Friday, October 14, 2016

Stocks Pop, Stop, Drop Friday; Week Ends With Losses Across The Board

With the political world in a complete media-induced frenzy, Wall Street took matters in stride eventually giving up ground for the week despite a naked attempt at a rally Friday.

The Dow was up more than 150 points early on Friday morning, but euphoria turned to skepticism as the session wore on, with all the indices slipping back toward what ended up being marginal gains.

Despite the weak action, there was the usual last-half-hour bid, which boosted the the Dow, for a while, to something of a more respectable level. The action was likely a function of short-covering, considering that there may still be short players in the mix, despite eight years of continuous gains without so much as a 15% correction. Such is the level of fraud involved in indices and trading after a full century of Fed interventions, trickery, thievery and mostly, inflation.

Still, at the end of the day, all the averages closed near the low points of their respective sessions, an ominous sign when one considers that the status quo seems to have everything under control in the political, social, and financial arenas, if, what one means by "under control" is $20 trillion of non-payable debt.

Investing used to be fun. Nowadays, it's just painful, whether one is merely watching or participating.

The NASDAQ took the biggest spill of the week, down nearly 1 1/2 percent. Oddly enough, the NASDAQ and S&P both ended the day higher, but each by less than one point. Weird.

Friday's Fumble:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,138.38, +39.44 (0.22%)

NASDAQ
5,214.16, +0.83 (0.02%)

S&P 500
2,132.98, +0.43 (0.02%)

NYSE Composite
10,533.83, +8.90 (0.08%)

For the week ended 10/14/16:
Dow: -102.11 (-0.56%)
S&P 500: -20.76 (-0.96%)
NASDAQ: -78.24 (-1.48%)
NYSE Composite: -91.36 (-0.86%)

Monday, October 10, 2016

Fearless Rick Predicts: Trump To Win In Landslide Victory

Dispensing with the usual market noise and fury, today let’s look at the political spectrum, in particular, the presidential race.

In the aftermath of the leaked Trump video, the further Wikileaks of Hillary Clinton’s speeches to the Wall Street elite, and Sunday night’s debate, a common theme has emerged. The Democrats have, as usual, nothing more than empty rhetoric and the politics of personal destruction.

Republican candidate Trump has been dealt a bag of lies, dirty tricks, one-sided media reportage and bias, inaccurate, dubious polling data, slurs, baits, and typical trash talk, but he has not folded, not has he bent to the pressure in the least.

While Donald Trump may not be the ideal Republican candidate, he is largely better than his Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton, whose over 30 years of public service have yielded no tangible, positive results for the majority of Americans.

Trump is correct in pointing out that the Democrats - for whom the African-American populace slavishly vote for in every election, be it local, state or national in scale - have done nothing to enhance the ling conditions of the black community. The same goes for nearly every other minority. The Democrats are full of promises and negligent on deliverance. It is the same tactic trotted out year after year, in election after election. Democrats preach equality and tolerance, but demonstrate neither.

It’s time for Americans to see through the Democrat party as nothing more than socialism on steroids. Every problem is solved by more policies, more spending, higher taxes, greater regulation. The majority of taxpaying people in this country (and even tax-avoiders) are - or should be - fed up with the dictates and policies promulgated by the left and they should be energized enough to put an end to it next month, when millions will make their voices heard through their votes.

There are no sure things in life, but if ever there was a moment for a complete convulsion in the fabric of American life, it is now. Eight years of Obama’s socialism has led to this moment. Mr. Trump has prevailed over all his Republican rivals, many of whom - as much a part of the elite status quo as the Democrats - have withdrawn their support or never supported the nominee at all.

Hillary Clinton is another empty suit. Donald Trump is a businessman who has had great success and celebrity over the years. The Democrats have tried in vain to denigrate and demonize him precisely because they are afraid of losing the election and increasingly desperate.

If the truth be known, most of the polls are so wickedly biased toward the Democrats (see this story by Sharyl Attkisson for more) they cannot be believed. This race is not even close. More and more people are being swayed by the power of Trump’s persuasion for a greater America, for a return to traditional values, for supporting the constitution, lowering taxes, eliminating regulations and improving the quality of life for the middle class.

There should be no doubt when the buttons are pushed or levers pulled. Donald Trump will win the presidential election in an absolute, stunning landslide on a scale of Ronald Reagan’s victory in 1980.

The only caveat - and it is a serious one - is if the election is rigged and stolen outright by the Democrats or the powers that be. Both sides have done it and there is a very good chance that if Clinton is seen as losing midday on November 8, all bets are off, all votes will be nullified electronically or by other means. It’s a real threat, but, otherwise, Donald Trump will win convincingly.

Monday's Markets:
Dow Jones Industrial Average
18,329.04, +88.55 (0.49%)

NASDAQ
5,328.67, +36.27 (0.69%)

S&P 500
2,163.66, +9.92 (0.46%)

NYSE Composite
10,682.71, +55.79 (0.53%)

Thursday, October 6, 2016

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%)

Monday, October 3, 2016

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%)

Sunday, October 2, 2016

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%)