Well, somebody's making money, but there aren't very many people trading. Volume today was among the lowest of the year, and it's supposed to be busy.
Call it what you like, but a 166-point move on the Dow on near-record-low volume, to most experts, is absolutely meaningless and not likely to retain value for long. This market is so full of hope, desperation and inside dealings one could easily assume the only traders left will soon be gnashing at each other's flesh over the few bones left to be picked over.
Of course, this continuing ramp-up on the major averages come just days before the major banks release third quarter earnings next week, among them Citi, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, PNC and Morgan Stanley. JP Morgan Chase already released their third quarter results and they were nothing if not laughable, so full of accounting gimmickry and false statements it's amazing anybody would hold even one share of this global disaster.
Sure, let's buy Apple at over $400 per share, or Google at $600. Most of us would rather stuff it in a mattress, which is the thought around the current war being waged on SAVERS, by SPECULATORS. There is no opportunity to actually earn interest in a savings plan, whether it be in treasuries, money markets, CDs or any other, so-called "safe" strategic asset. And the pundits, like the Reverend Jim Cramer, who say to buy high-yielding industrials, are whistling past the grave, because a stock like Coca-Cola (KO) sporting a 2.8% dividend and trading currently in the mid-to-high 60s, only has to lose two to three points in order to wipe out all of that dividend income. When the eventual market crash comes, the dividend checks cashed over the years will look truly pathetic to the lost value in the stock itself, and thus, your capital has been wasted, your savings destroyed.
Since the global banking cartel, in association with the spendthrift governments of the world, now control just about all major markets, including commodities such as oil, gold and silver, there is literally nowhere to invest safely except in unknown penny stocks or completely local. That's right, you're probably better off loaning the kid down the street $5000 to get his computer repair business off the ground than sinking your hard-earned-and-eventually-taxed-out-of-existence money into any Wall Street-related stock or scheme, and today's absurdly low volume on top of many previous ridiculously low volume days over the past year proves that people have not only lost money with Wall Street, but are rapidly losing their patience - see the Occupy Wall Street movement - and their interest in the future of big business in America.
As has been said before on this blog, the current economic climate is ripe for collapse, and the only investments should be in tools of trades and basic survival equipment. There's probably a good opportunity in firewood upcoming this winter, as the control fraud in heating oil and natural gas will bury even more families this winter under unbearable expense.
It is distressing, to say the least, to watch the European leaders lie about having a plan, making a plan, preparing a plan to save the continent when in reality all they can do is what the Federal Reserve is so expert at: printing more money and devaluing the currency.
And one final word, on this Herman Cain and his idiotic 9-9-9 plan which includes a 9% income tax, a 9% corporate tax and a 9% national sales tax. To put it into the words of somebody I know and love well, "this plan is another way for the rich to get richer and the poor poorer. Most of the people in the higher tax brackets love it because they're paying something North of 35% presently in income tax, and many of them have businesses paying a 35% corporate income tax. On the other end, the people who will be most damaged by this stupid gimmick of a plan will be the poor and middle class, who already pay no tax because they don't make enough money and would have to pay an additional 9% sales tax on top of the state sales tax they're already having ripped from their hands by incompetent state governments.
What is truly amazing about Herman Cain is that he is a front-runner for the Republicans on the basis of this plan. A Herman Cain presidency would plunge 2/3rds of the nation into abject poverty, and maybe that's part of the plan, to turn America into another stinking third world backwater. They're doing a pretty good job on it so far. Mr. Cain is about as fit to be president as Charlie Sheen. Actually, Charlie might not do such a bad job. At least his press conferences would be #winning events.
What a country, full of liars and thieves at the very pinnacle of business and politics.
Dow 11,644.49, +166.36 (1.45%)
NASDAQ 2,667.85, +47.61 (1.82%)
S&P 500 1,224.58, +20.92 (1.74%)
NYSE Composite 7,350.46, +121.38 (1.68%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,687,163,000
NYSE Volume 4,057,578,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 5103-1362
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 52-32
WTI crude oil: 86.80, +2.57 (Why?)
Gold: 1,683.00, +14.50
Silver: 32.17, +0.51
Friday, October 14, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Harrisburg, PA Bankrupt, Max Keiser, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Zarkozy, Switzerland WIR, Google Earnings
Stocks vacillated today somewhat like they're supposed to in normal times, though these are no normal times in which we are living. Tape-watching in the age of high frequency trading and intellectual dispiritedness has an intoxicating allure and can become addictive.
Sparing the details, stocks were lower in the morning and staged a half-hearted rally on low volume in the afternoon. Sound familiar? Yes, computers. Kind of just going with the flow, or lack thereof. These last two days of trading could also be interpreted as outward manifestations of the liquidity, solvency and currency confidence crises as various macro sectors of the global economy grind inexorably toward a perceived halt, the term "perceived" included to indicate that markets are not entirely frozen, that there is always some urchin of trade lurching about, no matter how unwieldy the underlying system.
A few news items:
From Wednesday: City of Harrisburg, PA, capitol of Pennsylvania, declares bankruptcy. This is a sad, though poignant story of our times. A city of 46,000 with about $500 million worth of bad debt, or, debt that won't be repaid. Will there be a follow-on effect? Actually, there has to be and the situation is fluid, with the state trying to tell the Harrisburg City Council that they cannot declare bankruptcy. But they did, anyway...
Google Earnings (after the bell, today) - nice, 26% profit increase and other nice metrics. They're rocking, but for search, Bing is better.
Also after the bell, Fitch puts Barclays Bank plc, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse AG, Deutsche Bank AG, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale on Rating Watch Negative. At the same time, Fitch has placed the short-term IDRs of four of the banks on Rating Watch Negative.
Dow 11,478.13, -40.72 (0.35%)
NASDAQ 2,620.24, +15.51 (0.60%)
S&P 500 1,203.66, -3.59 (0.30%)
NYSE Composite 7,229.08, -34.61 (0.48%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,683,142,125
NYSE Volume 4,397,526,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2755-3644
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 20-35 (reversal signal)
WTI crude oil: 84.23, -1.34
Gold: 1,668.50, -14.10
Silver: 31.67, -1.12
I love it when a plan comes together and the clip of the Kaiser Report below fits like a favorite pair of jeans. Plenty from which to watch, enjoy and learn.
Sparing the details, stocks were lower in the morning and staged a half-hearted rally on low volume in the afternoon. Sound familiar? Yes, computers. Kind of just going with the flow, or lack thereof. These last two days of trading could also be interpreted as outward manifestations of the liquidity, solvency and currency confidence crises as various macro sectors of the global economy grind inexorably toward a perceived halt, the term "perceived" included to indicate that markets are not entirely frozen, that there is always some urchin of trade lurching about, no matter how unwieldy the underlying system.
A few news items:
From Wednesday: City of Harrisburg, PA, capitol of Pennsylvania, declares bankruptcy. This is a sad, though poignant story of our times. A city of 46,000 with about $500 million worth of bad debt, or, debt that won't be repaid. Will there be a follow-on effect? Actually, there has to be and the situation is fluid, with the state trying to tell the Harrisburg City Council that they cannot declare bankruptcy. But they did, anyway...
Google Earnings (after the bell, today) - nice, 26% profit increase and other nice metrics. They're rocking, but for search, Bing is better.
Also after the bell, Fitch puts Barclays Bank plc, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse AG, Deutsche Bank AG, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Morgan Stanley and Societe Generale on Rating Watch Negative. At the same time, Fitch has placed the short-term IDRs of four of the banks on Rating Watch Negative.
Dow 11,478.13, -40.72 (0.35%)
NASDAQ 2,620.24, +15.51 (0.60%)
S&P 500 1,203.66, -3.59 (0.30%)
NYSE Composite 7,229.08, -34.61 (0.48%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,683,142,125
NYSE Volume 4,397,526,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2755-3644
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 20-35 (reversal signal)
WTI crude oil: 84.23, -1.34
Gold: 1,668.50, -14.10
Silver: 31.67, -1.12
I love it when a plan comes together and the clip of the Kaiser Report below fits like a favorite pair of jeans. Plenty from which to watch, enjoy and learn.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Market Melt-up Continues for US Stocks
News from Europe that the Slovakian government would re-vote on extending additional bailout funds to banks via the ESFS was like a sugar-coated treat to the childish cretins of the Wall Street investment community.
Shortly after the close of markets in the US yesterday, the Slovakian parliament became the only one of 17 countries to turn down the additional relief package proposal, sending shock waves throughout the EU and the rest of the financial universe. The package needed the approval of all members. Within minutes, however, there was talk of a deal on a re-vote, paving the way for a steady flow of funds to repair badly-damaged and close to insolvent European banks which have bourn the brunt of rolling bailouts to Greece, Ireland, Portugal and soon, Spain and Italy.
There was widespread optimism that the Slovak parliament would rework the proposal to fit their agenda and save Europe from imminent collapse. As has been the case for so long with all things Euro-related, the overseeing body of the European Union (EU) and the European Central Bank (ECB), a slight shift or change in the rules always seems to be the tonic whereby the Euro remains a "viable" currency and staves off the collapse, first, of Greece, and eventually the entire structure upon which the Euro currency is based.
With such confidence that European leaders would tread along the same path upon which the US staved off financial armageddon in 2008 after the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy, stocks were sent higher throughout the session, assured that the classic Ponzi scheme of international finance has finally gone global.
Along that line of thinking, John Embry, Chief Investment Strategist of Sprott Asset Management, said, in an interview with King World News, that stocks could decline by 40% if the European crisis turns into a repeat of 2008, and added, "I think investors have to be aware of the degree of manipulation in all of the markets here and not make the mistake of being momentum players. They shouldn’t just try to go with what is working and jump on board because a lot of this is manufactured for the sake of appearances."
Exactly. Global leaders don't want to see another major disruption like that of 2008, because their main concern is holding onto the reins of power they have secured, even if it means lying about where money is coming from, going to, bank balance sheets, stress tests and just about everything else if it means they get to keep their high posts.
While banks and the people who run them are most responsible for economic calamities over the past few years, politicians share much of the blame, enabling the ill-conceived schemes of the financial class with endless bailouts, ruses and guarantees while much of the global economy is reduced to a pile of worthless, paper rubble.
There was some late-day selling - a chink in the globalist armor and yet another indication of manipulated markets as there was no move to quiet the rally - and stocks finished with only about half of the gains racked up over the session. For instance, the Dow Jones Industrials were up by 209 points at about 2:30 pm, but closed with a gain of just 102. It pays to be a tape watcher these days, as waves of both buying and selling can occur at any time on any given day, no matter the news.
Only on major company reported earnings after Alcoa kicked off 3Q earnings season with a substantial miss on income Tuesday. PepsiCo (PEP) reported before the open that it had earned 1.31 per share after some one-time items, beating the Street estimates by a penny. The gains were largely attributed to Pepsi's aggressive pricing policy in which the company boosted prices around the world on its popular soft drink and snack brands.
Therein lies the conceit and thinly-veiled deceit of Wall Street. PepsiCo saw margin compression in the quarter, as operating margin narrowed to 16.5 percent from 18 percent a year earlier. Earnings for the giant company - with revenue approaching $18 billion in the quarter - have been mostly flat for the past year. Price increases, workforce reductions, cost-cutting and balance sheet shenanigans are what drives this company these days. Growth is largely the result of internal manipulations, not market share increases. Over the past five years, growth has slowed to a mediocre 5.87% per year, though making even that low level over the past few years has been difficult.
Dow 11,518.85, +102.55 (0.90%)
NASDAQ 2,604.73, +21.70 (0.84%)
S&P 500 1,207.25, +11.71 (0.98%)
NYSE Composite 7,263.69, +102.43 (1.43%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,998,280,250
NYSE Volume 5,355,361,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 5250-1511
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 41-35 (a reversal, which should not last)
WTI crude oil: 85.57, -0.24
Gold: 1,682.60, +21.60
Silver: 32.79, +0.79
Shortly after the close of markets in the US yesterday, the Slovakian parliament became the only one of 17 countries to turn down the additional relief package proposal, sending shock waves throughout the EU and the rest of the financial universe. The package needed the approval of all members. Within minutes, however, there was talk of a deal on a re-vote, paving the way for a steady flow of funds to repair badly-damaged and close to insolvent European banks which have bourn the brunt of rolling bailouts to Greece, Ireland, Portugal and soon, Spain and Italy.
There was widespread optimism that the Slovak parliament would rework the proposal to fit their agenda and save Europe from imminent collapse. As has been the case for so long with all things Euro-related, the overseeing body of the European Union (EU) and the European Central Bank (ECB), a slight shift or change in the rules always seems to be the tonic whereby the Euro remains a "viable" currency and staves off the collapse, first, of Greece, and eventually the entire structure upon which the Euro currency is based.
With such confidence that European leaders would tread along the same path upon which the US staved off financial armageddon in 2008 after the Lehman Bros. bankruptcy, stocks were sent higher throughout the session, assured that the classic Ponzi scheme of international finance has finally gone global.
Along that line of thinking, John Embry, Chief Investment Strategist of Sprott Asset Management, said, in an interview with King World News, that stocks could decline by 40% if the European crisis turns into a repeat of 2008, and added, "I think investors have to be aware of the degree of manipulation in all of the markets here and not make the mistake of being momentum players. They shouldn’t just try to go with what is working and jump on board because a lot of this is manufactured for the sake of appearances."
Exactly. Global leaders don't want to see another major disruption like that of 2008, because their main concern is holding onto the reins of power they have secured, even if it means lying about where money is coming from, going to, bank balance sheets, stress tests and just about everything else if it means they get to keep their high posts.
While banks and the people who run them are most responsible for economic calamities over the past few years, politicians share much of the blame, enabling the ill-conceived schemes of the financial class with endless bailouts, ruses and guarantees while much of the global economy is reduced to a pile of worthless, paper rubble.
There was some late-day selling - a chink in the globalist armor and yet another indication of manipulated markets as there was no move to quiet the rally - and stocks finished with only about half of the gains racked up over the session. For instance, the Dow Jones Industrials were up by 209 points at about 2:30 pm, but closed with a gain of just 102. It pays to be a tape watcher these days, as waves of both buying and selling can occur at any time on any given day, no matter the news.
Only on major company reported earnings after Alcoa kicked off 3Q earnings season with a substantial miss on income Tuesday. PepsiCo (PEP) reported before the open that it had earned 1.31 per share after some one-time items, beating the Street estimates by a penny. The gains were largely attributed to Pepsi's aggressive pricing policy in which the company boosted prices around the world on its popular soft drink and snack brands.
Therein lies the conceit and thinly-veiled deceit of Wall Street. PepsiCo saw margin compression in the quarter, as operating margin narrowed to 16.5 percent from 18 percent a year earlier. Earnings for the giant company - with revenue approaching $18 billion in the quarter - have been mostly flat for the past year. Price increases, workforce reductions, cost-cutting and balance sheet shenanigans are what drives this company these days. Growth is largely the result of internal manipulations, not market share increases. Over the past five years, growth has slowed to a mediocre 5.87% per year, though making even that low level over the past few years has been difficult.
Dow 11,518.85, +102.55 (0.90%)
NASDAQ 2,604.73, +21.70 (0.84%)
S&P 500 1,207.25, +11.71 (0.98%)
NYSE Composite 7,263.69, +102.43 (1.43%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,998,280,250
NYSE Volume 5,355,361,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 5250-1511
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 41-35 (a reversal, which should not last)
WTI crude oil: 85.57, -0.24
Gold: 1,682.60, +21.60
Silver: 32.79, +0.79
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Dow Five Day Rally Ends; Alcoa Misses 3Q Earnings
From the first indication given by Alcoa (AA) after the bell on Tuesday, this earnings season may not be in investors' best interests.
The world's largest manufacturer of aluminum products reported earnings per share of 15 cents, on analyst expectations of 22 cents per share. Revenue was above estimates, at $6.42 billion on estimates of $6.22 billion, but higher costs and some sluggish sectors crimped income down to $172 million for the quarter.
Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld made a couple of interesting comments regarding the quarter's results on CNBC, shortly after the data release. Kleinfeld said that "fear is taking a toll," noting the overwhelming sentiment that investors were wary of the crisis in Europe and a potential global recession and noted that Alcoa was a "competent company in a very nervous world.
The stock was being hammered lower in after-hours trading, down
After Monday's huge upside rally, markets seemed hesitant on Tuesday, and stocks traded in choppy, range-bound fashion. The Dow moved less than 80 points from the lows to the highs on the day.
Another factor keeping trading to a minimum on light volume was the debate in Slovakia on the vote to approve an expanded Eurozone bailout fund. Shortly after markets closed in New York, Slovakian lawmakers on Tuesday rejected participating in an expanded euro rescue fund, significant because the measure needed unanimous approval from all 17 currency members.
With tiny Solvakia standing up against bank bailouts and more depreciation of the Euro against major currencies, the breakup of the Euro seems all but academic at this point. It's become clear over the past few months and years that only the Northern European countries are fiscally balanced and able to cope with market pressures, while those in the South - particularly Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal - do not share the same financial disciple as displayed by say, the Germans.
Without expanded emergency capabilities, European banks will face a liquidity and solvency crisis similar to what happened in the US in the aftermath of the Lehman Bros. collapse and the contagion from it will almost certainly spread globally, though to what degree is as yet unknown.
The Slovakian Parliament decision and Alcoa's big miss on earnings should make for interesting trading on Wednesday in all markets, from Asia to Europe to the US.
Dow 11,416.30, -16.88 (0.15%)
NASDAQ 2,583.03, +16.98 (0.66%)
S&P 500 1,195.54, +0.65 (0.05%)
NYSE Composite 7,161.26, -12.19 (0.17%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,684,082,875
NYSE Volume 4,318,042,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3717-2705
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 37-60
WTI crude oil: 85.81, +0.40
Gold: 1,661.00, -9.80
Silver: 32.00, +0.02
The world's largest manufacturer of aluminum products reported earnings per share of 15 cents, on analyst expectations of 22 cents per share. Revenue was above estimates, at $6.42 billion on estimates of $6.22 billion, but higher costs and some sluggish sectors crimped income down to $172 million for the quarter.
Chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld made a couple of interesting comments regarding the quarter's results on CNBC, shortly after the data release. Kleinfeld said that "fear is taking a toll," noting the overwhelming sentiment that investors were wary of the crisis in Europe and a potential global recession and noted that Alcoa was a "competent company in a very nervous world.
The stock was being hammered lower in after-hours trading, down
After Monday's huge upside rally, markets seemed hesitant on Tuesday, and stocks traded in choppy, range-bound fashion. The Dow moved less than 80 points from the lows to the highs on the day.
Another factor keeping trading to a minimum on light volume was the debate in Slovakia on the vote to approve an expanded Eurozone bailout fund. Shortly after markets closed in New York, Slovakian lawmakers on Tuesday rejected participating in an expanded euro rescue fund, significant because the measure needed unanimous approval from all 17 currency members.
With tiny Solvakia standing up against bank bailouts and more depreciation of the Euro against major currencies, the breakup of the Euro seems all but academic at this point. It's become clear over the past few months and years that only the Northern European countries are fiscally balanced and able to cope with market pressures, while those in the South - particularly Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal - do not share the same financial disciple as displayed by say, the Germans.
Without expanded emergency capabilities, European banks will face a liquidity and solvency crisis similar to what happened in the US in the aftermath of the Lehman Bros. collapse and the contagion from it will almost certainly spread globally, though to what degree is as yet unknown.
The Slovakian Parliament decision and Alcoa's big miss on earnings should make for interesting trading on Wednesday in all markets, from Asia to Europe to the US.
Dow 11,416.30, -16.88 (0.15%)
NASDAQ 2,583.03, +16.98 (0.66%)
S&P 500 1,195.54, +0.65 (0.05%)
NYSE Composite 7,161.26, -12.19 (0.17%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,684,082,875
NYSE Volume 4,318,042,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3717-2705
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 37-60
WTI crude oil: 85.81, +0.40
Gold: 1,661.00, -9.80
Silver: 32.00, +0.02
Friday, October 7, 2011
Wall Street is a Crooked, Rotten, Rigged Casino
Just to keep everybody on their toes, the criminals running the Wall Street Casino sold off stocks at the end of the day.
The only real news - if one can call data from the horribly inefficient BLS "real" - was the September non-farm payroll report, showing a gain of 103K for the month. August was revised upward, from zero to 57,000 new jobs. Yeah, sure.
There's so much noise in this market, let's just leave it there. Maybe it will die and rot away over the Columbus day weekend.
Have a nice weekend. Go, Cardinals!
Dow 11,103.12, -20.21 (0.18%)
NASDAQ 2,479.35, -27.47 (1.10%)
S&P 500 1,155.46, -9.51 (0.82%)
NYSE Composite 6,925.80, -71.84 (1.03%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,106,904,500
NYSE Volume 5,434,408,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1866-4649
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 19-89
WTI crude oil: 82.98, +0.39
Gold: 1638.60, -11.70
Silver: 31.10, -0.83
The only real news - if one can call data from the horribly inefficient BLS "real" - was the September non-farm payroll report, showing a gain of 103K for the month. August was revised upward, from zero to 57,000 new jobs. Yeah, sure.
There's so much noise in this market, let's just leave it there. Maybe it will die and rot away over the Columbus day weekend.
Have a nice weekend. Go, Cardinals!
Dow 11,103.12, -20.21 (0.18%)
NASDAQ 2,479.35, -27.47 (1.10%)
S&P 500 1,155.46, -9.51 (0.82%)
NYSE Composite 6,925.80, -71.84 (1.03%)
NASDAQ Volume 2,106,904,500
NYSE Volume 5,434,408,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1866-4649
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 19-89
WTI crude oil: 82.98, +0.39
Gold: 1638.60, -11.70
Silver: 31.10, -0.83
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