Analysis Topic: Stock & Financial Markets
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.Saturday, September 13, 2008
Banana Backed Securities Turning United States into a Banana Republic / Stock-Markets / US Economy
Imagine if you will the US government finally after nearly 50 years opened the vaults of Fort Knox for an inventory of gold by an "External Auditor". There have been claims by the folks of the US Government of audits as recent as one year ago…there are a number of thoughts regarding IF there is in fact any gold present in Fort Knox. This article is not intended to debate the above thought, but to metaphorically "think" what they truly would find within the vaults of Fort Knox. My thoughts are that opening the vault of Fort Knox as above would result in seeing it filled with bananas…quite a contrast to the expected yellow objects "thought" to be contained behind tonnes of steel.Read full article... Read full article...
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Bailout Lemmings Getting Ready to Jump Over the Cliff / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets
Now that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are placed under conservatorship, you would think that the politicians would step away from that mess and let things settle down. Instead, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee members urged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , the mortgage companies placed under federal control this week, to freeze foreclosures on loans in their portfolios for at least 90 days.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, September 12, 2008
Proxy Short Position in S&P 500 Stock Market Index / Stock-Markets / Stocks Bear Market
There are so many crosscurrents in the markets right now that I really don't trust much if any sector on the long side. With that in mind, and in view of the multitude of uncertainties we are faced with, our model portfolio will remain in our proxy short S&P 500 position via the long side of the Short S&P 500 Proshares ETF (AMEX: SH). Let's notice the cluster of critical support represented by the rising 20 and 50 day moving averages, as well as from the September up trendline -- all in the vicinity of 69.00-68.60. Unless that area is violated, we need to maintain a proxy short position.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, September 12, 2008
Insolvent Commercial Banks Seek More Emergency Cash / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
"...Can you say Permanent Liquidity Insurance Facility without crying, yawning or laughing like a drain...?"
So U.S. Treasury Secretary HANK PAULSON – if the source gabbing to Reuters this week wasn't fibbing – remains "adamant" that he won't help fund the fire-sale of Lehman Bros.
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Friday, September 12, 2008
Equity and Commodity Markets Dichotomy of Sanity / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets
One dictionary meaning of the word “dichotomy” is: “Division into two usually contradictory parts or opinions”. Alternatively: “being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses.”
It has been this analyst's experience that truly sane people are those who sometimes display symptoms of what appears to be insanity. One cannot appreciate light unless one has experienced dark. One cannot appreciate happiness unless one has experienced sadness. No one can be truly sane unless he experiences flashes of insanity. It's a question of degree.
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Friday, September 12, 2008
General Motors (GM) Breaks Out / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
We told our subscribers earlier today with General Motors (NYSE: GM )at 11.75 that the pattern -- a spike low followed by a vertical thrust, followed by a 60% pullback that morphs into a rounded secondary base formation -- usually finds a way to take off to the upside. Wow, did GM rocket after that, above its breakout plateau at 11.85/90 to an intraday high so far at 12.82. The bullish pattern remains intact and continues to point to 13.10/20 and then 14.00/20. Only a close below 11.75 will compromise the still bullish outlook.Read full article... Read full article...
Friday, September 12, 2008
Looking for a Stock Market Bottom? Look to Wall Street / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
Wall Street created this mess and they continue to mislead everyone who bothers to listen. But it will be Wall Street that signals a bottom if you know what to look for. Watch for massive downgrades and/or extreme pessimism. This is how the game is played. Remember how the Internet bubble played out? Wall Street surely won't tell you when to get out of the market. But they will tell you when to get back in if you know how to read their actions.Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Stock, Commodities and Currency Futures Markets Analysis / Stock-Markets / Futures Trading
The September NASDAQ 100 posted an inside day with a higher close on Wednesday as it consolidated some of Tuesday's decline but remains below broken support marked by July's low crossing at 1765.25. The low-range close sets the stage for a steady to lower opening on Thursday. Stochastics and the RSI are oversold but remain neutral to bearish signaling that sideways to lower prices are possible near-term. If September extends this week's decline below July's low, March's low crossing at 1693.75 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20-day moving average crossing near 1870.65 are needed to confirm that a short-term low has been posted.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Intraday Double-Bottom in SPY Stock Market Index / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
Although the S&P 500 Depository Receipts (AMEX: SPY) pressed lower than I thought was likely, the secondary low at 122.55 preserved this morning's pre-open LEH low at 122.47. The subsequent rally to 123.94 has left behind an intraday double-bottom that has power to revisit key near-term resistance at 124.00, which if hurdled should trigger continuation to 125.25/50 thereafter.Read full article... Read full article...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Globalist Ultimatum: Pay up or Collapse / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
There's going to be no end of controversy over the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.On September 9, 2008, CNBC's popular financial show “ Squawk Box Europe ” interviewed Jim Rogers (CEO of Rogers Holding) on his view of the government takeover of Fannie and Freddie:
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Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Stock Market Volume and Seasonal Trend Analysis / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
For a good part of the summer, trading volume was exceptionally light on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This was largely influenced by the typical summer vacation season this year. For the better part of July and August, the absence of heavy trading activity coincided with a more or less listless stock market and even a mild interim rally in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Since returning from the summer vacation season, however, institutional traders have taken a good look at the market picture and evidently don't like what they see. This displeasure was manifested in the form of high-volume selling on Thursday, Sept. 4, which saw a upside-to-downside volume ratio on the NYSE of 1:13.
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Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Nouriel Roubini Dead Wrong on Financial Markets Regulation / Stock-Markets / Market Regulation
Before we get to addressing Roubini's blaming of the mess we are in on "free-market laissez-faire" philosophy, let's take a look at calls for Paulson and Bernanke to resign, and one other post on "Socialism For The Rich".Inquiring minds should consider Senator Bunning Says Paulson Acts Like Socialist, Should Resign .
Senator Jim Bunning said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, by rescuing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is acting like China's finance minister and both Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke should step down.
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Tuesday, September 09, 2008
The Bailout Plain Truth and the Silent Economic Depression / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
My 2 cents on the BailoutWithout even looking, I’d be willing to guess that 2 out of 3 articles on most financial blogs are on the bailout of the GSEs. I’m willing to bet it will dominate headlines for months to come. Before I move on to more relevant material, I think Americans need to start asking some critical questions. If they were “too big to fail” as Paulson, Bush, Bernanke and other cronies insist, why were they allowed to operate with exemptions from the SEC Acts of 1933 and 1934? If they were “too big to fail” why didn’t Washington take over the GSEs in 2004 after the accounting fraud was detected. If they were “too big to fail” why were they transformed into shareholder firms with virtually no regulation, no accountability, no transparency and allowed to act irresponsibly? The implied backing by the government made it certain that a bailout was eminent. But doesn’t government backing also come with accountability?
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Tuesday, September 09, 2008
BANKRUPT Banks Wiped Out by Tulip Backed Securities, Is China Cheap? / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
The US governments takeover of the bankrupt Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Sunday is reminiscent of the UK governments nationalization of Northern Rock Bank, albeit the scale of Sundays takeover is of several orders of magnitude larger. Still the result is the same, total loss of capital for the shareholders. I won't repeat the dynamics of what has transpired on Sunday as the volume of similar articles speak for themselves.Read full article... Read full article...
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Fannie and Freddie Just the Beginning of the Derivatives Deleveraging Bailout / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
What a momentous weekend. I was pounding the table about the need to move quickly on Fannie and Freddie in my last few letters, and especially this last letter. And then they did it. There are a lot of details that have yet to come out, and it is likely to be far more expensive the Savings and Loan crisis was for the US taxpayer, but it did get done. Hopefully, we can get some real regulation for part of our costs, as well as get rid of the implicit guarantees by US taxpayers so that something like this never happens again. The fact that it did was the fault of the regulatory environment and Congress. They fired the heads of Fannie and Freddie (with multi-million dollar parting gifts), but sadly, the truly responsible parties will be re-elected to perpetrate yet more frauds.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, September 08, 2008
Paulson Bailout of Freddie, Fannie and PIMCO Translated / Stock-Markets / Government Intervention
Financial Institutions Must Be Allowed To FailPaulson: "Homeowners should not anticipate a government bail-out. Banks should not expect to be bailed-out by government, despite intervention by the Federal Reserve in the near-collapse of Bear Stearns in March."
Translation: Critical banks and GSEs must not be allowed to fail.
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Monday, September 08, 2008
Soaring Unemployment and Falling Asset Prices / Stock-Markets / Financial Markets
The unemployment rate soared to 6.1% in August, the highest rate in almost five years, as the economy took a turn for the worse. The rate has steadily climbed this year from a cycle low of 4.4%. The U.S. Department of Labor reports, “ The unemployment rate rose from 5.7 to 6.1 percent in August, and non- farm payroll employment continued to trend down (-84,000), the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. In August, employment fell in manufacturing and employment services, while mining and health care continued to add jobs. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent, over the month.”Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, September 08, 2008
Bullish Healthy Sign for S&P 500 Stock Market Index / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
A wicked swoon during the second hour of trading in response to a rumor that United Airlines (UAUA) had filed for bankruptcy. That stock plunged from 12 to nearly 3 and took the overall market with it. The S&P 500 Depository Receipts (AMEX: SPY) plunged to 125.49, which represented nearly a 50% pullback (125.32) of the entire upmove from Friday's "Jobless low" at 122.00 to today's "Fannie Mae (FNM) high" at 128.62. Apart from the drama and vicious intraday action, purely from a technical perspective, the SPYs have corrected -- or partially corrected -- the initial upleg off of Friday's high-volume price low at an important support plateau -- and that is a very healthy sign so far.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, September 08, 2008
Financial Markets Make Stunning Reversals Following Fannie and Freddie Takeover / Stock-Markets / Credit Crisis 2008
I went to bed at 4:00 AM. At the time....
- Treasuries were absolutely getting crucified
- The Dollar was sinking vs. the Euro
- Nasdaq Futures were up 40 points
- S&P Futures were up 38 points
- Gold was soaring
Monday, September 08, 2008
Stock Market at Risk of Significant Decline Until the End of October / Stock-Markets / US Stock Markets
Current Position of the Market
Long-term trend - The Dow Jones Industrials may be deviating from their typical decennial pattern in an election year. Important cycles going into the Fall could be the reason for this, but one also has to consider the possibility that the downward pressure from the 120-yr cycle, which is due to make its low in 2012-2014, has begun to take effect and that October 2007 was the top of the bull market. This is not yet confirmed and remains only a possibility.
SPX: Intermediate trend - Last week's action suggests that the intermediate trend correction has not yet run its course.
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