The last full week of May was a solid one for stock pickers, with all the major averages posting excellent weekly gains, despite a somewhat subdued session Friday.
The NASDAQ and S&P notched new all-time highs a couple of times, though the question remains as to just how much higher stocks can ascend given the weakness in macro data and tension in geopolitics.
The start of June is generally a quiet time for markets, but, with central banks backstopping any selloff with unlimited funding, the fun may last some time longer. June's FOMC meeting has been heralded as one in which the Fed may raise the federal funds rate to 1.00-1.25%, which would be a high-water mark since the GFC of 2008-09.
Money Daily disputes to contention of many analysts - 83% of which see a June rate hike - that a rate hike is imminent, due to glaringly obvious poor results in housing, personal income and spending, and industrial production, to name just a few.
Futures are pointing to a negative open in this holiday-shortened week.
At The Close, 5/26/17:
Dow: 21,080.28, -2.67 (-0.01%)
NASDAQ 6,210.19, +4.94 (0.08%)
S&P 500: 2,415.82, +0.75 (0.03%)
NYSE Composite: 11,631.87, -7.43 (-0.06%)
For the week:
Dow: +275.44 (1.32%)
NASDAQ: +126.49 (2.08%)
S&P 500: +34.09 (1.43%)
NYSE Composite: +89.18 (0.77%)
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
Thursday, May 25, 2017
Rally Continues; Assimilation Of Entire Global Economy By Central Bankers Is Nearly Complete
Just for the heck of it, look up a couple of things on your favorite search engine (ours is Bing; we've supplied the links):
The Crime of '73
Creature From Jekyl Island
President's Working Group on Financial Markets
Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
If it's not already obvious, the international cartel of banking has been at this game a long, long, long, time.
Just for fun, here's an article from FEE.org (Foundation For Economic Education) by Robert Higgs: Wartime Origins of Modern Income-Tax Withholding.
If you allow (and who hasn't?) the government to take your money before you ever see it, you're owned. Sure, your retirement fund looks good, but try adding up all the taxes you've paid the last ten years (spoiler alert:: you'll be shocked).
That's all for today, including new record closes for the S&P and NASDAQ.
At the Close, 5/25/17:
Dow: 21,082.95, +70.53 (0.34%)
S&P 500: 2,415.07, +10.68 (0.44%)
NASDAQ: 6,205.26, +42.23 (0.69%)
NYSE Composite: 11,640.73, +19.50 (0.17%)
The Crime of '73
Creature From Jekyl Island
President's Working Group on Financial Markets
Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
If it's not already obvious, the international cartel of banking has been at this game a long, long, long, time.
Just for fun, here's an article from FEE.org (Foundation For Economic Education) by Robert Higgs: Wartime Origins of Modern Income-Tax Withholding.
If you allow (and who hasn't?) the government to take your money before you ever see it, you're owned. Sure, your retirement fund looks good, but try adding up all the taxes you've paid the last ten years (spoiler alert:: you'll be shocked).
That's all for today, including new record closes for the S&P and NASDAQ.
At the Close, 5/25/17:
Dow: 21,082.95, +70.53 (0.34%)
S&P 500: 2,415.07, +10.68 (0.44%)
NASDAQ: 6,205.26, +42.23 (0.69%)
NYSE Composite: 11,640.73, +19.50 (0.17%)
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Stocks Rage into the Close; PPT Mentioned on CNBC
Good stuff on Zero Hedge, when Asher Edelman brought up the PPT (Plunge Protection Team) on CNBC's "Fast Money."
People really don't mention the Plunge Protection Team much anymore, ever since the Fed and their central bank cohorts began their financial asset buying spree in 2009. The Fed money-printing machine puts the PPT (otherwise known as the President's Working Group on Financial Markets) to shame.
The Federal Reserve added liquidity to markets by directly intervening through outright asset purchases of mortgage-backed securities and treasury bills and notes. Known as Qualitative Easing (QE), those in the know simply call it "money printing" or "creating money out of thin air." Both are correct, and, despite all the best intents of Keynesian economics, those actions are supposed to create inflation, which has occurred in stocks, housing and elsewhere, but not in the many and varied consumer staples and discretionary items.
Most consumer prices (and incomes) have somewhat stagnated since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008-09, and, with the Fed threatening another rate increase in June, they probably won't be moving soon. The dislocations in the housing market and the massive transfer of wealth from the poor and middle classes to the very rich, however, have been direct results of Fed action.
So, it's somewhat funny that the commentator would single out the PPT, though he's probably spot on in his general assessment. The bigger issue would be the almost total control of the equity markets by key players, notably, central banks and large commercial firms, i.e., Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, et. al.
Whatever method was in play today, it certainly worked wonders as stocks levitated after 2:00 pm ET into the close.
At The Close, 5/24/17:
Dow: 21,012.42, +74.51 (0.36%)
NASDAQ: 6,163.02, +24.31 (0.40%)
S&P 500: 2,404.39, +5.97 (0.25%)
NYSE Composite: 11,621.23, +16.61 (0.14%)
People really don't mention the Plunge Protection Team much anymore, ever since the Fed and their central bank cohorts began their financial asset buying spree in 2009. The Fed money-printing machine puts the PPT (otherwise known as the President's Working Group on Financial Markets) to shame.
The Federal Reserve added liquidity to markets by directly intervening through outright asset purchases of mortgage-backed securities and treasury bills and notes. Known as Qualitative Easing (QE), those in the know simply call it "money printing" or "creating money out of thin air." Both are correct, and, despite all the best intents of Keynesian economics, those actions are supposed to create inflation, which has occurred in stocks, housing and elsewhere, but not in the many and varied consumer staples and discretionary items.
Most consumer prices (and incomes) have somewhat stagnated since the Great Financial Crisis of 2008-09, and, with the Fed threatening another rate increase in June, they probably won't be moving soon. The dislocations in the housing market and the massive transfer of wealth from the poor and middle classes to the very rich, however, have been direct results of Fed action.
So, it's somewhat funny that the commentator would single out the PPT, though he's probably spot on in his general assessment. The bigger issue would be the almost total control of the equity markets by key players, notably, central banks and large commercial firms, i.e., Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, et. al.
Whatever method was in play today, it certainly worked wonders as stocks levitated after 2:00 pm ET into the close.
At The Close, 5/24/17:
Dow: 21,012.42, +74.51 (0.36%)
NASDAQ: 6,163.02, +24.31 (0.40%)
S&P 500: 2,404.39, +5.97 (0.25%)
NYSE Composite: 11,621.23, +16.61 (0.14%)
Central Banks Have Schemed Markets To Unforeseen Heights
If you're 16, eight years seems like a long time.
It's different if you're in your 50s or 60s, because you've lived longer, so eight years might be just 1/7th of your lifetime, or 1/8th, or more. When you're 16, eight years is half of your current lifetime.
Eight years (and two+ months) is also the length of the current stock market rally, and whether that seems like a long time or not, it's significant, being that this bull market has run longer and higher than even the most optimistic people might have predicted.
Who knew, when the Dow was in the dumpster, closing at 6,547.05 on March 9, 2009, that the index would continue to rise, without so much as a 15% correction, uninterrupted, to its current level of 20,937.91, more than tripling in value since the Great Financial Crisis?
Even the engineers and planners behind the massive, central bank asset buying spree had no idea where this was heading, though they were fairly certain that their actions would take stocks much higher. And, it is also likely that the new genii at the Fed has no clue either. Global markets have indeed been in uncharted territory since at least March, 2009, but it's getting to the point - just like the current and ongoing spate of fake news - that nobody even cares anymore.
One might look at his or her quarterly or monthly pension portfolio or 401k and see that the money keeps rolling in and not give a second thought as to why. Life is good, one would assume, and retirement will be even better!
It's this kind of naive thinking that has led many a bull market or bullish stock picker to ruin, but, it does really seem different this time, because it truly is. Never before have the central banks from nearly every developed country coordinated in such a manner to produce such an ungodly financial bubble.
Bubbles eventually burst. Big ones make loud noises.
At the Close, 5/23/17:
Dow: 20,937.91, +43.08 (0.21%)
NASDAQ: 6,138.71, +5.09 (0.08%)
S&P 500: 2,398.42, +4.40 (0.18%)
NYSE Composite: 11,604.62, +19.41 (0.17%)
It's different if you're in your 50s or 60s, because you've lived longer, so eight years might be just 1/7th of your lifetime, or 1/8th, or more. When you're 16, eight years is half of your current lifetime.
Eight years (and two+ months) is also the length of the current stock market rally, and whether that seems like a long time or not, it's significant, being that this bull market has run longer and higher than even the most optimistic people might have predicted.
Who knew, when the Dow was in the dumpster, closing at 6,547.05 on March 9, 2009, that the index would continue to rise, without so much as a 15% correction, uninterrupted, to its current level of 20,937.91, more than tripling in value since the Great Financial Crisis?
Even the engineers and planners behind the massive, central bank asset buying spree had no idea where this was heading, though they were fairly certain that their actions would take stocks much higher. And, it is also likely that the new genii at the Fed has no clue either. Global markets have indeed been in uncharted territory since at least March, 2009, but it's getting to the point - just like the current and ongoing spate of fake news - that nobody even cares anymore.
One might look at his or her quarterly or monthly pension portfolio or 401k and see that the money keeps rolling in and not give a second thought as to why. Life is good, one would assume, and retirement will be even better!
It's this kind of naive thinking that has led many a bull market or bullish stock picker to ruin, but, it does really seem different this time, because it truly is. Never before have the central banks from nearly every developed country coordinated in such a manner to produce such an ungodly financial bubble.
Bubbles eventually burst. Big ones make loud noises.
At the Close, 5/23/17:
Dow: 20,937.91, +43.08 (0.21%)
NASDAQ: 6,138.71, +5.09 (0.08%)
S&P 500: 2,398.42, +4.40 (0.18%)
NYSE Composite: 11,604.62, +19.41 (0.17%)
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Markets Continue Boom; Dow Up Third Straight Day
Remember that 372-point drop last week? All gone. Well, almost.
On Tuesday, May 16, the Dow Jone Industrial Average closed at 20,979.75. The following day, the close was 20,606.93.
Ouch.
After three straight days of gains, however, the Dow closed Monday at 20,894.83. So, another 85 points and last week's fallout will be all but forgotten, the band-aid removed, only a small scab remaining.
Don't fight it. Even though you know stocks are overvalued, TINA (There Is No Alternative) says, "Love me."
At The Close, 5/22/17:
Dow: 20,894.83, +89.99 (0.43%)
NASDAQ: 6,133.62, +49.92 (0.82%)
S&P 500: 2,394.02, +12.29 (0.52%)
NYSE Composite: 11,585.21, +42.52 (0.37%)
On Tuesday, May 16, the Dow Jone Industrial Average closed at 20,979.75. The following day, the close was 20,606.93.
Ouch.
After three straight days of gains, however, the Dow closed Monday at 20,894.83. So, another 85 points and last week's fallout will be all but forgotten, the band-aid removed, only a small scab remaining.
Don't fight it. Even though you know stocks are overvalued, TINA (There Is No Alternative) says, "Love me."
At The Close, 5/22/17:
Dow: 20,894.83, +89.99 (0.43%)
NASDAQ: 6,133.62, +49.92 (0.82%)
S&P 500: 2,394.02, +12.29 (0.52%)
NYSE Composite: 11,585.21, +42.52 (0.37%)
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