Major US indices had their first negative day of the year on Wednesday, but the losses amounted to nothing more than rounding errors.
Stocks were off early in the day after reports that Japan and China were reducing their purchases of US treasury bonds, but the notion was simply shrugged off by the equity captains as buyers emerged to limit the losses.
Stocks have gain six of the first seven trading days of 2018, a trend that is likely to continue until central banks cease buying stocks outright. This story is getting rather stale, even though most Americans fail to realize that their pensions and 401k profits are being fueled by cash injections from the Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, Swiss National Bank, Bank of England, People's Bank of China, and, the US Federal Reserve.
To believe that the Fed, being the world's most influential central bank, is not engaged in the purchase of stocks - either outright through their trading desk at the NY Fed or through member banks such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and others - is to suspend reality.
Global markets have neither seen nor experienced anything like this unprecedented and outrageous activity by financial sources which create money at will, the ramifications of which are likely to result in a massive, destructive inflationary hyper-spiral.
Here in the US and across the pond in Europe, central bankers openly wring their hands and express concern that inflation is too low, when in fact the worldwide money supply - the lone reliable barometer of excess liquidity - has been increased by trillions of dollars during the post-crisis era which began in March of 2009.
Nearly nine years have passed since the great financial crisis and the excesses have only grown, reaching monstrous proportions. For what other reason would gold and silver be suppressed so virulently other than to eliminate their standing as real money? Why are governments so intent on clamping down on cryptocurrencies? Central banks do not want competition in currencies.
It is clear that the central banks of the world have pulled the global economy into a fully fiat regime, printing money backed by nothing at an unprecedented pace.
Future historians and economists - if there is indeed a future at the end of this madness - will look upon this era as one of rampant money creation by policy-makers whose only aim is to keep the failed economies of developed nations in endless debt.
The idea that the Federal Reserve wishes to "normalize" interest rates is a laughable concept. Doing so would only facilitate the ballooning of debt everywhere, to utterly unplayable levels.
Enjoy the ride.
At the Close, Wednesday, January 10, 2018:
Dow: 25,369.13, -16.67 (-0.07%)
NASDAQ: 7,153.57, -10.01 (-0.14%)
S&P 500: 2,748.23, -3.06 (-0.11%)
NYSE Composite: 13,106.60, -14.24 (-0.11%)
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Central Bank Resolve To Be Tested If China, Japan Break Ranks
In yesterday's post, reference was made to the backstopping of stock markets by the global cartel of central banks and how the aforementioned banks would not allow even the slightest decline on the main US indices.
True to form, Tuesday's trading was a textbook example of the central banking gambit, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 making new all-time records, the NASDAQ and NYSE Composite tagging along.
About to be tested is central bank resolve and unity. Overnight, Japan has apparently decided to cut back on the purchase of long-dated treasury securities, and China has - according to unnamed sources (the preference of manipulators, provocateurs, and liars) - likewise decided to cut purchases of US treasuries by as much as five percent.
Being that Japan and China are he largest holders of US treasuries and at the same time partners in the global central bank ponzi scheme to keep fiat currency floating and stock brokers gloating, these developments - if found out to be the truth - could be inflammatory and possibly devastating to the value of stocks.
With the US markets set to open, futures are forecasting a negative open, though that alone will not ensure anything other than alerting the main buyers of equities - central banks - to be at the bid early and often.
At the Close, Tuesday, January 9, 2018:
Dow: 25,385.80, +102.80 (+0.41%)
NASDAQ: 7,163.58, +6.19 (+0.09%)
S&P 500: 2,751.29, +3.58 (+0.13%)
NYSE Composite: 13,120.84, +6.49 (+0.05%)
True to form, Tuesday's trading was a textbook example of the central banking gambit, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 making new all-time records, the NASDAQ and NYSE Composite tagging along.
About to be tested is central bank resolve and unity. Overnight, Japan has apparently decided to cut back on the purchase of long-dated treasury securities, and China has - according to unnamed sources (the preference of manipulators, provocateurs, and liars) - likewise decided to cut purchases of US treasuries by as much as five percent.
Being that Japan and China are he largest holders of US treasuries and at the same time partners in the global central bank ponzi scheme to keep fiat currency floating and stock brokers gloating, these developments - if found out to be the truth - could be inflammatory and possibly devastating to the value of stocks.
With the US markets set to open, futures are forecasting a negative open, though that alone will not ensure anything other than alerting the main buyers of equities - central banks - to be at the bid early and often.
At the Close, Tuesday, January 9, 2018:
Dow: 25,385.80, +102.80 (+0.41%)
NASDAQ: 7,163.58, +6.19 (+0.09%)
S&P 500: 2,751.29, +3.58 (+0.13%)
NYSE Composite: 13,120.84, +6.49 (+0.05%)
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
If 2017 Was Good, 2018 Should Be Better
Anybody who owns stocks or has a portfolio in a retirement fund, 401k or other equity-style investments is well aware of just how good 2017 was.
All indications are that 2018 will be just as good, and probably better.
There's a number of reasons for this prognosis.
First, it's more than apparent that global stock markets are now completely under the purview of the global elite central banks, and that this central banks are actively buying stocks, boosting the underlying asset prices in the process.
Second, after that, nothing really matters, since central banks can create money out of the ether, at will, any time, for any purpose. Economics has been flipped upon its head. Price discovery has been delegated to a function of the central banks, i.e, they set the prices. No fundamental analysis is needed, nor will it be valid.
Since the goal of central banks is to keep their money ponzi schemes intact via their various currencies - pound, dollar, euro, yen, yuan - and the stock markets are primary vehicles, there exists almost zero chance of stocks losing value over even the short term. A longer-term decline would be unthinkable as it would destroy the fiat money that central banks employ in their quest to continue their global finance monopoly.
Knowing all of that, there's no reason anybody should invest in anything other than stocks, or, for added assurance, an index fund which tracks the Dow, S&P, NASDAQ, or all three, weighted, or otherwise.
Stocks will never go down again, at least not for any extended period of time.
Just Buy The Dips.
At the Close, Monday, January 8, 2018:
Dow: 25,283.00, -12.87 (-0.05%)
NASDAQ: 7,157.39, +20.83 (+0.29%)
S&P 500: 2,747.71, +4.56 (+0.17%)
NYSE Composite: 13,114.35, +11.12 (+0.08%)
All indications are that 2018 will be just as good, and probably better.
There's a number of reasons for this prognosis.
First, it's more than apparent that global stock markets are now completely under the purview of the global elite central banks, and that this central banks are actively buying stocks, boosting the underlying asset prices in the process.
Second, after that, nothing really matters, since central banks can create money out of the ether, at will, any time, for any purpose. Economics has been flipped upon its head. Price discovery has been delegated to a function of the central banks, i.e, they set the prices. No fundamental analysis is needed, nor will it be valid.
Since the goal of central banks is to keep their money ponzi schemes intact via their various currencies - pound, dollar, euro, yen, yuan - and the stock markets are primary vehicles, there exists almost zero chance of stocks losing value over even the short term. A longer-term decline would be unthinkable as it would destroy the fiat money that central banks employ in their quest to continue their global finance monopoly.
Knowing all of that, there's no reason anybody should invest in anything other than stocks, or, for added assurance, an index fund which tracks the Dow, S&P, NASDAQ, or all three, weighted, or otherwise.
Stocks will never go down again, at least not for any extended period of time.
Just Buy The Dips.
At the Close, Monday, January 8, 2018:
Dow: 25,283.00, -12.87 (-0.05%)
NASDAQ: 7,157.39, +20.83 (+0.29%)
S&P 500: 2,747.71, +4.56 (+0.17%)
NYSE Composite: 13,114.35, +11.12 (+0.08%)
Friday, January 5, 2018
Huge Miss on December Non-Farm Payrolls Won't Trigger Sell the News Event
Stocks ripped higher on Thursday on pure hope and fumes, in anticipation of Friday's BLS release of December non-farm payroll data.
As mentioned in yesterday's post, the market has set itself up for a "sell the news" event, having already bought the rumor in the form of an incredible 250,000 December private jobs gain from ADP.
Being a case of which numbers should be trusted, investors will probably accept the BLS, being that it is the "official" number, despite the wild swings, methodology and revisions for which the data set is so famous.
On Friday morning, the BLS announced a gain of a mere 148,000 net new jobs in December, on expectations of 190,000, the lowest print since July 2017. [full release here]
The unemployment rate remained moored at 4.1%, a rather humorous figure, given that the BLS counts part-time jobs and working more than one day a week as a "job."
As of this writing, roughly 15 minutes prior to the market open, stock futures are higher, but well off the levels seen earlier this morning.
The expectation for stocks to sell off throughout the session, given that valuations have been stretched to unsustainable levels, will likely not materialize since prognosis is as much the stuff of smoke and mirrors as the algo-driven market itself.
At the Close, Thursday, January 4, 2018:
Dow: 25,075.13, +152.45 (+0.61%)
NASDAQ: 7,077.91, +12.38 (+0.18%)
S&P 500: 2,723.99, +10.93 (+0.40%)
NYSE Composite: 13,028.46, +71.18 (+0.55%)
As mentioned in yesterday's post, the market has set itself up for a "sell the news" event, having already bought the rumor in the form of an incredible 250,000 December private jobs gain from ADP.
Being a case of which numbers should be trusted, investors will probably accept the BLS, being that it is the "official" number, despite the wild swings, methodology and revisions for which the data set is so famous.
On Friday morning, the BLS announced a gain of a mere 148,000 net new jobs in December, on expectations of 190,000, the lowest print since July 2017. [full release here]
The unemployment rate remained moored at 4.1%, a rather humorous figure, given that the BLS counts part-time jobs and working more than one day a week as a "job."
As of this writing, roughly 15 minutes prior to the market open, stock futures are higher, but well off the levels seen earlier this morning.
The expectation for stocks to sell off throughout the session, given that valuations have been stretched to unsustainable levels, will likely not materialize since prognosis is as much the stuff of smoke and mirrors as the algo-driven market itself.
At the Close, Thursday, January 4, 2018:
Dow: 25,075.13, +152.45 (+0.61%)
NASDAQ: 7,077.91, +12.38 (+0.18%)
S&P 500: 2,723.99, +10.93 (+0.40%)
NYSE Composite: 13,028.46, +71.18 (+0.55%)
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Caution Thrown To (Bitter Cold) Wind, As Investors Ignore Tech and Weather Threats
Across the board gains were the order de jour on the second day of trading in the new year.
As on Tuesday, the NASDAQ outpaced the other major averages, continuing its meteoric rise beyond the 7,000 mark with tech stocks leading the way despite an admission from Intel (INTC) that their chips have a serious flaw, affecting nearly all chips made by the company over the past ten years.
The world's largest chipmaker was not immediately taken to the woodshed and whipped, though shares of the company were down more than three percent and are off another one-and-a-half percent in pre-market trading on Thursday.
Rival chipmaker, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), was the main beneficiary of the Intel news, its stock advancing more than five percent on the day, though it appeared that AMD chips are also vulnerable, though not to the same extent nor by the same exploits as Intel chips.
While the immediate impact may be slim, the long-term repercussions of this revelation may be significant. The world's major chip manufacturers may be facing a black swan event once hackers devise attacks that could legitimately effect computers and servers worldwide, for years.
Traders were not on the defensive, however, as the lure of early gains overwhelmed any concerns for troubles ahead, such as the massive snowstorm and bitter cold that is expected to affect most of the Northeast in days ahead. The storm - being called a Bomb Cyclone - is primarily focused off the Eastern coast of mainland North America, though New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts were making preparations for a major winter weather event which has already bettered Southern cities such as Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA.
The apparent complacency of equity speculators is somewhat confounding, given the potential for severe disruptions from weather and technology in coming days.
On the other end of the asset spectrum, precious metals responded to a slight rise in the dollar index, blunting a strong run for gold and silver over the past three weeks, though the selling seemed to be transitory, with the metals recovering early on Thursday morning as the dollar fell to fresh lows (91.933).
On Thursday morning, prior to the opening bell on Wall Street, ADP private payroll data for December showed a massive 250,000 job gain for the final month of 2017. While the AMD numbers are preliminary and subject to revision, they are sending a strong signal in advance of Friday's BLS non-farm payroll dataset for December.
With caution being thrown largely to the (bitterly cold) wind, Friday and/or Monday could be a day of "selling the news," or, as has been the case for the past nine years, the stock market rally will not be impeded by facts nor insinuations of negativity.
At the Close, Wednesday, January 3, 2018:
Dow: 24,922.68, +98.67 (+0.40%)
NASDAQ: 7,065.53, +58.63 (+0.84%)
S&P 500: 2,713.06, +17.25 (+0.64%)
NYSE Composite: 12,957.28, +54.55 (+0.42%)
As on Tuesday, the NASDAQ outpaced the other major averages, continuing its meteoric rise beyond the 7,000 mark with tech stocks leading the way despite an admission from Intel (INTC) that their chips have a serious flaw, affecting nearly all chips made by the company over the past ten years.
The world's largest chipmaker was not immediately taken to the woodshed and whipped, though shares of the company were down more than three percent and are off another one-and-a-half percent in pre-market trading on Thursday.
Rival chipmaker, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), was the main beneficiary of the Intel news, its stock advancing more than five percent on the day, though it appeared that AMD chips are also vulnerable, though not to the same extent nor by the same exploits as Intel chips.
While the immediate impact may be slim, the long-term repercussions of this revelation may be significant. The world's major chip manufacturers may be facing a black swan event once hackers devise attacks that could legitimately effect computers and servers worldwide, for years.
Traders were not on the defensive, however, as the lure of early gains overwhelmed any concerns for troubles ahead, such as the massive snowstorm and bitter cold that is expected to affect most of the Northeast in days ahead. The storm - being called a Bomb Cyclone - is primarily focused off the Eastern coast of mainland North America, though New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts were making preparations for a major winter weather event which has already bettered Southern cities such as Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA.
The apparent complacency of equity speculators is somewhat confounding, given the potential for severe disruptions from weather and technology in coming days.
On the other end of the asset spectrum, precious metals responded to a slight rise in the dollar index, blunting a strong run for gold and silver over the past three weeks, though the selling seemed to be transitory, with the metals recovering early on Thursday morning as the dollar fell to fresh lows (91.933).
On Thursday morning, prior to the opening bell on Wall Street, ADP private payroll data for December showed a massive 250,000 job gain for the final month of 2017. While the AMD numbers are preliminary and subject to revision, they are sending a strong signal in advance of Friday's BLS non-farm payroll dataset for December.
With caution being thrown largely to the (bitterly cold) wind, Friday and/or Monday could be a day of "selling the news," or, as has been the case for the past nine years, the stock market rally will not be impeded by facts nor insinuations of negativity.
At the Close, Wednesday, January 3, 2018:
Dow: 24,922.68, +98.67 (+0.40%)
NASDAQ: 7,065.53, +58.63 (+0.84%)
S&P 500: 2,713.06, +17.25 (+0.64%)
NYSE Composite: 12,957.28, +54.55 (+0.42%)
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