FEBRUARY 5, 2008: Recession fears gripped the markets today and sent the Nasdaq down 73pts or 3.1% in heavy volume. In the past 2 days most of the gains from last weeks historic run have been wiped out. This is the nature of corrections and bear markets as the bulls still hold on to hopes of higher prices. The Institute for Supply Management’s service-sector index dived below 50 in January, falling well short of estimates. This is the biggest drop in the history of the index which began in 1997. The service sector makes up to 80% of the American economy and this kind of weakness could be foretelling our GDP going negative for the first time in 6 years. Merrill Lynch annalists are saying there is now a big chance of an inter-meeting rate cut, but will it help? Stimulus packages, multiple rate cuts, bail-outs, etc. may 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
“Our Country Is Technically Bankrupt”- Glenn Beck ( A must see video)
FEBRUARY 4, 2008: The Nasdaq fell 1.3% on light post super-bowl volume. The move down was led by last week’s leaders like financials and retail. Google fell another $20 today and closed below $500 for the first time in 6 months. 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
HOW TO GET RICH THE DONALD TRUMP WAY (Frank TV) Funny!
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)
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.
The late-great Milton Friedman discusses greed and capitalism with Phil Donahue.
JANUARY 23, 2008: After a brisk morning sell-off the indexes rallied strongly reversing earlier losses.The Nasdaq was up 1.1% and erased a 3% loss, the Dow rallied 2.1% after a huge 600pt intra-day swing. Financials, Building, and Transport stocks led the way up. Apple was hit hard today and was down over 20% intra-day before recovering some of its losses. News that bond insurers MBIA and AMBAC may get some help appeared to stoke the markets. Today’s strong rally had the feel of ’short covering’ and is 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
JANUARY 22, 2008: The Nasdaq officially ventured into ‘Bear Market’ territory today when it was down over 20% from it’s October 31st peak. It closed down 2% today after being down as much as 5.1%. Mining, Medical, and Metals stocks were weakest today. Stocks were in trouble as Hong Kong lost 8.6%, Shanghai dropped 7.2%, and the Nikkei swooned 5.6% yesterday. Fearing a ‘free fall’ this morning, the Fed dropped it’s funds rate by 3/4%, the most since 1984. This was also the first inter-meeting cut since 9/11. After the bell Apple missed revenues numbers and was trading down in the mid $130’s in after-hours trading.
For awhile I thought Monsanto and other fertilizer stocks would avoid this steep market correction, but this week they were all taken out to the “woodshed.” As with all bear markets, they eventually take everything down with them.
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.
Peter Schiff explains that the Dow has been in a “bear market” since 2000 and has lost ground based in Euros, Swiss Francs, and most other currencies including gold. Your purchasing power is being slowly lost.
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
Posted in Alan Greenspan, Bernanke, CNBC, Market Commentary, Peter Schiff, Ron Paul, bear market, china, dollar collapse, federal reserve, financial crisis, gold, housing collpase, hyper inflation, inflation, interest rates, investing, mortgage meltdown, stock market, stocks, subprime, video | Leave a Comment »