FEBRUARY 1, 2008: The Nasdaq rallied 1% today and 3.75% for the week on improving volume. Small caps have been the strongest and the S&P 600 is approaching its 50-day moving average (see chart). Yahoo vaulted 48% on take-over talks with Microsoft in its effort to compete with Google. Intuitive Surgical, one of our favorites of the last rally, gapped up 20% in heavy volume on good earnings. Google fell further below its 200-day line in heavy volume after missing their numbers. The street was expecting 70,000 new jobs but non-farm payroll numbers showed 17,000 jobs were lost – a surprise hit. This was the first drop in 4-years. Traders are betting that this weakness forces the Fed to cut interest rates further next month. Stimulus packages, multiple rate cuts, bail-outs, etc. have brought us a “counter-trend” rally but have failed to change the direction of the markets, which is decidedly down. Counter-trend rallies during corrections are by no means a signal to jump back in the markets. Bear market rallies can be sharp to the upside and come back down even faster. It’s best to wait for a ‘follow-through’ day before committing money to the long side of stocks. Don’t forget that the banking system is in serious trouble, the housing sector is in “melt-down” mode and the consumer feeling the pinch of higher inflation and less access to credit. More info at www.goldenticker.com
Jim Rogers tells the Financial Times that “Bernanke has been a disaster.” (video)
JANUARY 29, 2008: The Nasdaq gained 0.3% but volume was light again as traders await tomorrow’s Fed meeting where they are widely expected to cut rates by 1/2%. That would be a 1.25% cut in just a week, the biggest in 25 years. Some are saying that the Fed may have to cut rates below the current 2.5% inflation rate. Durable goods orders came in strong which may lessen the chance of a 1/2 point cut. Nevertheless, the Nasdaq has been rallying lately on falling volume-a sign that this unconfirmed rally could fail. Former leaders like Google, Amazon.com, and Apple are still below their 200-day moving averages-a major sign of weakness. Potash, Monsanto, and Deere have been holding up better than most stocks but are rallying on decreasing or ‘wedging’ volume. Counter-trend rallies during corrections are by no means a signal to jump back in the markets. Bear market rallies can be sharp to the upside and come back down even faster. It’s best to wait for a ‘follow-through’ day before committing money to the long side of stocks. More info at www.goldenticker.com
Paul Krugman warns of housing bubble and financial turmoil in September, 2006.
Rick Santelli has been dead on during this current financial crisis. In this video he
critisises Ben Bernanke’s comments that a lower dollar does not affect prices at home.
This is timeless! Cramer has a full and complete meltdown on CNBC as he begs Ben Bernanke to cut interest rates. Seems like Jim is still carrying lots of baggage from his failed hedge fund.
Why isn’t the Securities and Exchange Commission getting more involved in the whole banking sector writedown situation? Especially since the numbers are likely to get worse, not better? That’s what Jim Cramer, CNBC’s resident stock guru, wants to know.
“It’s all fiction!” he declared during a forceful exchange (see it in full in the accompanying video) on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“How can we have these levels of fiction in financials after Sarbanes-Oxley? How do people get away with this? How do they live with themselves?”
Cramer made his comments while reviewing results from Merrill. But his real consternation surrounded the insurers who cover banking investments. Some of those insurers haven’t come clean about their liabilities, Cramer speculated. Eventually they will, and then the “fiction” will disappear, he said.
The banking sector and its related industries are all too chummy, Cramer accused. That led the numbers related to mortgage investments — investments that are currently souring — to break from reality.
“I think the financial guys all belong to the same club and they got to protect each other,” he said.
Worse, those executives behind the current credit crunch are unlikely to get any punishment for their mistakes and disingenuousness about their numbers, Cramer opined.
“I’m fed up with it. The American people should be fed up with it. And the SEC should be fed up with it,” Cramer said.
According to David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, we are technically bankrupt and facing a financial “tsunami.” This is scary stuff folks.
It’s great to see predictions a year later and see who got it right. Peter Schiff once again calls it right and “the most smartest investor” Ben Stein gets it wrong again.
The Inevitable Collapse of the US Dollar – A “must see” video.
January 23, 2008Peter Schiff has been a voice of reason for many years and now many of his dire predictions are materializing.
Tags:Alan Greenspan, ben bernanke, collapse, defecit, dollar collapse, financial crisis, gold, housing, hyper inflation, inflation, Peter Schiff, real estate, stock market, subprime crisis, video
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