Didn't I tell you all yesterday that stocks would be back up today. Tuesday was a one-off. Wall Street has to do it every now and then to convince the sheep, er, peep, er, sheeple, like you, that it's all on the up and up.
It's not. It's fed by the Fed. Buy silver. I have little more to say, but, in a nutshell, we're back to feudalism, and the banksters and politicians are the lords and you, me and anyone with either a job or a subsidized existence (it's becoming more lucrative to filch, in fact) are the serfs.
Fuck 'em. And prepare for Amrageddon.
Dow 12,288.17, +61.53 (0.50%)
NASDAQ 2,825.56, +21.21 (0.76%)
S&P 500 1,336.32, +8.31 (0.63%)
NYSE Composite 8,453.76, +70.09 (0.84%)
Advancing issues stomped all over decliners, 4678-1882. NASDAQ new highs: 202; new lows: 32. NYSE new highs: 335; new lows: 13. Volume was solid, for a change. There must be a ramp-up coming. Everybody's all in. Oh, that's right. Options expiration Friday. How could I have missed that? It's where all the money is being made.
NASDAQ Volume 2,289,703,250.00
NYSE Volume 4,453,836,500
Crude oil got a bit of a boost by Iranian warships entering the Suez Canal en route to Syria, up 67 cents to nestle in at $84.99. Gold gained $1.00, to $1,375.10 and silver was down 7 cents, to $30.63. Nothing to see there. Move along.
Tomorrow, the BLS offers the latest in a series of comedy sketches otherwise known as unemployment claims prior to the opening bell, which, in case you haven't noticed, is not a bell at all, but the same sound used in casinos world-wide when a one-armed bandit pays off, even more proof that Wall Street really is one giant casino.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
What's This? Stocks Down! Say It Ain't So!
Believe it or not, all of the major US indices actually finished in the red today.
This is, of course, anathema to the mendacious crowd which fixes prices on all equities, all the time, so an examination of the carcass may reveal a hidden message.
Peering inside the dumped stocks, we find that today's Tuesday decline was led by basic materials (hmmm... commodities) and technology. Four sectors finished positive: financial (no surprise there), health care, utilities and transportation. The only sense to be made from this is that the big money is doing its rotation dance and taking profits. Markets should be back to their normal ascent by tomorrow's opening bell.
Wall Street continues to be in serious denial over the health of the economy and the value of stocks, which are largely over-priced and carrying general valuations of 14-17X earnings. This morning's retail sales figures may have tripped up the algos in the stock-buying computers, because they missed by a mile - coming in at 0.3% gain when the call was for between .05 and .07.
Not surprising that many of the self-proclaimed experts had this analyzed all wrong, especially considering that much of the retail number is based on same-store sales and omits stores closed within the past 12 months, of which there are many. The real number is actually much worse, but we're all supposed to believe that the US economy is improving, so the data must be fudged to meet the "reality."
Dow 12,226.64, -41.55 (0.34%)
NASDAQ 2,804.35, -12.83 (0.46%)
S&P 500 1,328.01, -4.31 (0.32%)
NYSE Composite 8,383.67, -21.48 (0.26%)
Decliners led advancing issues by a wide margin, 3996-2479. On the NASDAQ, there were still 144 new highs and just 23 new lows. On the NYSE, there were 213 new highs and just 13 new lows. Volume was slack, and that's saying quite a bit, since yesterday was the slowest trading day of the year. The bulls may be getting a little winded after a nearly six-month run.
NASDAQ Volume 2,034,250,500
NYSE Volume 4,396,449,000
What was even more interesting that the minor downturn in stocks was the continued action in crude oil futures, which fell again, down 49 cents, to $84.32, the lowest price in twwo and a half months. Gold moved in the opposite direction, up $9.00, to $1,374.10, along with silver, which gained 16 cents, to $30.70, nearing the pinnacle of the recent range.
Look for another leg up in the precious metals, especially on any economic disruptions or blasphemy to the recovery theme, either from the Middle East or economic data that isn't sufficiently massaged. This bull run has gotten pretty long in the tooth and a major correction could lie dead ahead. In fact, it's long overdue.
This is, of course, anathema to the mendacious crowd which fixes prices on all equities, all the time, so an examination of the carcass may reveal a hidden message.
Peering inside the dumped stocks, we find that today's Tuesday decline was led by basic materials (hmmm... commodities) and technology. Four sectors finished positive: financial (no surprise there), health care, utilities and transportation. The only sense to be made from this is that the big money is doing its rotation dance and taking profits. Markets should be back to their normal ascent by tomorrow's opening bell.
Wall Street continues to be in serious denial over the health of the economy and the value of stocks, which are largely over-priced and carrying general valuations of 14-17X earnings. This morning's retail sales figures may have tripped up the algos in the stock-buying computers, because they missed by a mile - coming in at 0.3% gain when the call was for between .05 and .07.
Not surprising that many of the self-proclaimed experts had this analyzed all wrong, especially considering that much of the retail number is based on same-store sales and omits stores closed within the past 12 months, of which there are many. The real number is actually much worse, but we're all supposed to believe that the US economy is improving, so the data must be fudged to meet the "reality."
Dow 12,226.64, -41.55 (0.34%)
NASDAQ 2,804.35, -12.83 (0.46%)
S&P 500 1,328.01, -4.31 (0.32%)
NYSE Composite 8,383.67, -21.48 (0.26%)
Decliners led advancing issues by a wide margin, 3996-2479. On the NASDAQ, there were still 144 new highs and just 23 new lows. On the NYSE, there were 213 new highs and just 13 new lows. Volume was slack, and that's saying quite a bit, since yesterday was the slowest trading day of the year. The bulls may be getting a little winded after a nearly six-month run.
NASDAQ Volume 2,034,250,500
NYSE Volume 4,396,449,000
What was even more interesting that the minor downturn in stocks was the continued action in crude oil futures, which fell again, down 49 cents, to $84.32, the lowest price in twwo and a half months. Gold moved in the opposite direction, up $9.00, to $1,374.10, along with silver, which gained 16 cents, to $30.70, nearing the pinnacle of the recent range.
Look for another leg up in the precious metals, especially on any economic disruptions or blasphemy to the recovery theme, either from the Middle East or economic data that isn't sufficiently massaged. This bull run has gotten pretty long in the tooth and a major correction could lie dead ahead. In fact, it's long overdue.
Monday, February 14, 2011
MERS can't assign mortgages, judge rules
A personal victory today for me - and possibly hundreds of thousands of homeowners - thanks to U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert E. Grossman in Central Islip, New York, who ruled, last Thursday, that Merscorp has no legal right to transfer mortgages.
Anyone following the fiasco that is the housing market knows Merscorp better by MERS, as they were the "nominee" on millions of mortgages written in the housing "boom" of the 2000s. What the judge's ruling does is essentially invalidate most mortgages written between 2003 and 2008 (and some before and after that), because that was the time period in which the largest lenders - Countrywide (now BofA), JP Morgan Chase, WAMU and others used MERS to end-run the county recording offices and save on fees, then packaged and resold these mortgages to witless investors.
Now, the banks have no standing in courts to foreclose and the buyers of those ugly securitized mortgages want their money back. Banks are being forced into a corner, even after being bailed out by the Federal Reserve, TARP and taxpayer money. The ruling from that bankruptcy court and others should serve distressed homeowners well in fights with the banks over ownership rights as they set strong precedents and are are likely only to be overturned by individual state legislatures.
Even then, any new laws validating the banks' practices would have to be applied retroactively, an activity expressly forbidden by the US constitution (remember that?).
This is, in reality, the end of the game for the big banks, which should have been allowed to fail in the beginning. The American public has spent Trillions of dollars keeping these bodies afloat and they are still sinking, and fast. Little by little, Americans are learning to stand up to the banks, city hall, the states and the federal government and demand their rights.
The ruling from this past Thursday stands as a marker in the struggle for resumption of the RULE OF LAW, which has been kept bound and gagged by the current and former presidential administrations. The American public is tired of being lied to and robbed from and the time has come to choose sides. Either you side with the government, the banks and their crooked politics and practices or you side with the people, and seemingly, the courts and the lawyers.
This is a nation governed by the rule of law, not by force or money or politics. Choose now!
Meanwhile, the circus kept running at Wall and Broad.
Dow 12,268.19, -5.07 (0.04%)
NASDAQ 2,817.18, +7.74 (0.28%)
S&P 500 1,332.32, +3.17 (0.24%)
NYSE Composite 8,405.15, +30.26 (0.36%)
Despite the marginal gains, advancing issues led decliners overall, 3686-2856. There were 286 new highs and 23 new lows on the NASDAQ and 355 new highs and 11 new lows on the NYSE. Selected stocks are clearly stretched to the limits of affordability, though with price discovery a lost art in the algo-following world of computer trading, this alone will not foment an imminent collapse of values. However, the volume on the NYSE made another new low point today, just a week after setting the low mark of the year. Rising indices without full-blown participation is the very first tool in the analyst bag, though the rules have been changed so dramatically over the past few years that nothing is certain today.
Still, market manipulations cannot last forever. The rules of economics will eventually take out all of the excess and malinvestment. It has to or the entire market is a fraud.
NASDAQ Volume 1,985,633,750
NYSE Volume 3,959,988,500.00
Note the divergence in commodities. Oil continued down again today, losing another 77 cents, to $84.81, while the precious metals gained. Watch for oil prices to continue their plunge back below $80 and beyond. demand has dried up once the price for US unleaded gas exceeded $3.15 on a national basis. Since the $4.00 shock of 2008, American drivers have made adjustments: buying more fuel-efficient vehicles, driving less, driving smarter, conserving, car-pooling.
Besides the obvious adjustments, the US economy simply is not strong enough - nor is the world economy, for that matter - to justify high fuel prices. There is little to no growth and slack demand. Ergo, oil and gas prices should fall accordingly.
As for the PMs, well, they've resumed their ominous climb. Gold gained $4.70, to $1,365.10, but still remains stuck in a range, though the bottom is in at $1350.00. Silver popped another 54 cents, to $30.53, approaching the 30-year-highs last seen in December.
The lid is about to come off the entire global system of financial fraud, again.
Anyone following the fiasco that is the housing market knows Merscorp better by MERS, as they were the "nominee" on millions of mortgages written in the housing "boom" of the 2000s. What the judge's ruling does is essentially invalidate most mortgages written between 2003 and 2008 (and some before and after that), because that was the time period in which the largest lenders - Countrywide (now BofA), JP Morgan Chase, WAMU and others used MERS to end-run the county recording offices and save on fees, then packaged and resold these mortgages to witless investors.
Now, the banks have no standing in courts to foreclose and the buyers of those ugly securitized mortgages want their money back. Banks are being forced into a corner, even after being bailed out by the Federal Reserve, TARP and taxpayer money. The ruling from that bankruptcy court and others should serve distressed homeowners well in fights with the banks over ownership rights as they set strong precedents and are are likely only to be overturned by individual state legislatures.
Even then, any new laws validating the banks' practices would have to be applied retroactively, an activity expressly forbidden by the US constitution (remember that?).
This is, in reality, the end of the game for the big banks, which should have been allowed to fail in the beginning. The American public has spent Trillions of dollars keeping these bodies afloat and they are still sinking, and fast. Little by little, Americans are learning to stand up to the banks, city hall, the states and the federal government and demand their rights.
The ruling from this past Thursday stands as a marker in the struggle for resumption of the RULE OF LAW, which has been kept bound and gagged by the current and former presidential administrations. The American public is tired of being lied to and robbed from and the time has come to choose sides. Either you side with the government, the banks and their crooked politics and practices or you side with the people, and seemingly, the courts and the lawyers.
This is a nation governed by the rule of law, not by force or money or politics. Choose now!
Meanwhile, the circus kept running at Wall and Broad.
Dow 12,268.19, -5.07 (0.04%)
NASDAQ 2,817.18, +7.74 (0.28%)
S&P 500 1,332.32, +3.17 (0.24%)
NYSE Composite 8,405.15, +30.26 (0.36%)
Despite the marginal gains, advancing issues led decliners overall, 3686-2856. There were 286 new highs and 23 new lows on the NASDAQ and 355 new highs and 11 new lows on the NYSE. Selected stocks are clearly stretched to the limits of affordability, though with price discovery a lost art in the algo-following world of computer trading, this alone will not foment an imminent collapse of values. However, the volume on the NYSE made another new low point today, just a week after setting the low mark of the year. Rising indices without full-blown participation is the very first tool in the analyst bag, though the rules have been changed so dramatically over the past few years that nothing is certain today.
Still, market manipulations cannot last forever. The rules of economics will eventually take out all of the excess and malinvestment. It has to or the entire market is a fraud.
NASDAQ Volume 1,985,633,750
NYSE Volume 3,959,988,500.00
Note the divergence in commodities. Oil continued down again today, losing another 77 cents, to $84.81, while the precious metals gained. Watch for oil prices to continue their plunge back below $80 and beyond. demand has dried up once the price for US unleaded gas exceeded $3.15 on a national basis. Since the $4.00 shock of 2008, American drivers have made adjustments: buying more fuel-efficient vehicles, driving less, driving smarter, conserving, car-pooling.
Besides the obvious adjustments, the US economy simply is not strong enough - nor is the world economy, for that matter - to justify high fuel prices. There is little to no growth and slack demand. Ergo, oil and gas prices should fall accordingly.
As for the PMs, well, they've resumed their ominous climb. Gold gained $4.70, to $1,365.10, but still remains stuck in a range, though the bottom is in at $1350.00. Silver popped another 54 cents, to $30.53, approaching the 30-year-highs last seen in December.
The lid is about to come off the entire global system of financial fraud, again.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Mubarak Flees Egypt; Stocks Rally in US
Nothing like the deposition of a dictator to raise the animal spirits of the ruthless Wall Street crowd. The self-proclaimed Masters of the Universe are probably plotting now on how to best liberate the newly-free people of Egypt from their valuables.
Meanwhile, back at the exchanges, stocks started lower again and then rapidly moved up, similar to yesterday's trading, though with a little more lift. In addition to the news out of Cairo, the Primary Dealers were once again treated to a little $7 billion POMO, courtesy of their favorite Central Banker, Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Actually, with an overthrown government in the Middle East and $7 billion in walking-around money, one would think that today's results were less-than-adequate. Then again, stocks were extremely overpriced in October of last year, and it's been straight up since then, so there must be a dearth of new suckers... er, investors.
Dow 12,273.26, +43.97 (0.36%)
NASDAQ 2,809.44, +18.99 (0.68%)
S&P 500 1,329.15, +7.28 (0.55%)
NYSE Composite 8,374.89, +37.76 (0.45%)
Volume was pretty thin again, but advancing issued lambasted decliners, 4637-1883. NASDAQ recorded 237 new highs and a mere 25 new lows. On the NYSE, the numbers were skewed even more, with 318 new highs and only 10 new lows.
NASDAQ Volume 2,074,279,250.00
NYSE Volume 4,690,140,000
With tensions subsiding in Egypt, oil traders took down the price by $1.15, to $85.58. By the same rationale, gold fell $2.10, to $1,360.40, and silver was off by 10 cents, to an even $30.00 at the close of trading in NY.
With the markets up, winter coming to a fast end, Mubarak out and nothing but good times ahead, we evoke the spirit of depression-era impresario Ted Lewis, asking the musical question, Is Everybody Happy?
Meanwhile, back at the exchanges, stocks started lower again and then rapidly moved up, similar to yesterday's trading, though with a little more lift. In addition to the news out of Cairo, the Primary Dealers were once again treated to a little $7 billion POMO, courtesy of their favorite Central Banker, Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Actually, with an overthrown government in the Middle East and $7 billion in walking-around money, one would think that today's results were less-than-adequate. Then again, stocks were extremely overpriced in October of last year, and it's been straight up since then, so there must be a dearth of new suckers... er, investors.
Dow 12,273.26, +43.97 (0.36%)
NASDAQ 2,809.44, +18.99 (0.68%)
S&P 500 1,329.15, +7.28 (0.55%)
NYSE Composite 8,374.89, +37.76 (0.45%)
Volume was pretty thin again, but advancing issued lambasted decliners, 4637-1883. NASDAQ recorded 237 new highs and a mere 25 new lows. On the NYSE, the numbers were skewed even more, with 318 new highs and only 10 new lows.
NASDAQ Volume 2,074,279,250.00
NYSE Volume 4,690,140,000
With tensions subsiding in Egypt, oil traders took down the price by $1.15, to $85.58. By the same rationale, gold fell $2.10, to $1,360.40, and silver was off by 10 cents, to an even $30.00 at the close of trading in NY.
With the markets up, winter coming to a fast end, Mubarak out and nothing but good times ahead, we evoke the spirit of depression-era impresario Ted Lewis, asking the musical question, Is Everybody Happy?
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Dow Ends Win Streak... Barely; Mubarak to Stay, Same with Bernanke
Houston, we have a problem. The markets are no longer liquid enough even for machines to move them. Today's trade, on the back of a gloomy outlook from Cisco (CSCO) after the close on Wednesday, was pathetic, and fitting, upon the widespread rumors that the NYSE would be sold to the Deustch Bourse and that President Mubarak of Egypt would step down.
None of that seemed to matter very much, as well as the rosy picture painted by the release of the current first time unemployment claims, which came in at 383,000, far better than expected.
The markets (or, those who control the markets) would have none of it, at least for the first half-hour of trading, that is. as all major indices dropped right from the opening bell, hitting bottom right about 10:00 am, 1/2 hour into the session. The Dow shed 83 points, but immediately rallied back up 50 points, shaving off the losses and trapping the retail investors who sold in the early part of the day.
For the remainder of the session, stocks vacillated in a narrow range, finally ending nearly unchanged, with the Dow down, the S&P and NASDAQ barely in the green. The Dow snapped an 8-day win streak with a 10-point loss. Ho-hum. It was a day of futility all around as nothing newsworthy seemed to either occur nor move stocks in any clearly-defined direction.
Dow 12,229.29, -10.60 (0.09%)
NASDAQ 2,790.45, +1.38 (0.05%)
S&P 500 1,321.87, +0.99 (0.07%)
NYSE Composite 8,337.13, -6.86 (0.08%)
Advancers and decliners were nearly at a stalemate, with winners ahead slightly at the close, 3281-3170. NASDAQ new highs totaled 175, with new lows at 30. On the NYSE, there were 180 new highs, with 18 new lows. Volume was dull on the NYSE, but rather strong on the NASDAQ, due primarily to heavy selling from Cisco, which reported nearly flat second quarter earnings, but scared some with downbeat forecasts. The 13% drop in the stock was probably a bit exaggerated as seems to the theme these days. Anything even slightly positive or negative results in big moves one way or the other in the most-tightly-wrapped market ever.
NASDAQ Volume 2,512,622,250.00
NYSE Volume 4,705,256,500
Commodities mostly treaded water as well. Oil gained two cents, to $86.73. Gold was off $3.00, to $1,362.50, but silver shed 18 cents, to $30.09.
Put this one in the books and store it for future reference. One gets the feeling that there's quite a bit of tension out there in the trading pits and something big is about to occur. A major sell-off or resumption of the rally would not be much of a surprise over the next two to three sessions.
None of that seemed to matter very much, as well as the rosy picture painted by the release of the current first time unemployment claims, which came in at 383,000, far better than expected.
The markets (or, those who control the markets) would have none of it, at least for the first half-hour of trading, that is. as all major indices dropped right from the opening bell, hitting bottom right about 10:00 am, 1/2 hour into the session. The Dow shed 83 points, but immediately rallied back up 50 points, shaving off the losses and trapping the retail investors who sold in the early part of the day.
For the remainder of the session, stocks vacillated in a narrow range, finally ending nearly unchanged, with the Dow down, the S&P and NASDAQ barely in the green. The Dow snapped an 8-day win streak with a 10-point loss. Ho-hum. It was a day of futility all around as nothing newsworthy seemed to either occur nor move stocks in any clearly-defined direction.
Dow 12,229.29, -10.60 (0.09%)
NASDAQ 2,790.45, +1.38 (0.05%)
S&P 500 1,321.87, +0.99 (0.07%)
NYSE Composite 8,337.13, -6.86 (0.08%)
Advancers and decliners were nearly at a stalemate, with winners ahead slightly at the close, 3281-3170. NASDAQ new highs totaled 175, with new lows at 30. On the NYSE, there were 180 new highs, with 18 new lows. Volume was dull on the NYSE, but rather strong on the NASDAQ, due primarily to heavy selling from Cisco, which reported nearly flat second quarter earnings, but scared some with downbeat forecasts. The 13% drop in the stock was probably a bit exaggerated as seems to the theme these days. Anything even slightly positive or negative results in big moves one way or the other in the most-tightly-wrapped market ever.
NASDAQ Volume 2,512,622,250.00
NYSE Volume 4,705,256,500
Commodities mostly treaded water as well. Oil gained two cents, to $86.73. Gold was off $3.00, to $1,362.50, but silver shed 18 cents, to $30.09.
Put this one in the books and store it for future reference. One gets the feeling that there's quite a bit of tension out there in the trading pits and something big is about to occur. A major sell-off or resumption of the rally would not be much of a surprise over the next two to three sessions.
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