-- Posted Thursday, 15 September 2011 | | Disqus
Rick’s Picks
Thursday, September 15, 2011
“Phenomenally accurate forecasts”
The Dow was up nearly 300 points at its highs yesterday, savaging bears who may have gloated over last week’s equally impressive decline. These short-squeeze rallies are usually catalyzed by economic headlines, and it doesn’t seem to matter whether the news is good or bad, since the markets have a mind of their own and can sometimes surge on the gloomiest data. U.S. markets actually seem to thrive on bad news as long as it does not emanate from Europe. But it is probably just force of habit that causes shares to rise at such times, since, for nearly a decade, ostensibly bearish stories came to be associated with a likelihood of further easing by the Fed. Easing is of course no longer possible with administered rates already at zero, but any news that might help us cling to the notion that things can’t get much worse is arguably a plus for stocks.
So what were the day’s headlines? The top stories could not have been much gloomier. For starters, we learned that the inflation-adjusted income of male workers has not increased since 1978. Nor have households fared so well in more recent years despite Keynesian and monetary stimulus amounting to many trillions of dollars. Even with all of those digital bucks flooding the financial system, however, the income of the typical American family appears to have dropped for a third straight year and is currently at 1996 levels after adjusting for inflation. A report on this in the Wall Street Journal noted delicately that the statistics showed “how devastating the recession was [our emphasis], and how disappointing the recovery has been.”
Rodney Dangerfield
That’s putting it mildly – not to mention, in a way that denies what we all know – i.e., that The Great Recession never left us…has been with us since the Great Financial Collapse of 2008-09. Statistically speaking, our 1930s-style wallow has been the Rodney Dangerfield of hard times, failing not only to get respect from the press, the Federal government and its statisticians, but mere acknowledgment. To the credit of the mainstream media, however, they have ceased to seize upon such rallies as yesterday’s as evidence of anything more than a random walk run temporarily amok. That’s progress of a sort, we suppose, although we’re not going to hold our breath waiting for the New York Times and their ilk to give us a market wrap-up that explains just how Fibonacci levels work.
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Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indication of future results, so let the buyer beware. There is a substantial risk of loss in futures and option trading, and even experts can, and sometimes do, lose their proverbial shirts. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers’ initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2011, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com
-- Posted Thursday, 15 September 2011 | Digg This Article
| Source: GoldSeek.com
