With news flow at a low point, given Europe and America's traditional vacation seasons, the Olympics in London and the generally-implied blackout of any stories that may paint the current economic picture as anything other than manageable or rosy, stocks were free to rise unfettered over the past two days, though Tuesday's gains were of a larger magnitude than Monday's.
Any stock market gains in the short term serve only the interests of the status quo and their loyalist followers and useful idiots in the furtherance of fiat folly. There are divided camps forming globally, set in their ideals and aspirations over the future of the money, investment and capital formation, which has lately been forming at two extremes: one being that of the very, very rich (and for them, capital formation means only money in their hands) and the other at the extreme fringe edges in black markets, very small business enterprises (micro), alternate currencies and sustainable local economies.
Those on the high end of the income ladder believe they hold all advantage. After all, theirs is the accepted means of conveyance: large, faceless, unaccountable corporations operating on massive scale with tax codes and regulations written to advance their cause and hinder all competition. They also have the blessing of governments, ease of entry into markets and access to nearly unlimited capital.
Playing by their own rules, corporations, as quasi-branches of elite banking and political machines, have every practical advantage over start-up entrepreneurs and small business, excepting some crucial, psychological ones, such as new ideas with appeal to the general public, community awareness and high levels of personalized customer service, often face-to-face and local.
As the debt de-leveraging process continues - over what now appears to be a very long course of possibly eight to twelve years, beginning with the mid-summer of 2008 - corporations on national and global scale will find customer tastes that are slowly changing and evolving, shifting to a preference for smaller and exceedingly local enterprises.
While the corporatists play their numbers games, squeezing out every last drop of revenue and profit from a dwindling supply of discretionary money, they are the few, and the hunted, while the risk-takers outside of the traditional business cycle swell in number and gain strength through diversity, ingenuity and spirit.
In a macro sense, on the surface all seems to be business as usual, though once the facades are peeled away, truths unearthed, hearts and minds changed, there is revealed a noisy war on multiple fronts being waged by rebellious forces of sound money and financial freedom.
It's a process, and it proceeds slowly, quietly in the background, but it is proceeding nonetheless.
Dow 13,168.22, +50.71 (0.39%)
NASDAQ 3,015.86, +25.95 (0.87%)
S&P 500 1,401.34, +7.11 (0.51%)
NYSE Composite 8,023.49, +59.39 (0.75%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,856,287,375.00
NYSE Volume 3,494,027,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3589-1960
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 292-47
WTI crude oil: 93.67, +1.47
Gold: 1,612.80, -3.40
Silver: 28.09, +0.22
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
Markets Soar on NFP Data; End Week with Paltry Gains
Bernanke didn't deliver. Draghi promised much, but fell fell well short in the court of public opinion.
The BLS, however, with its July non-farm payroll report, hit a home run, reporting an increase of 163,000 net new jobs, well beyond average expectations of 85,000, which was good enough for the investariat to send stocks screaming higher as the week closed out with a winning session after four straight losers.
Friday's gains were enough to just about cover the losses for the week, even though volume was the lowest of the five days and the official unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3%. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrials added 20 points and some change, the S&P gained five, while the NASDAQ picked up nine points.
The NYSE Composite index added 27 points, making the week as a whole much ado about nothing in particular.
Noting that the BLS figures are highly suspect and likely politically-contrived, the prior month's figure of an 80,000 gain was revised to 64,000, casting a bit of a pall on the madness of numbers. Investors (using the term lightly) didn't care, sending stocks near three-month highs.
Naturally, most of the gains were made in the opening minutes of trading, closing out profits to all but the privileged few HFTs and insider, bankster types who always seem to be the most profitable in the market.
Once the initial burst of activity had concluded, the market drifted the rest of the session in a very tight range. For instance, the Dow, after 9:45 am EDT, didn't move in either direction by more than 30 points. This is exactly the kind of frightened trading one would assume in a headline-driven, mostly-artificial market.
The week's activity leaves open some very poignant questions. Since last week's two-day burst was derived from hope for relief from the Fed and ECB in the form of more easing of monetary policy or, in the ECB's case, a more robust lending facility with which to bail out failing banks and sovereigns, why then would a positive reading on employment send stocks higher after both the Fed and ECB disappointed?
Apparently, Wall Street gets it either way. Poor economic conditions produce lax monetary policy (and stock gains), but job growth seemingly blunts the argument for more easing, while showing that the economy is on the road to recovery. A win for Wall Street either way, though long-time market observers might view such duplicity with a dollop of disdain.
Chartists may wish to point out the Dow's double top pattern, though still at levels below the year's highs made in the first week of May. The other major indices display similar patterns, with the broadest measures, the NASDAQ and NYSE Composite, showing many trading gaps along the road higher.
It goes without saying that the current market environment is highly reactive and immediate, especially to the upside. Valuations, which, of course, everybody gives the short shrift these days, are fairly rich, especially with corporate profits mostly down from a year ago and many companies missing revenue targets in the second quarter.
Being the end of the week, and payday or some kind of day for the masters of the universe, the pattern has recently been to end with a loud bang, followed by celebrations at favored watering holes or house parties in the Hamptons.
It's the middle of summer and the rich have to play, after all.
Dow 13,096.17, +217.29 (1.69%)
NASDAQ 2,967.90, +58.13 (2.00%)
S&P 500 1,390.99, +25.99 (1.90%)
NYSE Composite 7,935.35, +169.75 (2.19%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,696,452,375
NYSE Volume 3,499,269,750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4479-1107
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 286-70
WTI crude oil: 91.40, +4.27
Gold: 1,609.30, +18.60
Silver: 27.80, +0.81
The BLS, however, with its July non-farm payroll report, hit a home run, reporting an increase of 163,000 net new jobs, well beyond average expectations of 85,000, which was good enough for the investariat to send stocks screaming higher as the week closed out with a winning session after four straight losers.
Friday's gains were enough to just about cover the losses for the week, even though volume was the lowest of the five days and the official unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3%. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrials added 20 points and some change, the S&P gained five, while the NASDAQ picked up nine points.
The NYSE Composite index added 27 points, making the week as a whole much ado about nothing in particular.
Noting that the BLS figures are highly suspect and likely politically-contrived, the prior month's figure of an 80,000 gain was revised to 64,000, casting a bit of a pall on the madness of numbers. Investors (using the term lightly) didn't care, sending stocks near three-month highs.
Naturally, most of the gains were made in the opening minutes of trading, closing out profits to all but the privileged few HFTs and insider, bankster types who always seem to be the most profitable in the market.
Once the initial burst of activity had concluded, the market drifted the rest of the session in a very tight range. For instance, the Dow, after 9:45 am EDT, didn't move in either direction by more than 30 points. This is exactly the kind of frightened trading one would assume in a headline-driven, mostly-artificial market.
The week's activity leaves open some very poignant questions. Since last week's two-day burst was derived from hope for relief from the Fed and ECB in the form of more easing of monetary policy or, in the ECB's case, a more robust lending facility with which to bail out failing banks and sovereigns, why then would a positive reading on employment send stocks higher after both the Fed and ECB disappointed?
Apparently, Wall Street gets it either way. Poor economic conditions produce lax monetary policy (and stock gains), but job growth seemingly blunts the argument for more easing, while showing that the economy is on the road to recovery. A win for Wall Street either way, though long-time market observers might view such duplicity with a dollop of disdain.
Chartists may wish to point out the Dow's double top pattern, though still at levels below the year's highs made in the first week of May. The other major indices display similar patterns, with the broadest measures, the NASDAQ and NYSE Composite, showing many trading gaps along the road higher.
It goes without saying that the current market environment is highly reactive and immediate, especially to the upside. Valuations, which, of course, everybody gives the short shrift these days, are fairly rich, especially with corporate profits mostly down from a year ago and many companies missing revenue targets in the second quarter.
Being the end of the week, and payday or some kind of day for the masters of the universe, the pattern has recently been to end with a loud bang, followed by celebrations at favored watering holes or house parties in the Hamptons.
It's the middle of summer and the rich have to play, after all.
Dow 13,096.17, +217.29 (1.69%)
NASDAQ 2,967.90, +58.13 (2.00%)
S&P 500 1,390.99, +25.99 (1.90%)
NYSE Composite 7,935.35, +169.75 (2.19%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,696,452,375
NYSE Volume 3,499,269,750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4479-1107
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 286-70
WTI crude oil: 91.40, +4.27
Gold: 1,609.30, +18.60
Silver: 27.80, +0.81
Thursday, August 2, 2012
ECB's Draghi Offers No Solution to European Debt Crisis; Markets Tank
After last week's explosive rallies - based entirely upon notions that Fed Chiaman, Ben Bernanke, and ECB president, Mario Draghi, were committed to fixing their ailing economies, this week's reality show fell flat on its face on both continents.
On Wednesday, when the Fed announced the usual no change in federal funds rates, it also added no stimulus for the US economy or even language that would lead investors to believe that another round of QE was son to follow.
Today's speech following the no-event in Brussels, in which the ECB kept interest rates pegged at 0.75%, Draghi's rhetoric could not have been less encouraging, especially after the strong words he uttered just days ago, saying that the ECB would employ all of its tools to keep the Euro strong and the Eurozone of 17 countries that use the common currency, intact.
The lack of follow-through by the two central bankers proved once more that monetary policy is stuck in a morass of debt and delusion, and also, that whatever measures they might employ now or in the future will have little effect upon the general economy.
Essentially, the policies currently in place - near-zero interest rates, massive bond-buying schemes and general criminality amongst the banking crowd - will continue without change or revision, and, thus, will do nothing to disengage the European and US economies from the slow-to-no-growth regimen they have been anchored in for the past three to four years.
With stock players taking their cues from the big-talkers, shares in European indices were smashed down hard, with declines across nearly all the major exchanges of 1.5 - 2.5 percent.
In the US, the losses were lighter, but beginning to accumulate, as fears arise over the size of the jobs number due out Friday morning.
The markets now have become conditioned to reacting immediately to rumors and headlines, a condition not conducive to profitable investing, the general pattern being dead markets when there is little of substance in the news, and wild swings whenever a central banker opens his or her mouth. Ironically, when central bankers do speak, what they say has little actual bearing on the economy, though they and the stock pickers and players like to think it does.
Capital markets have, for some time, been in an overpriced consolidation phase, with confidence waning even among professionals. The retail investor has all but abandoned stocks as a reliable instrument for sound investment, as the entire rigged affair has become too driven by insiders with specific knowledge and too risky for such small returns.
Both the Fed and ECB have managed to paint themselves into their own corners, with seemingly no escape route. All that matters is to keep markets in a manner that makes them look like they're functioning as normal.
While that plan is barely working, the rest of the planet plays dutifully along, waiting for some kind of dramatic event that will alter the investing landscape. Unfortunately for the waiters and current investors, such events usually tend to be of the negative variety.
The continued can-kicking by the authorities hasn't done the trick to this point, so it's folly to believe that even more stimulative efforts by central banks will offer any kind of relief. The trouble with this kick-the-can-down-the-road style of monetary policy is that the road eventually ends and with it, so too the power to create debt out of thin air and pass it along to the taxpayers.
That happens to be about the only glimmer of hope in this sordid chapter of Keynesian economics: that the system itself will eventually fail, prompting a return to sound money and economic principles that do not rely on debt.
Dow 12,878.88, -92.18 (0.71%)
NASDAQ 2,909.77. -10.44 (0.36%)
S&P 500 1,365.00, -10.14 (0.74%)
NYSE Composite 7,765.60, -75.75 (0.97%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,832,069,000
NYSE Volume 4,139,315.750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2176-3350
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 130-157
WTI crude oil: 87.13, -1.78
Gold: 1,590.70, -16.60
Silver: 27.00, -0.54
On Wednesday, when the Fed announced the usual no change in federal funds rates, it also added no stimulus for the US economy or even language that would lead investors to believe that another round of QE was son to follow.
Today's speech following the no-event in Brussels, in which the ECB kept interest rates pegged at 0.75%, Draghi's rhetoric could not have been less encouraging, especially after the strong words he uttered just days ago, saying that the ECB would employ all of its tools to keep the Euro strong and the Eurozone of 17 countries that use the common currency, intact.
The lack of follow-through by the two central bankers proved once more that monetary policy is stuck in a morass of debt and delusion, and also, that whatever measures they might employ now or in the future will have little effect upon the general economy.
Essentially, the policies currently in place - near-zero interest rates, massive bond-buying schemes and general criminality amongst the banking crowd - will continue without change or revision, and, thus, will do nothing to disengage the European and US economies from the slow-to-no-growth regimen they have been anchored in for the past three to four years.
With stock players taking their cues from the big-talkers, shares in European indices were smashed down hard, with declines across nearly all the major exchanges of 1.5 - 2.5 percent.
In the US, the losses were lighter, but beginning to accumulate, as fears arise over the size of the jobs number due out Friday morning.
The markets now have become conditioned to reacting immediately to rumors and headlines, a condition not conducive to profitable investing, the general pattern being dead markets when there is little of substance in the news, and wild swings whenever a central banker opens his or her mouth. Ironically, when central bankers do speak, what they say has little actual bearing on the economy, though they and the stock pickers and players like to think it does.
Capital markets have, for some time, been in an overpriced consolidation phase, with confidence waning even among professionals. The retail investor has all but abandoned stocks as a reliable instrument for sound investment, as the entire rigged affair has become too driven by insiders with specific knowledge and too risky for such small returns.
Both the Fed and ECB have managed to paint themselves into their own corners, with seemingly no escape route. All that matters is to keep markets in a manner that makes them look like they're functioning as normal.
While that plan is barely working, the rest of the planet plays dutifully along, waiting for some kind of dramatic event that will alter the investing landscape. Unfortunately for the waiters and current investors, such events usually tend to be of the negative variety.
The continued can-kicking by the authorities hasn't done the trick to this point, so it's folly to believe that even more stimulative efforts by central banks will offer any kind of relief. The trouble with this kick-the-can-down-the-road style of monetary policy is that the road eventually ends and with it, so too the power to create debt out of thin air and pass it along to the taxpayers.
That happens to be about the only glimmer of hope in this sordid chapter of Keynesian economics: that the system itself will eventually fail, prompting a return to sound money and economic principles that do not rely on debt.
Dow 12,878.88, -92.18 (0.71%)
NASDAQ 2,909.77. -10.44 (0.36%)
S&P 500 1,365.00, -10.14 (0.74%)
NYSE Composite 7,765.60, -75.75 (0.97%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,832,069,000
NYSE Volume 4,139,315.750
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2176-3350
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 130-157
WTI crude oil: 87.13, -1.78
Gold: 1,590.70, -16.60
Silver: 27.00, -0.54
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Dead, Rigged Market Can Only Respond As Ordered; Is Worthless, Valueless, Void
The Fed's FOMC announcement today was another snoozer, as expected, more or less, but, now that the nation's central bank has decided not to announce another round of QE, one has to wonder whether last week's euphoria was nothing more than orchestration for a quick profit drive. Probably was.
Otherwise, the market is absolutely a dead zone, with some action in specific stocks, though the overall trend is pretty morose. Anybody who has even a cursory knowledge of economics or finance realizes that the markets are highly rigged in favor of a nefarious group of insiders, whose main goal is to profit at the expense of others, even their own clients.
Further, everyone is aware of the headwinds facing the global economies and associated markets. Those are not and will not go away.
The few data points released today were not particularly encouraging, though the veracity of the releases and the methodologies employed in reaching conclusive evidence are also quite questionable.
ADP's monthly survey of private sector employment recorded a gain of 163,000 jobs in July, after posting a gain of 179,000 in June. The numbers provided by ADP are somewhat of a mystery, as they always differ widely from the "official" government non-farm payroll figures, due out Friday, and upon which everyone with skin in this market is awaiting.
The July ISM Index posted its second straight reading showing contraction, at 49.8 for the month, after June's 49.7. Contraction in manufacturing is for two consecutive months, even though it is slight, is not an encouraging sign for the future, as these kinds of negative readings often lead to nasty occurrences like recessions, layoffs and general malaise, sluggishness, business failures and assorted blight.
What may be even more surprising is that the market hasn't fallen more, now that the Fed is officially not going to do anything (which doesn't matter anyhow, because what they've done thus far hasn't really worked for anyone other than Wall Street types).
Tomorrow's ECB meeting - getting to be a nearly regular monthly voyage into the land of make believe - is almost certain to satisfy nobody, like some people we know, though, like those people, the leaders of the various nations might be sufficiently entertained by their fantasies to believe they're actually doing the world some good, when in fact they are only making life more miserable for more people and jeopardizing their own futures at the same time.
One gets the idea that these types just don't care about anything other than their own sorry existences, which, being the "leaders" that they are, complicates matters for the unchosen followers, the bulk of mankind.
Best possibly to ignore them completely, as their machinations now have little to do with reality. As the global Ponzi scheme draws inevitably closer to its fitting, fateful end, self-sufficiency and resourcefulness of individuals will become more and more a prized asset. The best time to start along of path of separation from the status quo and into a more sustainable existence of one's own would probably have been yesterday, though the globalists appear determined to stretch out their dying days as long as possible, giving a leg up to late starters.
For the rest, especially those defined by the elite as "worthless eaters," life continues to gradually erode into dependency upon the state, many of which are on life support and beyond the point where they can actually meet all of their obligations, an unenviable condition sure to result in great pain and suffering for many.
When even a rigged market is dead and lifeless, what hope for a future of sound economy can anyone honestly hold?
Dow 12,976.13, -32.55 (0.25%)
NASDAQ 2,920.21, -19.31 (0.66%)
S&P 500 1,375.32, -4.00 (0.29%)
NYSE Composite 7,848.60, -15.34 (0.20%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,691,360,500.00
NYSE Volume 4,014,368,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1791-3727
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 257-114
WTI crude oil: 88.91, +0.85
Gold: 1,603.70, -6.80
Silver: 27.54, -0.38
Otherwise, the market is absolutely a dead zone, with some action in specific stocks, though the overall trend is pretty morose. Anybody who has even a cursory knowledge of economics or finance realizes that the markets are highly rigged in favor of a nefarious group of insiders, whose main goal is to profit at the expense of others, even their own clients.
Further, everyone is aware of the headwinds facing the global economies and associated markets. Those are not and will not go away.
The few data points released today were not particularly encouraging, though the veracity of the releases and the methodologies employed in reaching conclusive evidence are also quite questionable.
ADP's monthly survey of private sector employment recorded a gain of 163,000 jobs in July, after posting a gain of 179,000 in June. The numbers provided by ADP are somewhat of a mystery, as they always differ widely from the "official" government non-farm payroll figures, due out Friday, and upon which everyone with skin in this market is awaiting.
The July ISM Index posted its second straight reading showing contraction, at 49.8 for the month, after June's 49.7. Contraction in manufacturing is for two consecutive months, even though it is slight, is not an encouraging sign for the future, as these kinds of negative readings often lead to nasty occurrences like recessions, layoffs and general malaise, sluggishness, business failures and assorted blight.
What may be even more surprising is that the market hasn't fallen more, now that the Fed is officially not going to do anything (which doesn't matter anyhow, because what they've done thus far hasn't really worked for anyone other than Wall Street types).
Tomorrow's ECB meeting - getting to be a nearly regular monthly voyage into the land of make believe - is almost certain to satisfy nobody, like some people we know, though, like those people, the leaders of the various nations might be sufficiently entertained by their fantasies to believe they're actually doing the world some good, when in fact they are only making life more miserable for more people and jeopardizing their own futures at the same time.
One gets the idea that these types just don't care about anything other than their own sorry existences, which, being the "leaders" that they are, complicates matters for the unchosen followers, the bulk of mankind.
Best possibly to ignore them completely, as their machinations now have little to do with reality. As the global Ponzi scheme draws inevitably closer to its fitting, fateful end, self-sufficiency and resourcefulness of individuals will become more and more a prized asset. The best time to start along of path of separation from the status quo and into a more sustainable existence of one's own would probably have been yesterday, though the globalists appear determined to stretch out their dying days as long as possible, giving a leg up to late starters.
For the rest, especially those defined by the elite as "worthless eaters," life continues to gradually erode into dependency upon the state, many of which are on life support and beyond the point where they can actually meet all of their obligations, an unenviable condition sure to result in great pain and suffering for many.
When even a rigged market is dead and lifeless, what hope for a future of sound economy can anyone honestly hold?
Dow 12,976.13, -32.55 (0.25%)
NASDAQ 2,920.21, -19.31 (0.66%)
S&P 500 1,375.32, -4.00 (0.29%)
NYSE Composite 7,848.60, -15.34 (0.20%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,691,360,500.00
NYSE Volume 4,014,368,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1791-3727
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 257-114
WTI crude oil: 88.91, +0.85
Gold: 1,603.70, -6.80
Silver: 27.54, -0.38
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Stocks Stumble As Fed Action Seems Less Likely; Markets Resembling Aging Divorcees
Thanks to a number of relatively positive economic reports, the possibility that the Fed will announce a new round of QE at the conclusion of its FOMC policy meeting on Wednesday was seen as a bit less definite.
As convoluted as the machinations of Wall Street have become, good news is now seen as bad, given that the Fed is less likely to move if the economy appears, at least, stable and not about to fall over a cliff.
In a raft of data releases this morning, it was seen that personal spending was flat, though personal income rose 0.5% in June.
The two-month-old Case-Shiller 20-city index, a widely-disregarded metric due to its flawed methodology, fell less than expected in May, dipping 0.7% on expectations of a drop of 1.8%. Though the message remains that the bottom has not been plumbed in housing, the upshot was that the number beat expectations.
More importantly, Chicago PMI posted a gain to 53.7, after printing at 52.9 in May and consumer confidence rose to 65.9, a healthy gain and a multi-month high after checking in at 62.7 in June.
All tolled, the numbers offer a murky picture of the US economy, though certainly not one that could be lauded as either expansionary nor receding. Thus, the valiant traders hoping for another QE round seemed less certain, selling stocks in advance of what they assume will be another ho-hum, no change announcement from the Fed.
Stocks traded in a narrow range, as they did on Monday, with the S&P and NASDAQ hovering around the unchanged mark while the Dow and Composite Index spent the entire day in the red. Volume was minimalist and declining issues outpaced advancers slightly.
Conditions in the US and Europe appear to be unchanged since last week, which is more than likely an overall negative looking ahead, but, without some drama, market participants appeared reluctant to make any bold moves ahead of the FOMC announcement, EBC meeting on Thursday or the non-farm payroll data Friday, which could, in fact, be the most important number of the week.
Being the last calendar and trading day of July, there was little "window dressing" to note as stocks tailed off badly in the final half hour, closing at or near their lows of the day.
If anything, traders (because there are so few real investors) have embraced an attitude of couched pessimism and flagging hope. Since there will be no resolution to any major issues in the US until after the elections in November and the EU and ECB seem so deft at using the microphone to their advantage while proposing no concrete solutions (mostly because the actual fixes involve massive write-downs, pain and suffering to the wealthiest), the general tone is sleepy and non-committal, a condition not unlike many divorced women in their 50s.
Plenty of rest and an uninspiring, dull lifestyle of muddling along seems to be the preferable treatment for whatever perceived and imagined ailments with which they are afflicted.
The go-slow approach is one step removed from the all-inclusive silent treatment, a silly game that the media appears ready to play unless there is a catalyst to prompt attentiveness and a modicum of pleasure.
Even then, periods of exhilaration are bogged down by a general state of disabuse and misplaced emotions. As such, the capital markets have become technological zombies and drug-addled followers of incorrect assumptions.
Men and women get old, as do markets. The remedy is a fresh attitude or new regimen, which, as in the case of aging biddies, is virtually impossible in the current political and economic climate, the comfort of the status quo providing an easy escape from actually dealing with issues at hand.
Please send all hate mail for the above metaphorical escapade above to dontcare@whogivesadamn.com
Dow 13,008.75, -64.26 (0.49%)
NASDAQ 2,939.52, -6.32 (0.21%)
S&P 500 1,379.33, -5.97 (0.43%)
NYSE Composite 7,870.56, -40.49 (0.51%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,730,655,000
NYSE Volume 3,413,254,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2276-3269
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 219-70
WTI crude oil: 88.06, -1.72
Gold: 1,610.50, -9.20
Silver: 27.91, -0.12
As convoluted as the machinations of Wall Street have become, good news is now seen as bad, given that the Fed is less likely to move if the economy appears, at least, stable and not about to fall over a cliff.
In a raft of data releases this morning, it was seen that personal spending was flat, though personal income rose 0.5% in June.
The two-month-old Case-Shiller 20-city index, a widely-disregarded metric due to its flawed methodology, fell less than expected in May, dipping 0.7% on expectations of a drop of 1.8%. Though the message remains that the bottom has not been plumbed in housing, the upshot was that the number beat expectations.
More importantly, Chicago PMI posted a gain to 53.7, after printing at 52.9 in May and consumer confidence rose to 65.9, a healthy gain and a multi-month high after checking in at 62.7 in June.
All tolled, the numbers offer a murky picture of the US economy, though certainly not one that could be lauded as either expansionary nor receding. Thus, the valiant traders hoping for another QE round seemed less certain, selling stocks in advance of what they assume will be another ho-hum, no change announcement from the Fed.
Stocks traded in a narrow range, as they did on Monday, with the S&P and NASDAQ hovering around the unchanged mark while the Dow and Composite Index spent the entire day in the red. Volume was minimalist and declining issues outpaced advancers slightly.
Conditions in the US and Europe appear to be unchanged since last week, which is more than likely an overall negative looking ahead, but, without some drama, market participants appeared reluctant to make any bold moves ahead of the FOMC announcement, EBC meeting on Thursday or the non-farm payroll data Friday, which could, in fact, be the most important number of the week.
Being the last calendar and trading day of July, there was little "window dressing" to note as stocks tailed off badly in the final half hour, closing at or near their lows of the day.
If anything, traders (because there are so few real investors) have embraced an attitude of couched pessimism and flagging hope. Since there will be no resolution to any major issues in the US until after the elections in November and the EU and ECB seem so deft at using the microphone to their advantage while proposing no concrete solutions (mostly because the actual fixes involve massive write-downs, pain and suffering to the wealthiest), the general tone is sleepy and non-committal, a condition not unlike many divorced women in their 50s.
Plenty of rest and an uninspiring, dull lifestyle of muddling along seems to be the preferable treatment for whatever perceived and imagined ailments with which they are afflicted.
The go-slow approach is one step removed from the all-inclusive silent treatment, a silly game that the media appears ready to play unless there is a catalyst to prompt attentiveness and a modicum of pleasure.
Even then, periods of exhilaration are bogged down by a general state of disabuse and misplaced emotions. As such, the capital markets have become technological zombies and drug-addled followers of incorrect assumptions.
Men and women get old, as do markets. The remedy is a fresh attitude or new regimen, which, as in the case of aging biddies, is virtually impossible in the current political and economic climate, the comfort of the status quo providing an easy escape from actually dealing with issues at hand.
Please send all hate mail for the above metaphorical escapade above to dontcare@whogivesadamn.com
Dow 13,008.75, -64.26 (0.49%)
NASDAQ 2,939.52, -6.32 (0.21%)
S&P 500 1,379.33, -5.97 (0.43%)
NYSE Composite 7,870.56, -40.49 (0.51%)
NASDAQ Volume 1,730,655,000
NYSE Volume 3,413,254,000
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2276-3269
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 219-70
WTI crude oil: 88.06, -1.72
Gold: 1,610.50, -9.20
Silver: 27.91, -0.12
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