Stocks Dull as Investors Await Late Non-Farm Payroll Data

Talk about dull days, the entire range on the Dow from top to bottom was 48 points. The S&P was marginally more active, with a trading range of seven points. For the most part, traders were waiting for something more market-moving, like the release of the September non-farm payrolls, which are due out Tuesday at 8:30 am, delayed due to the government shutdown earlier in the month.

That seems to be all the market can get excited over, and maybe not even that. Earnings released thus far have fallen into a range of awful to OK, with nothing - other than tech or momentum stocks like Google - really stirring the animal spirits of investors or speculators.

More evidence of the deleterious effects of incessant government intervention? Maybe. But it's equally possible that stocks are pausing for an event or some other catalyst by which to move stocks, though, considering the recent run-up off the government closure and subsequent debt and budget deals, the next move may not be to traders' liking.

Meanwhile, the level of new highs to new lows is bordering on insanity, 731-28, numbers that depict an explosive environment, not a dead one.

We shall await and see.

Dow 15,392.20, -7.45 (0.05%)
Nasdaq 3,920.05, +5.77 (0.15%)
S&P 500 1,744.66, +0.16 (0.01%)
10-Yr Bond 2.61%, +0.02
NYSE Volume 3,062,334,250
Nasdaq Volume 1,726,410,500
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 2690-2892
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 731-28
WTI crude oil: 99.22, -1.59
Gold: 1,315.80, +1.20
Silver: 22.28, +0.365
Corn: 444.00, +2.50

With Nothing Holding Them Back Stocks Will Keep Rising

Now that the government shutdown is over, there is no longer a debt ceiling - that's been suspended - the Fed is ramming $85 billion a month into the system and we're soon to have a Fed Chairwoman, Janet Yellen, who will print so much money as to make Ben Bernanke look like he was standing still the past five years.

Despite what the media says, Janet Yellen saw no danger from a housing bubble back in 2005, 2006, 2007 or 2008. It was only when it imploded did she consider it a problem. Hopefully, Mrs. Yellen will be the last Fed Chairman (or woman) ever, as she guides the global economy further into indebtedness which will never be repaid.

Then, when she is gone and the world's currencies are rest to something more reasonable, maybe we will have sane markets, free markets and stable economies, not the bloated wastelands that we are currently supposed to accept as "normal."

Since the Fed's relentless, continuous, non-stop money creation out of thin air is the only thing that matters, stocks are the place to be. Someday, they will be the place nobody wants to be, so, the question is, do you feel lucky, punk?

Do you?

Dow 15,399.65, +28.00 (0.18%)
Nasdaq 3,914.28, +51.13 (1.32%)
S&P 500 1,744.50, +11.35 (0.65%)
10-Yr Bond 2.59% 0.00
NYSE Volume 3,625,746,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,854,716,125
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 3911-1727
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 852-32 (now, THAT's extreme)
WTI crude oil: 100.81, +0.14
Gold: 1,314.60, -8.40
Silver: 21.91, -0.034
Corn: 441.50, -1.50

OK, Back to Work, Slaves! S&P Hits All-Time High

Grateful that the shutdown is behind us, President Disingenuous could help but take a victory lap with a press conference this morning (Why is he always late? Very annoying.) reminding all the faithful citizens that those overpaid, barely-stressed government workers are patriot and essential. Funny, we thought they furloughed the non-essential ones. And, yes, they're all getting paid for the two weeks they didn't work.

Oh, well.

People better get straight with this and quick. The debt limit was NOT increased, it was SUSPENDED, the President now having authority to issue as much debt as he pleases, unless congress disapproves via a joint resolution - which the president would veto - and the congress would need a 2/3rds majority to override, which, with the current makeup on congress, is all but impossible.

So, essentially, there is no debt limit any more, thanks to provisions in the bill supported by Mitch McConnell (that's right, numbskulls, there's no Red team or Blue team, just one team) and signed into law by the supine congress on Wednesday, October 16, 2013.

That explains why the president, when asked last night if we'll be doing this all over again in three months, quickly turned on his heels while heading for the exit after his presser, and replied simply, "No."

This also explains quite a bit about how things actually operate in the capitol. They scare us to bejeezus, and then, in the dead of the night, right before their artificial deadline, when everybody is zoned out from boredom or anxiety, throw in language that subverts and changes the way they do business.

From here on out, the president can just run the tab up as high as he likes, and congress won't make a peep about it, because, as they'll surely tell us, they can't muster the votes to override a veto. Essentially, the United States no longer has a debt limit or debt ceiling, call it what you like. It has been suspended.

Read the actual bill: http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2013/10/politics/senate-shutdown-deal/index.html

Nice job, for government work.

PS: We're screwed.

On the other hand, we all might take this advice: Why I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Currency Collapse

Dow 15,371.65, -2.18 (0.01%)
Nasdaq 3,863.15, +23.71 (0.62%)
S&P 500 1,733.15, +11.61 (0.67%)
10-Yr Bond 2.59%, -0.08
NYSE Volume 3,433,423,500
Nasdaq Volume 1,931,481,625
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4282-1351
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 554-41
WTI crude oil: 100.67, -1.62
Gold: 1,323.00, +40.70
Silver: 21.95, +0.582
Corn: 443.00, +0.25

Government Shutdown Day 16: This Time It May Actually Be Over

Within hours, the Senate, and then, the House of Representatives will vote on a measure to end the 15-day partial government shutdown, and raise the debt ceiling. Passage vy both houses of congress and signing by the president prior to midnight tonight, in order to beat the self-imposed, phony "deadline" is all but certain. Purportedly, the measure will keep the government operating through January 15, 2014 and increase the borrowing authority of the United States through February 7, 2014, which, for all intents and purposes won't conflict with the NFL schedule, as Super Bowl XLVIII is on February 2nd, so keep eating your Cheetos and watching the games. Panem et circenses.

Apparently, it's over. A great deal has been learned form the experience and from other readings. More will be exposed explained in subsequent posts.

Knowledge is power. Never, ever forget that.

Here's an excellent video from the Hidden Secrets of Money series that explains some of what you need to know about why the government and the Federal Reserve are acting unconstitutionally and stealing from Americans every second of every day, and, maybe, most importantly, why the debt ceiling must always be raised, lest the entire fraudulent, debt-based monetary system collapse:



Dow 15,373.83, +205.82 (1.36%)
Nasdaq 3,839.43, +45.42 (1.20%)
S&P 500 1,721.54, +23.48 (1.38%)
10-Yr Bond 2.67%, -0.05
NYSE Volume 3,546,334,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,683,306,375
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 4304-1343
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 482-61
WTI crude oil: 102.29, +1.08
Gold: 1,282.30, +9.10
Silver: 21.36, +0.174
Corn: 442.75, -0.75

Government Shutdown Day 15: Obama Rejects House Proposal Before Hearing It; D-Day Approaches

October has always such a great time for a market crash, why not now?

Markets didn't seem to like the antics down in DC, closing at the lows of the day. More of that may be coming into focus soon.

Obama rejected a House proposal before the Republicans even announced what it was, a sure "jump the shark (and the snark)" moment for the worst-ever US president, and that's saying quite a bit, since there have been some notoriously bad ones.

Supposedly, the nation goes over the Default Deadline (it's total BS, like everything else coming out from inside the Beltway, after midnight tomorrow. While that's not exactly a true deadline, those in or near urban centers may have a few weeks to escape to the hinterlands before all hell breaks loose, which seems to be at the heart of the government's intent.

The Obamacare rollout has to be the worst ever in the history of government programs, again, saying quite a bit, since government work is usually quite shoddy.

Here's a quote that really nails it:

Let me get this straight. We've been "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and "taxed" if we don't, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, declared deficit neutral by a CBO that only underestimated SS and medicare costs by about 100 trillion dollars, give or take a few trillion, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, gaveled into law by a Speaker who states we have to pass the damnthing to find out what's in it, signed into law by a President who smokes, supported by a first diet guru with a derriere the size of a battleship beam, exclaimed to be a big friggindeal by a sleepy VP with Attention Deficit Disorder and a really bad plug job, considered to be such a great plan by the unions that hundreds of them supported it, then promptly applied for and were granted exemptions from it, enforced by an Attorney General with a terrible case of amnesia, policed by 16,000 new IRS agents who are "here to help you", with funding administered by a Treasury Secretary who "forgot" to pay his taxes, overseen by a Surgeon General who's obese, and financed by a country that's broke. What could possibly go wrong?

--posted as FoxNews comment by madashe11

Awesome video which explains the differences in economic philosophies of John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek with a rap theme:


Dow 15,168.01, -133.25 (0.87%)
Nasdaq 3,794.01, -21.26 (0.56%)
S&P 500 1,698.06, -12.08 (0.71%)
10-Yr Bond 2.72%, +0.03
NYSE Volume 3,312,423,250
Nasdaq Volume 1,694,419,125
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ Advance - Decline: 1445-4147
Combined NYSE & NASDAQ New highs - New lows: 299-71
WTI crude oil: 101.21, -1.20
Gold: 1,273.20, -3.40
Silver: 21.19, -0.163
Corn: 443.50, +6.50