or Goldman Sachs will send the stock-pumping moles in the PPT scurrying into action with their billions of dollars of untraceable trades to keep stocks soaring and the public none the wiser.
If one is inclined to listen to financial news via the mainstream media (re: CNBC), the constant howling over "improving conditions", "V-shaped recovery" and similar bombast can be deafening, but make no doubt, dirty little secrets are being kept far from public view.
In that regard, the SC charges against Goldman Sachs are probably more of a decoy than anything else. If something critical were to occur - and break the collusion between the federal government and Wall Street - the Department of Justice would have filed criminal charges. The chances of anything like that actually happening are remote, though those of us who believe that the housing bubble and subsequent crash, bailouts and breakdowns were indeed high crimes remain hopeful.
Beating back the onrushing forces of government and big money at the same time is an uphill fight, one the American people seem ill-inclined to undertake. Tea parties have been largely a ploy of the right wing, do-nothing Republican party, which sees obstruction as a perfectly good alternative to actually legislating on the behalf of the American people.
Those days are long gone, and the folks occupying the high offices in Washington and Wall Street hope they will be soon forgotten as well. Politicians listen only for the sound of crisp bils being peeled off of large wads from well-heeled supporters, like oil companies, pharmas and banking interests. Nobody will go to jail after the banks literally stole billions of dollars in real estate assets through phony documentation, phony appraisals, phony credit reports and phony income statements.
The wizards of Wall Street are truthfully not wizards of high finance at all, but rather, masters of finagling every last dollar out of the pockets of the middle class. To them, working men and women are rabble, peons to be fleeced by their powerful financial acumen and lengthy over-worded documents. The government complies by not regulating and the courts further the fraud by failing to prosecute even when they have good actions with solid arguments in front of them.
Witness Federal Court Judge Virginia Phillips dismissing 8 separate class actions on the same pretext: that the banks and builders weren't responsible for the calamity which has put millions out of their homes, but that the "economy" or the "recession" was to blame. With judges like Phillips front-running litigation for the bank fraudsters, is there really any reason to believe in democratic principles like justice, fairness, or even due process any more?
The obvious answer is no, and that bodes ill for all of us, present and future. Baby boomers should face facts: our parents were probably the most prosperous generation ever in America, but we are less fortunate, with every excess dollar seemingly earmarked for either utility rate hikes, tax increases or supplements to the wildly out-of-control and under-funded entitlement programs. The baby-boomer generation will be lucky to retire with any kind of benefits, as the Social Security fund is already running current-account deficits. The government will have to either borrow or tax to pay the millions who will be retiring in the next decade, and borrow in enormous sums.
In the meantime, Americans mostly continue to work and try to save, though for many, that has become an increasingly difficult task. Unemployment is expected to remain stubbornly high for at least another three years, with 8% now being hailed as a benchmark, though in reality, the current 9.7% rate is actually closer to 18% when all the conditional arguments are removed from the government's calculations.
Wall Street could care less, though their rapacious greed could turn out to be their own worst enemy. Without a spending public, many of the major enterprises will crumble for lack of new suckers (funding). It cannot happen too soon, for only then will there be a reckoning and justice for all.
Dow 11,124.92, +7.86 (0.07%)
NASDAQ 2,504.61, +4.30 (0.17%)
S&P 500 1,205.93, -1.24 (0.10%)
NYSE Composite 7,644.67, -24.44 (0.32%)
Once again, the indices rendered a split decision, with two up and two down, indicating that a turn is approaching. Advancing issues led decliners, 3534-2957. 767 new highs overshadowed the mere 47 new lows. Volume was back up again, though it's likely due more to position trades than anything else, i.e., keeping the markets on an even keel by manipulating a range of stocks.
NYSE Volume 6,301,928,500
NASDAQ Volume 2,644,937,250
Oil was down, gold and silver, up, all three stuck in trading ranges they have occupies for months. Those prices are deliberately being manipulated to keep order in the global economy. Central banks fear gold because their currencies are backed by nothing but empty promises, and the oil sheiks and oligopolies can maintain production without social unrest at abysmally high prices.
Its a sad world condition, in which the rich now control a larger concentration of wealth than at any other time in history, except for maybe the Middle Ages or the Roman Empire.
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