Sobering Stat: ARMS Index Indicates Market Is at Peak, Not Bottom [View article]
The volume is not you and me buying 100 or a 1000 shares but computer trading against computer. Only they can command such volumes. And they might be in and out of some issues several times a day, exaggerating volume even more. The author is right when he says he's not exactly sure what to make of this.
Are we beginning to witness the demise of TRIN and other technical indicators that many analysts have relied on?
Steve Pluvia is right of course. The purpose of this article was not to get the facts out (the were few and not very useful from an investment perspective) but to give the appearance knowledge and reason to fish for prospects for his newsletter. Elliot Gue has no more insight than any other investment guy, including the one who gave the latest worst case estimate for BP's cost at $560 Billion!!! If it goes anywhere near that estimate, we can be assured that there will be dramatic changes in everything related to offshore drilling because risks of that magnitude exist in hundreds of places all over the world. This will domino across the industry and around the world. Undoubtedly it will have an impact on oil prices. Sorry apologists, but fixing messes caused by negligence and stupidity is a valid cost of doing business. Unfortunately, the more responsible companies will also pay a price.
The debate about whether or not raising taxes on the rich would increase government revenue, is "beside the point," writes John Carney on CNBC. The real reason to hike taxes is to fight inflation, but if and when it exists, the measure possibly wouldn't cure that problem either. "The proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy just don’t add up," Carney writes. [View news story]
In another idyllic community they believe, 'from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.' That didn't work either. Taxation should not be inverted to favor the wealthy as it is now. Remember, the biggest tax that people near the bottom of the wage scale pay is FICA so their total tax is FIT + 6.35%. Many wealthy don't pay FICA becaue they don't earn wages. Steve Jobs pay was $1 per year, Romney probably doesn't earn wages. Fica taxes should be extended to all forms of income, and a flat income tax without deductions should be established. This would end the favoritism that people wealthy enough to hire good accountants and lawyers receive.
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
Re: AIG lawyer quits - aren't these the people that screwed everthing up? Let 'em go, hopefully to a smaller company that won't mean as much when it fails. There are good people who will rise to the occasion at AIG. We need prudent business people in financial companies not Las Vegas high rollers (and their attorneys). Good bye, good luck, good riddence! It really is a shame you got to rob the taxpayers one more time. How about donating a million or so to your local food bank. It's tax deductible.
The Next American Revolution: Main Street vs. Wall Street [View article]
Bonuses began life as 'performance bonuses' and were given only to those who demonstrated exceptional performance compared to challenging objectives. Of late, they have become entitlements in the financial industry to the tune that after a year when the financial industry drove the entire world to the brink of a depression, the average wall street bonus is DOUBLE the median family income! Pay to retain these 'most capable', 'brightest', 'best performing' people? Sorry, they should all be fired for the poor performance they contributed to! And they should give back prior year bonuses! Personally, I'm getting burned twice - I took big stock losses from several of these firms and now I have to give them tax money! OK - if they take tax money, they work for the government and should be put on the civil service pay scale.
Plan C. Acknowledging there is no time to craft a "grand bargain" before year end, the President urges Congress to pass a stopgap measure, saying he'll immediately sign a bill allowing unemployment benefits to continue and preventing tax hikes on those with income under $250K/year. [View news story]
It seems the republicans have voted to increase EVERYONE'S taxes. Now they should vote to reduce most peoples' taxes, as the president requests. Or do they simply want to sabotage the economy?
The debate about whether or not raising taxes on the rich would increase government revenue, is "beside the point," writes John Carney on CNBC. The real reason to hike taxes is to fight inflation, but if and when it exists, the measure possibly wouldn't cure that problem either. "The proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy just don’t add up," Carney writes. [View news story]
I never thought of it that way. We should then also lower the sales tax % for the wealthy since they buy so much more than others and therefore pay a larger total sales tax. We should also lower their property tax % since they pay so much more on their big houses. Also state income %'s could be reduced for the wealthy.
If everyone paid the same amount, there would be no taxes at all and we would be living in a place like central New Guinea. If you don't accept the flat % tax, the alternative is indexation and then the decision is how much indexation.
People can debate the 'fairness' of every tax that exists depending on their special interests - own a home, have a mortgage, use your car for work, earn dividends, capital gains, oil depletion allowance, install energy efficent appliances, lease a 'truck' (i.e., SUV) for your 'small business' (i.e., doctor, lawyer, dentist, accountant, entrepreneur, . . . and no, the wife doesn't use it to take the kids to soccer). So, of course, what we have is an unintelligible tax code that neither accountants nor the IRS can figure out correctly.
Actually, Cain was onto something with his 9-9-9 idea, although the numbers need some work. There are 3 things that can be taxed - what you earn, what you own, and what you buy. A fair taxation system should consider a balance of the three - at the federal, state and local levels.
More Americans now work for the government than in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities - combined. Stephen Moore: "We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers." [View news story]
I don't consider teachers, police, firefighters, sanitation workers, and armed forces personnel (the vast majority of government workers) to be 'takers' rather than 'makers'. This is typical Rupert Murdock (owner of the WSJ) propaganda bs.
President Obama is pushing yet another stimulus for the moribund economy, but the stock market has nevertheless performed pretty well in his nearly 600 days in office. The Dow's 26% gain so far ranks him fifth all-time among first-term presidencies. [View news story]
Dear Stoploss - Bush more than doubled the debt level from $5.6 to $12 trillion. By comparison, Obama is a piker going from $12 to $13.5 so far.
Incidentally, Reagan also doubled it from $1.8 to $3.8 trillion, papa Bush took it from $3.8 to $5 in one term, Clinton only went from $5 to $5.6 (in 8 years). If you look back even further, you'll find that Carter had no change in the debt level while Nixon also was a doubler.
Over 40 years of history, it's the republican administrations who have increased debt levels dramatically and yet the rhetoric puts the blame on democrats. At any rate, this is often a false issue as there are times when debt is necessary, as in the early Reagan years and early Bush 2 years and, also, in the early Obama years.
Thursday Outlook: Commodities, Global Markets [View article]
I'll dispute your reference to "crummy news". You obviously don't watch CNBC where the financial news is always good! My goodness, negative earnings? The company remains in business doesn't it, so their stock is a bargain. Just wait until the e comes back into the p/e, then you'll REALLY see some action.
I do fear that, as you have so aptly suggested many times, that market manipulators through computerized trading are driving this rally to nonsensical heights.
Koo: The Global Slowdown Is Becoming More Pronounced [View article]
"Koo is quick to note that the recovery we’ve seen since the Lehman collapse was primarily a mean reverting recovery that took us back to where we should have been in the first place had there been no Lehman related panic:"
Surely this cannot be. With 20% under/unemployed, roughly half of whom would be contributing to the economy during "mean" times, we are not anywhere near the mean of economic activity that would have occurred had there not been a recession. Choose any metric - GDP$, corporate profits, S&P valuation, P/E, personal income, personal net worth - and project forward to today from September 2008 and this will be obvious. Also its characterization as a "Lehman related panic" seems a bit ill-defined, unless Mr. Koo believes that Richard Fuld caused this whole mess.
Mr. Koo may or may not be correct in his assessment of a global economic slowdown, however his evidence is based on cherry-picked data. If you look only at negative data you will reach a negative conclusion.
This Gold Slam Is A Massive Wealth Transfer From Our Pockets To The Banks [View article]
When gold is on the rise, it's a free market of people looking for a 'safe haven'. When gold corrects, it's a conspiracy by (pick your own) - the fed, banks, Goldman, Obama, India, hedge funds, the political right, liberals, . . . Safe havens are not safe when they crash and other investments become more favorable. Gold is just another commodity like copper and oil. For those who consider it 'money', it is a fiat currency that only has real value as jewelry.
Sobering Stat: ARMS Index Indicates Market Is at Peak, Not Bottom [View article]
Are we beginning to witness the demise of TRIN and other technical indicators that many analysts have relied on?
Straight Talk on the BP Oil Spill [View article]
The debate about whether or not raising taxes on the rich would increase government revenue, is "beside the point," writes John Carney on CNBC. The real reason to hike taxes is to fight inflation, but if and when it exists, the measure possibly wouldn't cure that problem either. "The proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy just don’t add up," Carney writes. [View news story]
Ultra-Low Interest Rates Indicate U.S. Stocks Are Expensive [View article]
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
The Next American Revolution: Main Street vs. Wall Street [View article]
Plan C. Acknowledging there is no time to craft a "grand bargain" before year end, the President urges Congress to pass a stopgap measure, saying he'll immediately sign a bill allowing unemployment benefits to continue and preventing tax hikes on those with income under $250K/year. [View news story]
The debate about whether or not raising taxes on the rich would increase government revenue, is "beside the point," writes John Carney on CNBC. The real reason to hike taxes is to fight inflation, but if and when it exists, the measure possibly wouldn't cure that problem either. "The proposals to raise taxes on the wealthy just don’t add up," Carney writes. [View news story]
If everyone paid the same amount, there would be no taxes at all and we would be living in a place like central New Guinea. If you don't accept the flat % tax, the alternative is indexation and then the decision is how much indexation.
People can debate the 'fairness' of every tax that exists depending on their special interests - own a home, have a mortgage, use your car for work, earn dividends, capital gains, oil depletion allowance, install energy efficent appliances, lease a 'truck' (i.e., SUV) for your 'small business' (i.e., doctor, lawyer, dentist, accountant, entrepreneur, . . . and no, the wife doesn't use it to take the kids to soccer). So, of course, what we have is an unintelligible tax code that neither accountants nor the IRS can figure out correctly.
Actually, Cain was onto something with his 9-9-9 idea, although the numbers need some work. There are 3 things that can be taxed - what you earn, what you own, and what you buy. A fair taxation system should consider a balance of the three - at the federal, state and local levels.
More Americans now work for the government than in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities - combined. Stephen Moore: "We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers." [View news story]
President Obama is pushing yet another stimulus for the moribund economy, but the stock market has nevertheless performed pretty well in his nearly 600 days in office. The Dow's 26% gain so far ranks him fifth all-time among first-term presidencies. [View news story]
Incidentally, Reagan also doubled it from $1.8 to $3.8 trillion, papa Bush took it from $3.8 to $5 in one term, Clinton only went from $5 to $5.6 (in 8 years). If you look back even further, you'll find that Carter had no change in the debt level while Nixon also was a doubler.
Over 40 years of history, it's the republican administrations who have increased debt levels dramatically and yet the rhetoric puts the blame on democrats. At any rate, this is often a false issue as there are times when debt is necessary, as in the early Reagan years and early Bush 2 years and, also, in the early Obama years.
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
Thursday Outlook: Commodities, Global Markets [View article]
I do fear that, as you have so aptly suggested many times, that market manipulators through computerized trading are driving this rally to nonsensical heights.
Koo: The Global Slowdown Is Becoming More Pronounced [View article]
Surely this cannot be. With 20% under/unemployed, roughly half of whom would be contributing to the economy during "mean" times, we are not anywhere near the mean of economic activity that would have occurred had there not been a recession. Choose any metric - GDP$, corporate profits, S&P valuation, P/E, personal income, personal net worth - and project forward to today from September 2008 and this will be obvious. Also its characterization as a "Lehman related panic" seems a bit ill-defined, unless Mr. Koo believes that Richard Fuld caused this whole mess.
Mr. Koo may or may not be correct in his assessment of a global economic slowdown, however his evidence is based on cherry-picked data. If you look only at negative data you will reach a negative conclusion.
The One Economic Chart That Really Matters [View article]
This Gold Slam Is A Massive Wealth Transfer From Our Pockets To The Banks [View article]