“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.”
-Cicero, 55 BC ( Courtesy -Hedgeye)
Crazy day. Why did the market cave and then rally through the highs of the day? Unemployment was a confusing number at first glance, even CNBC looked like they had a cobra in their hands as they tried to decipher it, but these are the same people that keep you updated on Apple’s after market action when in fact the stock had been halted for 40 minutes. Anyway, it’s estimated that 660,000 left the workforce last month and a couple of million folks have just stopped looking for work. Let’s face it, it’s a jobless recovery, forget the numbers for now.
Consumer credit was telegraphed at 3PM yesterday and the market rallied. Confused? We don’t have an app for that.
Was the near term bottom put in? They never ring a bell at the bottom or the top, so the answer will come over time. Days or weeks. One thing is certain, the volatility is back, if you’re a trader you are loving it, if your buy and holder, well, just go back to your morning nap or grab another cup of joe.
Europe still weighs heavily on this market, but any good news over the weekend would definitely continue this short squeeze. The XLF broke a level that I have personally been watching since August, but it then rallied like a scalded monkey to the highs of the day. Really amazing.
Remember the credit default swaps on AIG? Toxic IOUS’s right? Well,there has been a 14% rise in credit default swaps,written to insure 54 “governments” since last September. How much leverage is in “those” swaps?
The IMF just did an analysis of the top six developed economies that have to make massive structural changes to their budgets over the next ten years and the U.S was on the list at six.
Was 1045 the near term low or just a vicious technical bounce that often happens in greatly oversold conditions? I think the 1020 level is in the cards, if not lower, in the meantime trade it, stuff is oversold.
Things are never as good or as bad as they seem, in life, or in the market, so patience will pay. Will the World Bank or the IMF step up if Portugal, Spain, Greece (peaked in 400BC), England or Ireland say “no mas”? Or will that even happen in the first place? I actually heard some “experts” say that that Euro may even cease to exist soon. The media is loving this , so do your own due dilly and make up your own mind. You’re not a sissy if you hold cash.
Will everyone lean on JPM ( I love the warrants around $12 or better) now that Dimon got a bigger bonus than Blankfein? LMAO
Enjoy the links and have a great weekend.
I never thought gold was anything but a good paper weight. Paulson choking, but he deserves a mulligan.
Greece is a walk in the park compared to Spain.
Unemployed for more than 26 weeks
CIA spies on corporate world.
You can’t like Brazil if you don’t like China.
Interesting view of Obama’s policy on Iran-Asia Times
How to play Greece.
Paulson on Lehman, at least he didn’t blame Bush.
The $6.3 trillion scam.
Hedgies lose 0.7% in January.
The man who could take down Merkel.
A scoop of double dip.
7 states that are worse off than Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland.
Soda Pop
Hysterical E-Trade baby outtakes.
Blizzard coming east
The city under sin city.
Forget college, send your kids to Hollywood.
Godfather runs the gang out of prison from Facebook.
The fat lady sings for Olberman
Scarborough on Olberman.
Early draft of the Constitution found in Philly.
The list of Academy nods.
link, I just can’t help myself.
The 10 best business lunch joints in LA
Will Stern replace Cowell?
NBC and Black History month.
Man indicted for .
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