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.
Friday, July 22, 2011
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.
Correlation Trade, Weak Dollar, Hot Air Boost Stocks
About the only thing hotter than stocks on this 21st of July, 2011, was the weather, with temperatures hovering around the 100-degree mark in much of the nation, but especially in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and East coast. But the correlation trade - short dollars, long stocks - was in effect throughout the session, which meant that stocks had to soar... and they did, closing in on the nearly three-year highs set back in late April.
Coming off a string of recent earnings report beats by the likes of Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL) and IBM, one would have expected the NASDAQ to lead the way, but it was the S&P and Dow Industrials which showed the greatest percentage gains of the day.
It's obvious to anyone with more than a passing interest that the banks have been at their manipulative best of late as financial stocks have led the way each of the past two sessions, even as these very banks put in quarterly earnings showing losses, pay no dividends, are largely insolvent and the nation lurches ever closer to a debt default and ratings downgrade, the latter being all but inevitable after the well-rehearsed clown show in Washington, DC.
One can hardly blame the elitist banking class for boosting their own portfolios at this juncture. After all, its been proven that whatever risks they take will be guaranteed to win, since the US government is back-stopping the whole TBTF crowd. They might as well take while the taking is good. It may not be the same in a fortnight or so.
For the rest of us, the alternative for the day was to find air-conditioning, drink plenty of fluids and watch the circus from afar. The risks of trading in stocks is far too high for the average plebeian. And so it goes, that the rich get richer. The poor, and, especially those stuck in the middle, may get the ultimate revenge as more and more people turn their backs on the world's most corrupt system of governance and finance and default in record numbers on school loans, car loans, mortgages, credit cards and all manner of financial obligations.
The end to this grand farce of fiat money is coming, regardless of the degree of normalcy bias built into us all from TV and the media. The waiting, admittedly, is a royal pain. Either way, it's death by deflation or inflation (which seems to be winning lately), or both.
Dow 12,724.41, +152.50 (1.21%)
NASDAQ 2,834.43, +20.20 (0.72%)
S&P 500 1,343.80, +17.96 (1.35%)
NYSE Composite 8,411.45, +129.62 (1.57%)
As one would expect, advancing stocks beat back decliners in a big way, 4901-1692. On the NASDAQ new highs reached 88, while new lows came in at 25. The NYSE had even more of a pronounced bias, with 154 new highs and 20 new lows. The combined total of 242 new highs and 45 new lows would seem to suggest that the rally has legs, though one never knows when or if Europe will fall completely apart at the seams, sending the Euro lower, the dollar higher and stocks down. Volume was actually quite fantastic. Perhaps some new suckers (investors) were brought into the foray.
NASDAQ Volume 2,253,718,500
NYSE Volume 4,812,432,500
As goes the dollar, so - in the opposite direction - goes oil, and with the dollar down, WTI crude leapt back over the $100/barrel mark in the early part of the session, but backed off to close up only 73 cents, at $99.13.
Naturally, gold and silver were hammered to death, with gold losing $9.90, to $1,587.00, and silver falling 61 cents, to $38.95 per ounce.
The conditions are about to change - for silver, at least - as the Hong Kong Exchange will introduce a silver futures trading mechanism at the open of business on Friday, which will be shortly after 8:00 pm EDT. By this time tomorrow, the price in Hong Kong may be $44 per ounce and quite a bit lower here in the states.
We shall see soon enough.
Coming off a string of recent earnings report beats by the likes of Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL) and IBM, one would have expected the NASDAQ to lead the way, but it was the S&P and Dow Industrials which showed the greatest percentage gains of the day.
It's obvious to anyone with more than a passing interest that the banks have been at their manipulative best of late as financial stocks have led the way each of the past two sessions, even as these very banks put in quarterly earnings showing losses, pay no dividends, are largely insolvent and the nation lurches ever closer to a debt default and ratings downgrade, the latter being all but inevitable after the well-rehearsed clown show in Washington, DC.
One can hardly blame the elitist banking class for boosting their own portfolios at this juncture. After all, its been proven that whatever risks they take will be guaranteed to win, since the US government is back-stopping the whole TBTF crowd. They might as well take while the taking is good. It may not be the same in a fortnight or so.
For the rest of us, the alternative for the day was to find air-conditioning, drink plenty of fluids and watch the circus from afar. The risks of trading in stocks is far too high for the average plebeian. And so it goes, that the rich get richer. The poor, and, especially those stuck in the middle, may get the ultimate revenge as more and more people turn their backs on the world's most corrupt system of governance and finance and default in record numbers on school loans, car loans, mortgages, credit cards and all manner of financial obligations.
The end to this grand farce of fiat money is coming, regardless of the degree of normalcy bias built into us all from TV and the media. The waiting, admittedly, is a royal pain. Either way, it's death by deflation or inflation (which seems to be winning lately), or both.
Dow 12,724.41, +152.50 (1.21%)
NASDAQ 2,834.43, +20.20 (0.72%)
S&P 500 1,343.80, +17.96 (1.35%)
NYSE Composite 8,411.45, +129.62 (1.57%)
As one would expect, advancing stocks beat back decliners in a big way, 4901-1692. On the NASDAQ new highs reached 88, while new lows came in at 25. The NYSE had even more of a pronounced bias, with 154 new highs and 20 new lows. The combined total of 242 new highs and 45 new lows would seem to suggest that the rally has legs, though one never knows when or if Europe will fall completely apart at the seams, sending the Euro lower, the dollar higher and stocks down. Volume was actually quite fantastic. Perhaps some new suckers (investors) were brought into the foray.
NASDAQ Volume 2,253,718,500
NYSE Volume 4,812,432,500
As goes the dollar, so - in the opposite direction - goes oil, and with the dollar down, WTI crude leapt back over the $100/barrel mark in the early part of the session, but backed off to close up only 73 cents, at $99.13.
Naturally, gold and silver were hammered to death, with gold losing $9.90, to $1,587.00, and silver falling 61 cents, to $38.95 per ounce.
The conditions are about to change - for silver, at least - as the Hong Kong Exchange will introduce a silver futures trading mechanism at the open of business on Friday, which will be shortly after 8:00 pm EDT. By this time tomorrow, the price in Hong Kong may be $44 per ounce and quite a bit lower here in the states.
We shall see soon enough.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
No Follow-Through Off Tuesday Smash-Up; Hong Kong to Trade Silver Futures
Stocks lingered near the flat line for nearly the entire session, eventually succumbing to selling pressure late in the day, making Tuesday's low-volume rally appear more spin than substance. As usual, in a stunning reversal of fortune, financial stocks were the top-performing sector, up 1.02%, while six of the twelve sectors showed losses and the highest percentage gainer among the six winners - outside of financials - was basic materials, up 0.45%.
The big beat by the banking sector was highly attributable to the fact that the majority of trading on Wall Street is handled by these very firms, proving once more that the too-big-to-fail banks operate without scrutiny from the SEC or any other regulatory body, as self-dealing and insider trading runs rampant.
Sizing up the market as a whole, one could surmise that it is in desperate straits, stuck above the 200 and 50-day moving averages and just below the nominal highs of late April. A steady diet of sideways trading should be of benefit to the high frequency and momentum hedge funds and day-traders, but it's a difficult balance to maintain, especially when one is highly leveraged, as most of the larger firms are.
Having reached the midpoint of earnings season, it is notable that the major indices are less than one per cent higher than when second quarter earnings began in earnest on July 11 and lower than where they were just prior to the onslaught of corporate reporting. It's an amusing scenario, even as most companies have met or exceeded expectations, albeit, for many firms, lowered ones.
With the debt ceiling debate in Washington nearing end-game, stocks seem to be running in place, pacing off the worry of just what kind of stunt the clowns in congress will pull off next, the latest rumor calling for a short term interim raising of the debt ceiling, or having President Obama employ his powers under the 14th amendment, which, according to Bill Clinton, gives the president authority to raise the debt limit without requiring congressional approval.
The key take-away is 10 words from section 4 of the amendment, which says, “The validity of the public debt shall not be questioned."
In typical obstructionist fashion members of the Republican party have already begun questioning the assumption that the president could go solo on a debt ceiling raise, with some members mentioning impeachment and lawsuits.
If nothing else, invoking the constitution on shaky legal grounds would no doubt wind up under the purview of the Supreme Court, take months to wrangle over and eventually end up with a nice downgrade in the US credit rating and higher interest rates for all. That would effectively defeat the whole intent of the Republican and Tea parties for starting this fight, as losses to the Treasury in terms of increased spending to cover higher interest on borrowings would cause even deeper deficits in years to come.
As it is, Moody's and S&P have already raised eyebrows and issued warnings about taking the debt ceiling issue too far afield, and there's a chance that even if an agreement is cobbled together, a rating downgrade could already be in the cards.
After a while, this entire escapade of Washington Gone Wild becomes a futile, badly-managed fiasco. The debt ceiling should never have been tied to budget considerations in the first place. In the end, the Tea Party wing of the Republican party has to be seen as the unwise villain in this sordid, sick affair.
Dow 12,571.91, -15.51 (0.12%)
NASDAQ 2,814.23, -12.29 (0.43%)
S&P 500 1,325.84, -0.89 (0.07%)
NYSE Composite 8,281.83, +27.45 (0.33%)
On the day, winners and losers were nearly split evenly, with 3289 advancing and 3241 declining. On the NASDAQ, there were 71 new highs and 34 new lows. New highs led new lows, 95-19 on the NYSE. The combined total of 166 new highs and 53 new lows is a positive sign for marketeers, though comparisons will be harder to beat come September, October and November, as stocks scored heavy gains in those months last year. Volume was the same as every other day this year: sluggish.
NASDAQ Volume 1,874,350,375
NYSE Volume 3,767,229,500
WTI crude oil was down for much of the session, but finished 64 cents higher, at $98.14. Gold was off $4.20, to $1,596.90, and silver dropped 66 cents, at $39.56, though it traded below $38.50 earlier in the day.
Tomorrow will mark the final day of singularity for the COMEX silver market as Hong Kong will begin trading a dollar-denominated silver futures contract on July 22, tapping into rising demand for all metals coming from China. This could potentially create an enormous run-up in the price of silver, as the Hong Kong exchange will be seen as an offset to COMEX (and Anglo-American) hegemony.
It will be interesting to watch the vicious price swings once the exchange gets its feet wet and orders begin flowing from not only China, but India and other Pac-Rim nations as well. Many are hoping that the Hong Kong exchange will operate in an honest fashion, exposing the manipulative ways of the COMEX and the shorting strategies of JP Morgan Chase and HSBC.
A new player in the global silver trade might be just what the doctor ordered for holders and hoarders of silver.
The big beat by the banking sector was highly attributable to the fact that the majority of trading on Wall Street is handled by these very firms, proving once more that the too-big-to-fail banks operate without scrutiny from the SEC or any other regulatory body, as self-dealing and insider trading runs rampant.
Sizing up the market as a whole, one could surmise that it is in desperate straits, stuck above the 200 and 50-day moving averages and just below the nominal highs of late April. A steady diet of sideways trading should be of benefit to the high frequency and momentum hedge funds and day-traders, but it's a difficult balance to maintain, especially when one is highly leveraged, as most of the larger firms are.
Having reached the midpoint of earnings season, it is notable that the major indices are less than one per cent higher than when second quarter earnings began in earnest on July 11 and lower than where they were just prior to the onslaught of corporate reporting. It's an amusing scenario, even as most companies have met or exceeded expectations, albeit, for many firms, lowered ones.
With the debt ceiling debate in Washington nearing end-game, stocks seem to be running in place, pacing off the worry of just what kind of stunt the clowns in congress will pull off next, the latest rumor calling for a short term interim raising of the debt ceiling, or having President Obama employ his powers under the 14th amendment, which, according to Bill Clinton, gives the president authority to raise the debt limit without requiring congressional approval.
The key take-away is 10 words from section 4 of the amendment, which says, “The validity of the public debt shall not be questioned."
In typical obstructionist fashion members of the Republican party have already begun questioning the assumption that the president could go solo on a debt ceiling raise, with some members mentioning impeachment and lawsuits.
If nothing else, invoking the constitution on shaky legal grounds would no doubt wind up under the purview of the Supreme Court, take months to wrangle over and eventually end up with a nice downgrade in the US credit rating and higher interest rates for all. That would effectively defeat the whole intent of the Republican and Tea parties for starting this fight, as losses to the Treasury in terms of increased spending to cover higher interest on borrowings would cause even deeper deficits in years to come.
As it is, Moody's and S&P have already raised eyebrows and issued warnings about taking the debt ceiling issue too far afield, and there's a chance that even if an agreement is cobbled together, a rating downgrade could already be in the cards.
After a while, this entire escapade of Washington Gone Wild becomes a futile, badly-managed fiasco. The debt ceiling should never have been tied to budget considerations in the first place. In the end, the Tea Party wing of the Republican party has to be seen as the unwise villain in this sordid, sick affair.
Dow 12,571.91, -15.51 (0.12%)
NASDAQ 2,814.23, -12.29 (0.43%)
S&P 500 1,325.84, -0.89 (0.07%)
NYSE Composite 8,281.83, +27.45 (0.33%)
On the day, winners and losers were nearly split evenly, with 3289 advancing and 3241 declining. On the NASDAQ, there were 71 new highs and 34 new lows. New highs led new lows, 95-19 on the NYSE. The combined total of 166 new highs and 53 new lows is a positive sign for marketeers, though comparisons will be harder to beat come September, October and November, as stocks scored heavy gains in those months last year. Volume was the same as every other day this year: sluggish.
NASDAQ Volume 1,874,350,375
NYSE Volume 3,767,229,500
WTI crude oil was down for much of the session, but finished 64 cents higher, at $98.14. Gold was off $4.20, to $1,596.90, and silver dropped 66 cents, at $39.56, though it traded below $38.50 earlier in the day.
Tomorrow will mark the final day of singularity for the COMEX silver market as Hong Kong will begin trading a dollar-denominated silver futures contract on July 22, tapping into rising demand for all metals coming from China. This could potentially create an enormous run-up in the price of silver, as the Hong Kong exchange will be seen as an offset to COMEX (and Anglo-American) hegemony.
It will be interesting to watch the vicious price swings once the exchange gets its feet wet and orders begin flowing from not only China, but India and other Pac-Rim nations as well. Many are hoping that the Hong Kong exchange will operate in an honest fashion, exposing the manipulative ways of the COMEX and the shorting strategies of JP Morgan Chase and HSBC.
A new player in the global silver trade might be just what the doctor ordered for holders and hoarders of silver.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Markets Soar on New Gang of Six Debt Ceiling Proposal
Supposedly, the government will fix everything by changing the way the CPI is measured, which means that Social Security recipients are about to get whacked by way of inflation.
If ever there was an inept government being led around by its nose by financial masters, this one is it. Whatever Wall Street wants, Wall Street gets. As for the general population - the ones who pay all the bills and pay for bailouts and frauds - they receive the shaft.
The current legislation under proposal, offered by the Senate's Gang of Six, promises %3.7 Trillion in savings, some of it - about $1 Trillion - supposedly to come from increased revenues. House Republicans have already started making noise about it, since the plan calls for some tax increases. While President Obama seemed to be thrilled about the plan at a 1:30 press conference, party leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell seem to have been cut off at the knees after working on an alternative plan to both save face and raise the debt ceiling.
Nonetheless, Wall Street acted as though manna was being dropped from the heavens, boosting stocks an additional 100 points on top of the bogus 100-point, low-volume, morning melt-up.
Forget TV dramas and soap operas. The best one is being played out right on CNBC every day with the fraudulent bankers running the politicians in a light-hearted farce known as the US economy.
Dow 12,587.42, +202.26 (1.63%)
NASDAQ 2,826.52, +61.41 (2.22%)
S&P 500 1,326.73, +21.29 (1.63%)
NYSE Composite 8,254.38, +118.85 (1.46%)
Advancing issues led decliners by an unhealthy margin, 5167-1418. On the NASDAQ, there were 68 new highs and 34 new lows. The NYSE showed 79 new highs and 32 new lows. The combined total of 147 new highs and 66 new lows completely reversed yesterday's dour numbers. Volume was as pathetic as it gets, especially on a 200-point Dow move.
NASDAQ Volume 1,842,038,625.00
NYSE Volume 4,228,335,000
Commodities changed direction on the day as well, which is not surprising for WTI crude oil, which continued it's up-and-down daily fluctuation, rising by $1.57, to $97.50. The lowered prices for gold (-$1.30, to $1,601.10) and silver (-0.12, to $40.22) are also in line with the corrupt rigging in those markets.
The best news of the day came from the financial sector, which was offering its own version of "recovery summer." Bank of America (BAC) posted a loss of 90 cents per share in the second quarter, mostly attributed to mortgage put-backs and side deals with note-holders. The stock traded as low as 9.40 following the pre-market release of second quarter results, ending the day down 0.15, at 9.57, another new 2-year low in a recent string of them.
Goldman Sachs (GS) also released fiscal first quarter results before the bell and came in with numbers in-line with analyst expectations, .
From the article linked above:
Doing "God's work," huh, guys? God must be angry.
If ever there was an inept government being led around by its nose by financial masters, this one is it. Whatever Wall Street wants, Wall Street gets. As for the general population - the ones who pay all the bills and pay for bailouts and frauds - they receive the shaft.
The current legislation under proposal, offered by the Senate's Gang of Six, promises %3.7 Trillion in savings, some of it - about $1 Trillion - supposedly to come from increased revenues. House Republicans have already started making noise about it, since the plan calls for some tax increases. While President Obama seemed to be thrilled about the plan at a 1:30 press conference, party leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell seem to have been cut off at the knees after working on an alternative plan to both save face and raise the debt ceiling.
Nonetheless, Wall Street acted as though manna was being dropped from the heavens, boosting stocks an additional 100 points on top of the bogus 100-point, low-volume, morning melt-up.
Forget TV dramas and soap operas. The best one is being played out right on CNBC every day with the fraudulent bankers running the politicians in a light-hearted farce known as the US economy.
Dow 12,587.42, +202.26 (1.63%)
NASDAQ 2,826.52, +61.41 (2.22%)
S&P 500 1,326.73, +21.29 (1.63%)
NYSE Composite 8,254.38, +118.85 (1.46%)
Advancing issues led decliners by an unhealthy margin, 5167-1418. On the NASDAQ, there were 68 new highs and 34 new lows. The NYSE showed 79 new highs and 32 new lows. The combined total of 147 new highs and 66 new lows completely reversed yesterday's dour numbers. Volume was as pathetic as it gets, especially on a 200-point Dow move.
NASDAQ Volume 1,842,038,625.00
NYSE Volume 4,228,335,000
Commodities changed direction on the day as well, which is not surprising for WTI crude oil, which continued it's up-and-down daily fluctuation, rising by $1.57, to $97.50. The lowered prices for gold (-$1.30, to $1,601.10) and silver (-0.12, to $40.22) are also in line with the corrupt rigging in those markets.
The best news of the day came from the financial sector, which was offering its own version of "recovery summer." Bank of America (BAC) posted a loss of 90 cents per share in the second quarter, mostly attributed to mortgage put-backs and side deals with note-holders. The stock traded as low as 9.40 following the pre-market release of second quarter results, ending the day down 0.15, at 9.57, another new 2-year low in a recent string of them.
Goldman Sachs (GS) also released fiscal first quarter results before the bell and came in with numbers in-line with analyst expectations, .
From the article linked above:
Revenue in Goldman's core fixed-income trading division fell 63% sequentially and 53% year-over-year due to reduced trading activity and economic uncertainty. That, along with weakness in its lending-and-investing division, led to an 18% year-on-year decline in overall firm revenue.
Doing "God's work," huh, guys? God must be angry.
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