Fraud, Corruption Rampant In All Financial Markets

It's once again becoming more and more difficult to post anything even remotely resembling real market analysis when there is so much fraud, corruption, and manipulation of markets.

This is primarily the fault of the world's central banks, who now control practically every financial market in the world. What is especially troubling is that these central banks - via their conduits and proxies in the commercial banking world - routinely corrupt the prices of gold and silver, the only real money.

Just a few days ago, gold and silver were smashed down to save shorts (central bank proxies) who have been dying a slow death for most of the year.

The losses in price were massive and still have not relented. Silver, for instance, has been close to $20 per ounce for most of 2016, but today was pounded down to $17.29 per ounce.

Gold was battered from $1320 an ounce on Monday to $1250 today.

The only sound advice when it comes to precious metals is to buy the dips and hold. Also, for silver investors, solar panels are very inexpensive and also provide usable value in terms of free electricity.

Otherwise, we're all being screwed by banks and governments. Someday, it will end. Hopefully, before we're all dead.

Thursday's Garbage Plate:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,268.50, -12.53 (-0.07%)

NASDAQ
5,306.85, -9.17 (-0.17%)

S&P 500
2,160.77, +1.04 (0.05%)

NYSE Composite
10,675.17, -8.78 (-0.08%)

Stocks Start Fourth Quarter With Losses

Whether or not this blue Monday proves to be ominous for equity investors in the newly-birthed quarter will be proven out over the coming weeks and months, but the roller coaster ride the major indices have taken the past few months have proven only that the market is confused, somewhat directionless, and hopelessly overvalued.

Just a little push in the downward direction could spell doom for stocks, but hopes are high for Hillary in the election and a continuation of the crony capitalism that spells M-O-N-E-Y for Wall Street.

So rigged is the game in the canyons of lower Manhattan that most CEOs, professional fund managers and just about anybody with any skin in the game in down with Clinton and more of the same, despite the fact that Mr. Trump is a born and bred New Yorker, a businessman and a hard-driving deal-maker.

The system is so collapsed, it is fast approaching a condition that puts it in need of serious surgery rather than simple triage.

Considering the up-and-down cycle of what passes for markets in America, today's little dip into the red probably will amount to nothing, and that's a non-cynical point of view.

Welcome to the fourth quarter.

Monday's Miss:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,253.85, -54.30 (-0.30%)

NASDAQ
5,300.87, -11.13 (-0.21%)

S&P 500
2,161.20, -7.07 (-0.33%)

NYSE Composite
10,689.47, -32.27 (-0.30%)

End Of 3rd Quarter Comes With Window Dressing

Believe it or not, we're 3/4 through the year and with that Wall Street staged a rally Friday just to keep with the notion that the economy is at least strong enough (and well enough supported by the Federal Reserve) to warrant the buying of stocks with which to dress up tha many portfolios managed by multi-billion dollar funds.

Friday's economic data included numbers on personal income (up 0.2%), personal spending (flat... oops), core PCE prices (up 0.2%), Chicago PMI (54.2, ahead of forecasts) and the University of Michigan survey on consumer sentiment (91.2).

All right, then, everybody's content, including the Fed, which did not raise rates and won't until Decemebr at the earliest, if at all.

In this sweet spot economy, it's a numbers game and a day-trader's paradise. There's really no serious investment going on, just reshuffling of the deck of S&P 500 stocks to own.

The week was essentially flat, marginally to the upside, as the major averages just bounced between winning and losing all week long.

As Country Joe and the Fish might have said, "Whoopie! We're all gonna die."

Friday's Flash:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,308.15, +164.70 (0.91%)

NASDAQ
5,312.00, +42.85 (0.81%)

S&P 500
2,168.27, +17.14 (0.80%)

NYSE Composite
10,721.74, +78.22 (0.73%)

For the Week ended September 30:
Dow: +46.70 (+0.26%)
NASDAQ: +6.25 (+0.12%)
S&P 500: +3.58 (+0.17%)
NYSE Composite: +3.75 (+0.03%)

Stocks Slip In Afternoon Trading; Where's The Window Dressing?

Stocks continued their up-and-down action on Thursday, posting one of the larger losses of the season, something that's becoming more and more commonplace as the election nears.

Perhaps investors and speculators are playing a game of chicken, day-trading on quick profits (a likely scenario), or perhaps more are coming to the realization that all is not well in the US or global economy and shocks such as experienced by the recent Brexit vote could contribute to more disorder.

The Commerce Department today announced the third and final estimate for second quarter GDP, a disappointing 1.4%, another reminder that the economy is not picking up any steam and may be stuck in a semi-permanent state of stagnation and denial, with outright deflation lurking at every turn.

The reality of the situation is that Americans seem fairly content with the way things are economically, at least on the surface. However, good-paying, long-lasting jobs and careers are harder and harder to come by and what used to be fixed costs, such as utility bills, property taxes, and other fees for services (think health care) continue to ratchet higher in cost on an annual basis.

Also of concern are diminishing corporate profits, which have been heading south for the better part of two years. It's simply more difficult in a tight economy to wring out better and higher EPS and bottom line profits.

Market analysis being a somewhat difficult and thankless task, those are at least some of the potential catalysts for today's declines on the major indices. Tomorrow being the final day of the month and the quarter, one should be looking for "window dressing," wherein fund managers buy up stocks seemingly in favor to add to the portfolio and prospectus. Oddly enough, we may be witnessing window shading instead, as fund managers shed stocks that are under-performing, currently about 65% of the market.

With only a few key stocks keeping the averages afloat, the time for a major pullback has probably long past, since the Fed continues to prop up the market with its easy money.

Thursday Tumble:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,143.45, -195.79 (-1.07%)

NASDAQ
5,269.15, -49.39 (-0.93%)

S&P 500
2,151.13, -20.24 (-0.93%)

NYSE Composite
10,643.48, -109.97 (-1.02%)

Presidential Debate Past; Stocks Return To Normal

With the results of Monday night's presidential debate clearly a mainstream victory for Hillary Clinton (according to the mainstream media, naturally), investors got the "all clear" Tuesday morning and immediately set about erasing the previous day's losses to a large extent.

There was nothing of note in the way of financial news, so the political news would have to suffice, and it apparently did.

With nothing now standing in the way of a Hillary Clinton victory in the November election, the smug Wall Street crowd felt good enough to boost stock prices for the average investor, despite Donald Trump's warning that the Fed was blowing bubbles and playing politics. Maybe the election doesn't matter that much.

All's well.

Tuesday's Shuffle
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,228.30, +133.47 (0.74%)

NASDAQ
5,305.71, +48.22 (0.92%)

S&P 500
2,159.93, +13.83 (0.64%)

NYSE Composite
10,657.18, +32.30 (0.30%)