Let it fall and park it in SSO is another winner. Imagine that as the markets again cycle the 30m minis to a bearish divergence early on setting up a nice rally off of support. Today was a little different as the minis did take out and back test a LT support line. ADP tomorrow and passover may have kept a lid on things today.
Ireland may be first in line for the role of austerity king as Ireland Stunned To Uncover "Truly Shocking" Information By Its Banks, Institutes Austerity. Let them be the gunny PIIGS in this fiasco and lay the model for how not/to take the banks under authority. I'm sure Ben will have his ear to the ground and will be taking notes as austerity measures will hit here eventually (well, maybe after Greece, Italy, Spain and then half the EU. "As disclosed, Ireland has instituted a "Bad Bank" concept to acquire 1,200 loans, or €81 billion worth, at a 47% discount. Sounds about right. Of course, the US financial system still carries most of its loans at about par: you see we have a printer and they don't, so we can do whatever we want"
Your Greece default/soap opera article of the day comes from naked capitalism. Auerback: Greece and the EuroZone: Angie, Ain’t it Time to Say Goodbye? This is a good primer for why the Greece situation possibly it happened and why a messy default may be the only answer. How Greece (and the remaining PIIGS get out of their debt laden holes is beyond me. Sacrifices will have to be made. Austerity measures will exist. My question is, if overextended borrowing got you into this mess, then how is picking up another $22bn gonna help? If they can't afford the debt now and if we all know Greece will default eventually, then why not go ahead and face the music?
Since there is not fraud or corruption to worry about we'll most likely not have banking issues like Ireland. Wait, what's that ZH reported - Former SEC Staffer Blasts The Regulator's Short Selling Ban Lunacy, Calls Decision Purely Motivated By Politics. Funny CNBS did not pick that one up to dispense to the masses. "The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to restrict short selling was a political decision rather than one based on evidence, according to a former agency official who says it may set a precedent for future decisions." And what politics was involved pray tell? Why, the type that would make the new president incredibly unpopular even before he was sworn in. It becoming increasingly clear with each passing day that this country's equity market is nothing but a sham and a teleprompter-friendly mirror before which Obama can act glum, even as the very regulators allow the market to be manipulated in a way that encourages risk taking, and thus delay and inevitable and terminal crash." There goes that "crash" word again."Sham" and "regulators allowing the market to be manipulated" are strong statements - not really - only if you work for the MSM.
Rigged markets hugh? Don't Invest In Ridiculously-Rigged (And Thin) Markets from Denninger was inspired by a recent Tavakoli piece about cornering the gold markets, ETF's and supply. Scam? Nah, futures traders and the banks would never conspire to enter ridiculous positions and try to corner the market like the Hunt brothers did. If you own paper gold (ETF), look out. Denninger says if you own physical gold, "I'll stay away from this one - the criminals have proved that they can intentionally falsify the valuation of trillions of dollars in "assets" on balance sheets and otherwise cheat with wild abandon, but nobody will bring charges. There is no reason to believe that you or I will be the ones who are able to get through the tiny little door if indeed this is the game that is being run, and every reason to believe that instead of the starry-eyed profits you dream of you will instead suffer a monstrous loss." Me, I have no opinion cause it is all so screwed up no one will be able to value the physical gold cause no one will ever allow an audit of their tungsten in stock. Read the Tavakoli piece. It is required reading.
How do you value gold by the way? The Case for Position Limits: What is the 'Spot Price' of Gold and Silver And How Is It Set? is the question asked in a post from Jesse's Cafe American. "I had not been able to obtain the actual calculation used by any of the principle quote providers. And I am not saying that they are doing anything wrong at all. Or right for that matter, since I do not audit them or look over their shoulder. I do not know how accurate anyone's reportage might be, or how to explain the discrepancies between the futures prices and the spot prices that occur all too frequently these days. How can one without more transparent knowledge?" I'm telling you the meltdown will lead to massive confusion one day and no one will know how much gold will be worth. No audit = no value and we all know we will never get any sort of truthful audit. Till then the scam rolls on. Here is a video from INO where they forecast that the price of gold will remain range bound for the next year. I tend to want to agree with them at this time.
Mish must be losing it. This post is great. Searching For Jobs - Just How Bad Is It? This one is quite timely with the rosy ADP number coming out tomorrow. You see when there are laid off graphic designers and teachers applying for pooper scooper jobs at kennels there must be issues with hiring and availability of quality work. The union comparison of cat to dog scoopers really underscores the 'crap' that the unions drive and require to drive up all costs associated with their existence.
Washington's blog has this Dodd's Financial "Reform" Bill Is Nothing but a Placebo for a Very Sick Economy. you may have seen this already, but if you have not, our government's (Dodd's) idea of "reform" is another hollow bill that does nothing. "But Senator Dodd is trying to push through a financial "reform" which bill won't do anything to break up the too big to fails, or do much of anything at all. It's got a reassuring name and a nice, sugary taste ... but there's no real medicine in it." The TBTF's must be broken up. It will happen, only after they have decimated the nation and it will be yet another inconsequential act by our government.
That is enough for tonight. More great news hugh? Give it time. The great unraveling will come. it may take years, but it will come.
