Saturday, January 28, 2012

LIVING IN A QE WORLD

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/01/living-in-a-qe-world/  MUST READ!

D

IF IT QUACKS LIKE A DUCK

" And forgive me one last time for thinking that the invincible hand of the Federal Reserve – along with unfathomable global central bank liquidity creation – further bolsters boom and bust dynamics and heightens the risk of further rounds of global de-leveraging and de-risking. If it looks like a Bubble, smells like a Bubble…"

http://prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10625

The announcement by the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates at the lowest levels since the Great Depression, basically at 0% to Banks, keeps the "risk on" trade flowing. Did anyone notice the subsequent thrashing the US $ got this week? falling to neat 78.00 from above 80.00 in the index....and GOLD caught a bid back above $1,700 an ounce! who said the gold bull was dead?

2.8 US GDP would have been higher had not State and Local governments not tightened their belts. Locally here in MD some of the Defense Contracting firms have been laying off workers....The budget for Defence spending for 2012 is somewhere near $600B, larger than all countries in the world combined....what cutback?

Local State Govt's work on passing new measures to TAX MORE, so they can bridge their budget deficit gaps, the US GOVT does not have to worry about such things.....I mean we're not Greece for goodness sakes. (see how my language has moderated? WTF????) The cool thing is, the US has the world's reserve currency, and that's our trump card......ramp up the printing...deficits don't matter.

Now, as I go around in my daily meanderings, I talked to a service tech writer at a local Toyota dealership and she hasn't had a wage increase in 3 years. Our Govenor is forced to RAISE TAXES to cover the state deficits...one will be the gas tax..oh boy, that certainly hits the rich in the mouth....not

More states want to tax internet sales, in 1992 the US SUpreme COurt upheld states cannot tax companies that do not have physical pressence in the state they do business...here come the lawsuits.

Hey did you hear Obama wants to go more green? Create more jobs in alternative energy? wasn't that a campaign promise 3 years ago? That's what ALL politicians are good at, promising stuff.....

Finally Obama made a stand and made public the fact that it isn't fair for politicians to trade on INSIDER INFO....I'd sign a bill on my desk today....did he get one?

Dem's suck, Repub's suck, and no one is voting Ron Paul in....how's that "AUDIT THE FED" GOING?

WHat's an avg investor to do? Can't get ANY return on safe savings, about only thing left is the stock market of which they still seem to shun in droves.

D

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Housing data points to slowdown in sales

Housing data points to slowdown in sales

"By Lucia Mutikani
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Signed contracts for the sale of existing U.S. homes retreated from a 1-1/2-year high in December and demand for home loans fell last week, pointing to a moderation in home sales after recent hefty gains."

BUT.....isn't it great news that the FED will keep rates at 0% for another 2 years....as it is working SO well.

D

Saturday, January 21, 2012

WEEKLY TRIANGLE

Can't compare to 2008 top anymore, so it will be interesting to see
if the top from 2007 and 2011 (red dashed) offer any resistance in the coming week.

D

WEEKEND POST "WHAT PRICE MANIPULATION?"

ALL this liquidity.....should be IGNITING world growth  and fuel rampant inflation in a perfect world, but my guess is DEFLATION is sucking it up, leaving slow to modest growth at best.


WHAT will be the price for 3 years of 0% rates? and counting?  Ron Paul the sole political voice of reason.....pay the piper, stop manipulating, then move on...never happen.... booms and bubble bursts continue. 3 years into the bubble cycle....I stand aside!

HEY but the market is moving higher......get on board the GRAVY TRAIN??!!!!  Underneath the move is weak demand, tepid volume and laser like stock selection.....not BROAD BASED, NOT BACKED BY IMPRESSIVE VOLUME.

You can print NEW MONEY to take the place of the old money, gold should be at $5,000 an ounce not $1,600 but it was $300 when this mess began in 2001.

OFFICIAL unemployment still near 8.5% 3 years into "recovery", things just don't add up for me. 3 years into "recovery" FED keeps rates at 0%, savers get zilch, investors little choice but equity risk markets and yet......the low volume and partial participation continue.....have the gamesmanship and 2 bear markets caused a large group to exit and not return?

HFT makes up 50% or more of daily volume, in the old days a vote for a company used to be an individual share bought, now computer programs seek out little divergences and trade for pennies of a move....not what you would call commitment.....10 year bonds yield slightly north or south of 2%.....who can live on that?
Dem's want to give it away, tax it away, Repub's want to protect their bourgeoisie constituency and won't allow any discussion of taxing the ULTRA WEALTHY more than current rate.

CEO'S use to make 7-10 X the avg worker.....now it's 1,000's X more......every share you buy then puts the money into the pockets of the insiders with MILLIONS of shares VERY HAPPY to cash their 0 COST paper shares for your hard earned capital.

Politicians can PROFIT from INSIDER INFO, but they will out YOU in jail for same.......apathy.....no one in any party offers any real difference, choice or new ideas.

Where does all this lead us to?

D

"THOUGHTS ON THE CRISIS OF CAPITALISM"

" And the rules of the game have become dangerously clear: policymakers will do any and everything to sustain a global Credit system some years ago exposed as dysfunctional and a risk to Capitalism. Governments are conspicuously against the bearing of consequences, and market participants are being heavily incentivized to play it that way."

http://prudentbear.com/index.php/creditbubblebulletinview?art_id=10623

Thursday, January 19, 2012

CLAIMS

"NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Initial jobless claims fell to their lowest level in nearly four years, another sign of improvement in the long-suffering labor market.
The Labor Department reported that 352,000 people filed for initial unemployment benefits last week, down sharply from a revised reading of 402,000 claims in the previous week. It is also the fewest number of people filing for jobless claims since the week ending April 19, 2008."

ARE THERE MORE JOBS? OR after nearly 3 years of a MUTED recovery fueled mostly by LOW interest rates, have many just stopped looking and other dropped off the roles of the counted as 2 years of benefits run out? LIES, STATISTICS, AND DAMNED LIES

Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Hits New Record Low

AP
The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell again this week to a record low 3.88%, but the eighth record low in a year is attracting few takers because most who can afford to buy or refinance have already done so. More »Rate on 30-Year Mortgage Hits New Record Low

D

Friday, January 13, 2012

THOUGHT THIS WAS OLD NEWS?

As Debt Talks Stumble, Greece Warns of Disaster

Reuters
Talks between Greece and its creditor banks aimed at avoiding a disorderly default broke down on Friday, with Greeks warning of disastrous results if a bond swap deal is not reached soon.

**Buyer of the markets beware.

D

Saturday, January 07, 2012

PRESIDENT OBAMA, BRING OUR BOYS HOME!

Pentagon: IED killed 3 airmen in Afghanistan


Staff report
Posted : Saturday Jan 7, 2012 8:52:30 EST

The Defense Department on Saturday formally announced the deaths earlier this week of three airmen in Afghanistan, saying they were killed in an improvised explosive device explosion.
The airmen died Thursday in Shir ghazi district, Helmand province, when their vehicle was struck by an IED, the Defense Department said.
The fallen airmen are:
• Senior Airman Bryan R. Bell, 23, of Erie, Pa. Bell was assigned to the 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron, Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Previous reports state Bell enlisted in 2006 and had been in Afghanistan for two months.
• Tech. Sgt. Matthew S. Schwartz, 34, of Traverse City, Mich. Schwartz was assigned to the 90th Civil Engineer Squadron, F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo.
• Airman 1st Class Matthew R. Seidler, 24, of Westminster, Md. Seidler was assigned to the 21st Civil Engineer Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo.

Matthew was the 24 yr old son of one of my closest friends, now they get to bury their son, 7 weeks into his tour and the loss cannot be explained.

I can tell you this, not a single person in Gov't office has a child there.

D

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

SMOKE AND MIRRORS WORLD

What is REAL anymore? we live in a world so manipulated, so controlled.......nature has a way of evening things out.....THEY WILL keep the game going as long as they can and its creating an EBOLI FINANCIAL STORM CRISIS down the road.....what knucklehead politician is going to square it all out?


All we can do is try to make SOME sense of it all, and pass it on. We are DEAD IN THE MIDST OF A NEW BEAR MARKET IMHO, and that means a BIG haircut in stock prices is in the cards.

With 0% rates, under 2% for 10 years....in the face of RECORD DEBT ISSUANCE....where do you go and they have gone stock raving mad!

D