A Trillion Bytes of Data Friday Hides A Lot of Sins
Last night over 14 months after the Flash Crash, US regulators finally sent subpoenas to HFT firms. In light of that and the games that were played last week, I offer more insights into HFT from my friends at Nanex, which supports what our HeatSeeker saw as the quants had their way with the markets to the detrement of all investor classes:
On Friday, Aug 5, 2011, we processed 1 trillion bytes of data for all U.S. equities, options, futures, and indexes. This is insane. A year ago, when we processed half of that, we thought it was madness. A year before that, when it was 250 billion bytes, we thought the same. There is no new beneficial information in this monstrous pile of data compared to 3 years ago. It is noise, subterfuge, manipulation. The root of all that is wrong with today's markets.
HFT is sucking the life blood out of the markets: liquidity. It is almost comical, because this is what they claim to supply. No one with any sense wants to post a bid or ask, because they know it will only get hit when it's at their disadvantage. Some give in, and join the arms race. Others leave.
Take the electronic S&P 500 futures contract, known as the emini, for example. This is, or used to be, a very liquid market. The cumulative size in the 10 levels in the depth of book was often 20,000 contracts on each side. That means a trader could buy or sell 20,000 contracts "instantly" and only move the market 10 ticks or price levels. Even during the flash crash, before the CME halt, when hot potatoes were flying everywhere, the depth would still accommodate an instant sale of 2,000 contracts.
In summary, HFT algos reduce the value of resting orders and increase the value of how fast orders can be placed and cancelled. This results in the illusion of liquidity. We can't understand why this is allowed to continue, because at the core, it is pure manipulation.
It makes an uncertain market even less appealing to small investors. I hope the SEC puts some sort of timing restraints to bring the market back to a level playing field.
That was a well written , and in my opinion, rather balanced....I`m not sure all the point `I agree with`, but overall pretty good..
As you know, I think Obama is a smart fellow, and certainly a good speaker, but to be fair , the people who are advising him--and he must have gone along with--have had poor advice....Not to have put the economy first, as we all discussed a really long time ago , was a brutal error..and now not to just stepped to the forefront, and `be a leader` leaves me wondering ..and disappointed ..
I have to see what the choice is vs Obama before I formulate an opinion, but what I hope for is that he learns from his past blunders and steps up to the plate, and turns this country around.....
These monster market swings are a poor situation for us --smaller guys--and it comes from the changing of the rules a few years ago by the villains of Wall Street....Apple is acting nicely, and I am happy for those that own it....Unfortunately that might change in a moment`s notice.....Later Tony
Well, by this time it must be perfectly clear to Obama that he has been on the wrong course and that some drastic changes have to be made.
It will be interesting to see if he is up to the task or if he is so tied to his ideology that he just keeps digging his own grave along with all of ours. His future actions will tell us if he is truly well intentioned or not.
There won't be any way he can blame his future actions on Bush.
He won`t have to blame anyone or anything, if he `steps` up....and things work out for us all, and not just the banks and brokerages masquerading as banks..
The SEC is a wonder doing nothing about these outrages....and still not re-instating the up tick rule....Who cares if a hedge fund can`t short stuff to their liking to counteract their long positions...? It`s hard to believe the SEC just goes on and on ignoring the obvious, until it is too late...If Obama is to lead he could start right there --and lead-- Tony PS I was sorry to see about the head of Goldman loosing so much money---I guess alot of us have already experienced that feeling---but two wrongs don`t make a `right`
The SEC was created by stock market shysters to stop stock market manipulation. Joe Kennedy was the first head of the SEC. Now is seems the SEC could care less or are totally in bed with the shysters, screwing over the masses, which would be US.
That`s exactly right, and it worked for a very long time....I truly believe that the market will have a much smaller following if this keeps up for any additional length of time.....I always knew it would end eventually ---as this is the last bastion of the free enterprise system---but I thought it would be through `over regulation`, not a lack of regulation....Tony
Awesome day today! But, we are on an elevator that goes to the top floors and then to the basement and then back to the top floors and then down to the basement again.
The problem here is that we need to know where the basement really is. The top floors can always go higher, but the basement must be known and identified.
I think the market is building a bottom, and I expect the market to dive again, maybe more than once, but it is a good thing in the end.
I made some great gains today, as I am sure all of you did as well, but then (once again) I sold almost everything in the last minutes, and then finished selling the final shares in the after-market hours.
I think tomorrow may prove to be a little more challenging than today. We'll see.
I think the short selling ban is good at this time. A lot of these short sellers are blood suckers.
On another item, please correct me if I'm wrong. I believe this consumer sentiment number is a bunch of bs. This number is NOT an indicator of the future but it's an indicator of the past/present. This University of Michigan Consumer sentiment number was very bearish. Dahhh! What did they expect? The average consumer has been constantly bombarded with doom and gloom news the past month or so. What is the average consumer suppose to think? In my opinion, the average consumer, as I have often stated, will spend what is in his pocket as suggested by a fairly decent retail sales number this morning. The fact that gas/energy market has sold off substantially, can only enhance the average Joe Blow's spending power.
I would describe this market as bi-polar. My current mix of stocks has actually been fairly stable over the last couple of days, so I am making few changes.
On your rec, I sold my SLV pre market on Thur. and got out with a small gain.
One of the rites of passage in rural life comes when parents decide a child is old enough to help out by driving the tractor. If the Obama administration has its way that will be a thing of the past. The Federal government now proposes to require that motorized farm equipment carry DOT id numbers and that all users have a commercial drivers license. Most of these vehicle never travel on public roads unless it is a short trip to another field or a neighbor's farm.
The proposed rule change would mean that anyone who drives a tractor or operates any piece of motorized farming equipment would be required to pass the same tests and complete the same detailed forms and logs required of semi-tractor trailer drivers.
Drivers would keep logs of information including hours worked and miles traveled. Vehicles would be required to display DOT numbers. A CDL in Virginia costs $64 for eight years, or $8 per year, not including the cost of an instructional class and the written test.
If the DOT reclassifies farm vehicles and implements as commercial vehicles, the federal government will have regulatory control over the nation's farm workers, estimated at over 800,000, by requiring them to have commercial drivers licenses.
Sounds more like a tax on Tractors to me. How are they going to find the 10s of 1000s of old John Deere "A" and "B" parked in sheds. Only used to pull a wagon load of hay etc? Maybe Obama wants to create more jobs in the DOT. Send out Swat teams to search every barn for tractors. Then break down doors like they do when you don't pay your student loan.
They are not saying. There are so many idiots in our government that I am never shocked anymore. Obama has put out of 3000 executive orders. Many have destroyed jobs. It looks like the uproar got a response from the DOT.
Agency backs away from farmers' driver's license
Associated Press
3:10 a.m. CDT, August 12, 2011 MADISON, Wis.— Wisconsin farmers are happy the U.S. Department of Transportation is backing away from its plan to reclassify agricultural machinery as commercial vehicles.
The move would have required farmers to have a commercial driver's license to operate tractors on public roads. Farmers would have to log their mileage and get a medical card that shows they're fit to drive.
State Agriculture Secretary Ben Brancel says it wasn't clear how the new regulation would have increased public safety.
The Journal Sentinel says the DOT backed off after hearing from 21 senators and receiving 1,700 comments.
U.S. Consumer Confidence Drops to Three-Decade Low Amid Economic Headwinds
Confidence among U.S. consumers plunged in August to the lowest level since May 1980, adding to concern that weak employment gains and volatility in the stock market will prompt households to retrench.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment slumped to 54.9 from 63.7 the prior month. The gauge was projected to decline to 62, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.
Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson, the biggest U.S. meat producer, said it will lose money in the chicken business this quarter as a weak economy eroded demand.
If people are not eating chicken, what are they eating, Top Ramen? Maybe that is the stock to look into. :sick:
There are so many things that d'ont make sense right now. Macy's and Nordstrom's both had better than expected earnings and raised guidance in the face of all this bleak media news re sovereuign debt and consumer confidence. Macy's to me is a better barometer than any consumer confidence poll. Stocks look so compelling based on earnings, guidance, strong Balance Sheets, low multiples on average and such low interest rates. I think the media is really overstating the double dip possibility as well. I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on one of Cramer's favorites - EOG. Anyone have it?
Perhaps there should be a "chicken" index. So, when investors chicken-out on the stock market, we can expect a concurrent decline in the chicken business.
BTW... Right after I posted my recommendation to cut back on gold, it has declined 5.5% for the week. Long-term, however, I am not as concerned about gold.
You do have to wonder about some of these surveys and polls. I know we went out to eat a week ago Friday night. First time in years as we know how crowded it can get. We went first to Viejas Casino they have all the crab you can eat, two for $9.95. They have a huge parking lot. At 5 PM we drove around for 15 minutes and not a single empty space. Decided to go into our little town and every eating place parking lot was full to overflowing. Finally went back home and had a nice salad. The malls are full most of the time as well.
Yet we know the unemployment is far worse than we are being told. Profits are up for corporations like AAPL as a result of off shore cheap labor costs. If you have a job or a good retirement, things are wonderful. If not they can be devastating. I would say many of those surveyed are voicing what they see in the lives of those not doing so well. Even though they may be doing great themselves.
What I don't understand about the precious metals market, is why silver has not kept up. The general rule of thumb is gold is 16 times the price of silver. That would put silver up around $109 with gold at the current $1746 per oz. Silver hit $48 when gold topped $1500. Then silver slid back into the $38 range. I guess it is like the stock market anyone's guess.
There is also the school of thought that gold should be 50 times silver. That would put gold at about $1950. As long as my gold continues to offset my stock losses I feel somewhat balanced in my portfolio. Though trying to play the game as you do, has me intrigued. After all it is only my heirs that can lose. :shades:
Three great stories in todays New York Times. The first one is a must read from the 1937-38 period that's somewhat of a precedent to today and take note of the last line of the article. The second and third ones sum up the past week.
There are so many things that d'ont make sense right now. You're right on the money. I received another robust RE sales report out out the Sarasota area. St Pete Beach condo asking prices are inching back up based on my own research. I definitely think the stock markets are being manipulated big time either by the supercomputers or by 'them' or both.
The things I read and the people I believe in , in the Miami area, are really exuberant in regards to real estate....It may not hold, but right now it is strong....Miami does have a very varied group of people from all over the world, and right now the Brazilians are the stronger buyers...
I just read an article about how the prices are going to decline next year in Miami...It just doesn`t make sense ..so I believe the `man on the street`
I personally think `we` are overburdened with too many sources of repetitious news...It`s wrong, therefore we don`t understand it.....Believe the reported numbers from reputable companies.. like Jflix mentioned.....A better indicator... Tony
I finally read all three. Interesting takes. I think the line that best sums up my attitude about the market is this one:
“Talk to me in 6 to 12 months.”
I did not get out in 2008 and made it back to just about the peak of October 2007 this Spring. My IRA went down about 60% that time around. Buying Ford at the bottom gave me back most of the losses from 2008. Still well ahead of when I retired.
Our personal account did better with my wife's financial planner. So hopefully I won't blow it now that we have it in a Scottrade account. It is heavy in a Putnam Bond fund PDINX and so far we have only gone down 4% overall.
Finding A Way to Make Money from Obama's Lousy Economic Policy
A bowling alley in Clearwater, Florida, Bowl-O-Bama, is doing record business despite a bad economy. The alley also reports a record number of 300 games. Since opening in November 2010, 963 patrons have bowled a perfect game, including strikes in the warm-up frames. This alley also has the highest bowling league average in the country, with a 237. And that’s the senior league.
disclaimer: Probably fake but a clever idea nonetheless. here are other possible money makers at least until November 2012.
Well, looks like he will start his campaign from a huge hole...moral: when you have to blame it on the last guy for 3 years, it gets old!
Obama's approval rating has hovered in the 40% range for much of 2011, peaking at 53% in the weeks following the death of Osama bin Laden.
But Americans' view of his job performance continued to tick downward as the debt-ceiling debate heated up. By the time he signed legislation averting a federal default, he was mired in the low-40% range.
The polling setback comes as the Republican race to unseat him has kicked into overdrive. The past week has been dominated by the activity in Iowa ahead of the Ames Straw Poll, and the entrance of a new contender in Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The candidates have routinely assailed Obama's leadership in appealing to conservative activists who dominate this stage of the nominating contest.
Obama is set to launch something of a counter-offensive on Monday with a three-day bus tour of the Midwest, a trip that includes two stops in Iowa. The White House denied that the itinerary was politically motivated, however.
I thought the bus tour was a quaint idea. Probably be his first time on a bus. I can see a brand new million dollar Prevost in our Government fleet. Obama has NO connection with middle class Americans. His appeal is to the intellectual elitists, Union folks and the welfare crowd. Of course he would never ride around in a bus for political reasons. How stupid does he think we are? Don't answer that. :sick:
His administration is besides themselves. How could this happen? They were always so calculated in the direction their decisions were directed to fix everything. Too bad they blame everyone else. They also forgot their "Change" mantra. Easy to say "Change for the worse is the reality, Mr. Obummer."
They forgot the 2 rules: 1. Don't Explain. 2. Don't Complain.
Now they are going to waste money in an effort that will ultimately fail in a re-election bid. Too little too late is a huge understatement.
At the time Obummer realizes that he can't win there is no telling what he might try to jam through Congress...good thing the Republicans have the House.
Obama had one of his highest approval ratings, possibly high enough to get re-elected, after the killing of Bin Laden. Well, guess what? October, 2012 will tentatively be the release of a major motion picture movie about the killing of Bin Laden... just weeks before the Presidential election.
Looks like Obama has struck one helluva deal with a few folks in Hollywood. It is reported that he may have given away classified information. And, never forget that he will do ANYTHING to get re-elected, and he could even deliberately cause an international crisis.
Obama MUST be removed from office. He is an extremely dangerous individual that has managed to get elected (through massive media manipulation and a slick and deceptive campaign) to the office of The President of the United States. His cohorts are even more dangerous.
I like that, can we get a special bowling alley with all of our worthless candidates lined up? Along with Obummer, I would like WickedWitch (Hillary), Dingbat (Palin), Flakey-pie (Bachmann), McJobs (Perry), and DaddysWallet (Romney) to be there too :shades:
Ron Paul is once again looking to be the most credible.
Ron Paul is awesome with one fatal flaw. He is an isolationist... which can NOT work in a global picture like the one we have.
Ignoring our enemies won't make them go away. We could be blindsided with a horrific attack. I'm not OK with "minding our own business" and leaving the terrorists alone. They want us dead, as well as other countries that are our friends. We can't just turn our back to the world.
But we also can't afford to have a dozen concurrent wars, a base in every region, and continue to be 5% of the global population spending 50% of the global military budget. Something has to give. Some of our "friends" need to work for themselves and raise funds to help in the effort.
I think we are the losers on the Osama saga. I don't think it was worth losing 20 of our Navy Seals to get OBL. IF in fact we actually got him. I think as time goes by we will learn more about that whole operation. It could be another Swift Boats story before it is done. I cannot imagine any Seals really considering Obama a decent Leader. The more I think about that quick disposal of the body, the more I question it. That and Biden giving away the special OPs that carried out the mission. What a bunch of losers in our administration.
Now the Chinese have first hand knowledge of our Stealth helicopters, thanks to our friends the Pakistanis.
"can we get a special bowling alley with all of our worthless candidates lined up? Along with Obummer, I would like WickedWitch (Hillary), Dingbat (Palin), Flakey-pie (Bachmann), McJobs (Perry), and DaddysWallet (Romney) to be there too"
Yeah, we can also have Chamberlain-like, let Iran have its nukes, Paul, there too.
I have been very busy over the weekend since I was in Ames (just up the road a half hour) attending the IA Republican Straw Poll . NOT!
Here is what I posted concerning the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment number on post #5118:
On another item, please correct me if I'm wrong. I believe this consumer sentiment number is a bunch of bs. This number is NOT an indicator of the future but it's an indicator of the past/present. This University of Michigan Consumer sentiment number was very bearish. Dahhh! What did they expect? The average consumer has been constantly bombarded with doom and gloom news the past month or so. What is the average consumer suppose to think? In my opinion, the average consumer, as I have often stated, will spend what is in his pocket as suggested by a fairly decent retail sales number this morning. The fact that gas/energy market has sold off substantially, can only enhance the average Joe Blow's spending power.
I don't see what the big deal is about this number. It is basically worthless in my opinion. You watch how this number sky-rockets IF the stock market does very well the next several weeks and the doom and gloom boys shut up.
Or we can keep bankrolling Israel without question, bankrolling Pakistan without question, ignoring the massive crimes of both, and allowing both to keep agitating crap in that area until we really are broke. That seems to be the status quo. We just can't afford it anymore. They both need to participate more in funding their own future, just as Europe and Japan/Korea need to fund more of their own defense.
Comments
Last night over 14 months after the Flash Crash, US regulators finally sent subpoenas to HFT firms. In light of that and the games that were played last week, I offer more insights into HFT from my friends at Nanex, which supports what our HeatSeeker saw as the quants had their way with the markets to the detrement of all investor classes:
On Friday, Aug 5, 2011, we processed 1 trillion bytes of data for all U.S. equities, options, futures, and indexes. This is insane. A year ago, when we processed half of that, we thought it was madness. A year before that, when it was 250 billion bytes, we thought the same. There is no new beneficial information in this monstrous pile of data compared to 3 years ago. It is noise, subterfuge, manipulation. The root of all that is wrong with today's markets.
HFT is sucking the life blood out of the markets: liquidity. It is almost comical, because this is what they claim to supply. No one with any sense wants to post a bid or ask, because they know it will only get hit when it's at their disadvantage. Some give in, and join the arms race. Others leave.
Take the electronic S&P 500 futures contract, known as the emini, for example. This is, or used to be, a very liquid market. The cumulative size in the 10 levels in the depth of book was often 20,000 contracts on each side. That means a trader could buy or sell 20,000 contracts "instantly" and only move the market 10 ticks or price levels. Even during the flash crash, before the CME halt, when hot potatoes were flying everywhere, the depth would still accommodate an instant sale of 2,000 contracts.
In summary, HFT algos reduce the value of resting orders and increase the value of how fast orders can be placed and cancelled. This results in the illusion of liquidity. We can't understand why this is allowed to continue, because at the core, it is pure manipulation.
more to the story
I leave this to those here that understand what is going on with High Frequency Trading.
Thanks for that post. As you know I have been complaining about the massive manipulation of the market by supercomputers and specialized software.
We have been seeing what it can do, and it really changes the game and it makes it very challenging for of all of us retail investors.
I know without a doubt that when I am trading/investing that I am basically working with the crumbs that those big guys drop on the floor.
TM
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/07/opinion/sunday/what-happened-to-obamas-passion- .html?_r=1
That was a well written , and in my opinion, rather balanced....I`m not sure all the point `I agree with`, but overall pretty good..
As you know, I think Obama is a smart fellow, and certainly a good speaker, but to be fair , the people who are advising him--and he must have gone along with--have had poor advice....Not to have put the economy first, as we all discussed a really long time ago , was a brutal error..and now not to just stepped to the forefront, and `be a leader` leaves me wondering ..and disappointed ..
I have to see what the choice is vs Obama before I formulate an opinion, but what I hope for is that he learns from his past blunders and steps up to the plate, and turns this country around.....
These monster market swings are a poor situation for us --smaller guys--and it comes from the changing of the rules a few years ago by the villains of Wall Street....Apple is acting nicely, and I am happy for those that own it....Unfortunately that might change in a moment`s notice.....Later Tony
It will be interesting to see if he is up to the task or if he is so tied to his ideology that he just keeps digging his own grave along with all of ours. His future actions will tell us if he is truly well intentioned or not.
There won't be any way he can blame his future actions on Bush.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
The SEC is a wonder doing nothing about these outrages....and still not re-instating the up tick rule....Who cares if a hedge fund can`t short stuff to their liking to counteract their long positions...? It`s hard to believe the SEC just goes on and on ignoring the obvious, until it is too late...If Obama is to lead he could start right there --and lead-- Tony PS I was sorry to see about the head of Goldman loosing so much money---I guess alot of us have already experienced that feeling---but two wrongs don`t make a `right`
The problem here is that we need to know where the basement really is. The top floors can always go higher, but the basement must be known and identified.
I think the market is building a bottom, and I expect the market to dive again, maybe more than once, but it is a good thing in the end.
I made some great gains today, as I am sure all of you did as well, but then (once again) I sold almost everything in the last minutes, and then finished selling the final shares in the after-market hours.
I think tomorrow may prove to be a little more challenging than today. We'll see.
TM
Government intervention or interference?
Good or bad?
TM
On another item, please correct me if I'm wrong. I believe this consumer sentiment number is a bunch of bs. This number is NOT an indicator of the future but it's an indicator of the past/present. This University of Michigan Consumer sentiment number was very bearish. Dahhh! What did they expect? The average consumer has been constantly bombarded with doom and gloom news the past month or so. What is the average consumer suppose to think? In my opinion, the average consumer, as I have often stated, will spend what is in his pocket as suggested by a fairly decent retail sales number this morning. The fact that gas/energy market has sold off substantially, can only enhance the average Joe Blow's spending power.
On your rec, I sold my SLV pre market on Thur. and got out with a small gain.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
TM
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
The proposed rule change would mean that anyone who drives a tractor or operates any piece of motorized farming equipment would be required to pass the same tests and complete the same detailed forms and logs required of semi-tractor trailer drivers.
Drivers would keep logs of information including hours worked and miles traveled. Vehicles would be required to display DOT numbers. A CDL in Virginia costs $64 for eight years, or $8 per year, not including the cost of an instructional class and the written test.
If the DOT reclassifies farm vehicles and implements as commercial vehicles, the federal government will have regulatory control over the nation's farm workers, estimated at over 800,000, by requiring them to have commercial drivers licenses.
Sounds more like a tax on Tractors to me. How are they going to find the 10s of 1000s of old John Deere "A" and "B" parked in sheds. Only used to pull a wagon load of hay etc? Maybe Obama wants to create more jobs in the DOT. Send out Swat teams to search every barn for tractors. Then break down doors like they do when you don't pay your student loan.
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
TM
Agency backs away from farmers' driver's license
Associated Press
3:10 a.m. CDT, August 12, 2011
MADISON, Wis.—
Wisconsin farmers are happy the U.S. Department of Transportation is backing away from its plan to reclassify agricultural machinery as commercial vehicles.
The move would have required farmers to have a commercial driver's license to operate tractors on public roads. Farmers would have to log their mileage and get a medical card that shows they're fit to drive.
State Agriculture Secretary Ben Brancel says it wasn't clear how the new regulation would have increased public safety.
The Journal Sentinel says the DOT backed off after hearing from 21 senators and receiving 1,700 comments.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-farmers-driverli,0,7617341.story
U.S. Consumer Confidence Drops to Three-Decade Low Amid Economic Headwinds
Confidence among U.S. consumers plunged in August to the lowest level since May 1980, adding to concern that weak employment gains and volatility in the stock market will prompt households to retrench.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment slumped to 54.9 from 63.7 the prior month. The gauge was projected to decline to 62, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey.
rest of the article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-12/u-s-consumer-sentiment-falls-more-than-- expected-to-54-9-in-michigan-index.html
I thought this statement a telling indicator:
Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson, the biggest U.S. meat producer, said it will lose money in the chicken business this quarter as a weak economy eroded demand.
If people are not eating chicken, what are they eating, Top Ramen? Maybe that is the stock to look into. :sick:
Perhaps there should be a "chicken" index. So, when investors chicken-out on the stock market, we can expect a concurrent decline in the chicken business.
BTW... Right after I posted my recommendation to cut back on gold, it has declined 5.5% for the week. Long-term, however, I am not as concerned about gold.
Next week? Expect more market gyrations, IMO.
TM
Yet we know the unemployment is far worse than we are being told. Profits are up for corporations like AAPL as a result of off shore cheap labor costs. If you have a job or a good retirement, things are wonderful. If not they can be devastating. I would say many of those surveyed are voicing what they see in the lives of those not doing so well. Even though they may be doing great themselves.
What I don't understand about the precious metals market, is why silver has not kept up. The general rule of thumb is gold is 16 times the price of silver. That would put silver up around $109 with gold at the current $1746 per oz. Silver hit $48 when gold topped $1500. Then silver slid back into the $38 range. I guess it is like the stock market anyone's guess.
There is also the school of thought that gold should be 50 times silver. That would put gold at about $1950. As long as my gold continues to offset my stock losses I feel somewhat balanced in my portfolio. Though trying to play the game as you do, has me intrigued. After all it is only my heirs that can lose. :shades:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/13/business/financial-aftershocks-with-precedent-- in-history.html?_r=1&ref=business
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/13/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?ref=- business
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/business/market-frenzy-from-trading-rooms-to-l- iving-rooms.html?pagewanted=1&ref=business
You're right on the money. I received another robust RE sales report out out the Sarasota area. St Pete Beach condo asking prices are inching back up based on my own research.
I definitely think the stock markets are being manipulated big time either by the supercomputers or by 'them' or both.
Regards,
OW
I just read an article about how the prices are going to decline next year in Miami...It just doesn`t make sense ..so I believe the `man on the street`
I personally think `we` are overburdened with too many sources of repetitious news...It`s wrong, therefore we don`t understand it.....Believe the reported numbers from reputable companies.. like Jflix mentioned.....A better indicator... Tony
“Talk to me in 6 to 12 months.”
I did not get out in 2008 and made it back to just about the peak of October 2007 this Spring. My IRA went down about 60% that time around. Buying Ford at the bottom gave me back most of the losses from 2008. Still well ahead of when I retired.
Our personal account did better with my wife's financial planner. So hopefully I won't blow it now that we have it in a Scottrade account. It is heavy in a Putnam Bond fund PDINX and so far we have only gone down 4% overall.
A bowling alley in Clearwater, Florida, Bowl-O-Bama, is doing record business despite a bad economy.
The alley also reports a record number of 300 games.
Since opening in November 2010, 963 patrons have bowled a perfect game, including strikes in the warm-up frames.
This alley also has the highest bowling league average in the country, with a 237.
And that’s the senior league.
disclaimer:
Probably fake but a clever idea nonetheless. here are other possible money makers at least until November 2012.
http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/bowl-o-bama/
Obama's approval rating has hovered in the 40% range for much of 2011, peaking at 53% in the weeks following the death of Osama bin Laden.
But Americans' view of his job performance continued to tick downward as the debt-ceiling debate heated up. By the time he signed legislation averting a federal default, he was mired in the low-40% range.
The polling setback comes as the Republican race to unseat him has kicked into overdrive. The past week has been dominated by the activity in Iowa ahead of the Ames Straw Poll, and the entrance of a new contender in Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The candidates have routinely assailed Obama's leadership in appealing to conservative activists who dominate this stage of the nominating contest.
Obama is set to launch something of a counter-offensive on Monday with a three-day bus tour of the Midwest, a trip that includes two stops in Iowa. The White House denied that the itinerary was politically motivated, however.
Regards,
OW
They forgot the 2 rules: 1. Don't Explain. 2. Don't Complain.
Now they are going to waste money in an effort that will ultimately fail in a re-election bid. Too little too late is a huge understatement.
Regards,
OW
2013 LX 570 2016 LS 460
Looks like Obama has struck one helluva deal with a few folks in Hollywood. It is reported that he may have given away classified information. And, never forget that he will do ANYTHING to get re-elected, and he could even deliberately cause an international crisis.
Obama MUST be removed from office. He is an extremely dangerous individual that has managed to get elected (through massive media manipulation and a slick and deceptive campaign) to the office of The President of the United States. His cohorts are even more dangerous.
TM
Ron Paul is once again looking to be the most credible.
Ignoring our enemies won't make them go away. We could be blindsided with a horrific attack. I'm not OK with "minding our own business" and leaving the terrorists alone. They want us dead, as well as other countries that are our friends. We can't just turn our back to the world.
TM
Now the Chinese have first hand knowledge of our Stealth helicopters, thanks to our friends the Pakistanis.
TM
Yeah, we can also have Chamberlain-like, let Iran have its nukes, Paul, there too.
Here is what I posted concerning the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment number on post #5118:
On another item, please correct me if I'm wrong. I believe this consumer sentiment number is a bunch of bs. This number is NOT an indicator of the future but it's an indicator of the past/present. This University of Michigan Consumer sentiment number was very bearish. Dahhh! What did they expect? The average consumer has been constantly bombarded with doom and gloom news the past month or so. What is the average consumer suppose to think? In my opinion, the average consumer, as I have often stated, will spend what is in his pocket as suggested by a fairly decent retail sales number this morning. The fact that gas/energy market has sold off substantially, can only enhance the average Joe Blow's spending power.
I don't see what the big deal is about this number. It is basically worthless in my opinion. You watch how this number sky-rockets IF the stock market does very well the next several weeks and the doom and gloom boys shut up.