Daily State of the Markets
Ben Bernanke Can't Be Happy
Thought for the day: Ben Bernanke probably isn't too happy right about now.
After rescuing the global banking system from the brink of collapse in 2008, after dealing with not one, not two, but three European debt crises over the past four years, and after surviving at least two r…
It's Getting Ugly Out There, Right?
Wow, it's really getting ugly out there. After Monday's 136 point decline on the DJIA, which just happened to be the eleventh losing session seen in the last thirteen for the venerable index, the popular press was ready to declare the corner Broad and Wall a disaster area. Although the Do…
The Administration Who Cried Wolf
Editor's Note: After a weekend of travels, Dave has asked friend and colleague Paul Schatz to fill in for him and provide commentary on the standoff in Washington this morning.
With the exception of those directly affected and impacted by the government shutdown, …
Investors: Remember The Sequester!
It's that time again in Washington... The stakes are high. The clock is ticking down. The politicians are getting anxious. And the level of adjectives being espoused in and around the nation's capital is escalating rapidly.
The President of the United States told CNBC yesterday af…
Remember, Do Nothing, Absolutely Nothing Until...
In case the action over the past few days hasn't made it clear, traders appear to be implementing an age-old Wall Street-ism right now... "Do nothing, absolutely nothing until there is something to do." Put another way, it looks like most investors have decided to sit on their hands until…
Traders: We Won't Get Fooled Again
With a fifth consecutive down day now in the books, which just happens to be the first such occurrence of the year, those coming to work dressed in their bear costumes were seen rejoicing Wednesday evening. Despite the fact that the S&P 500 is off less than 2 percent (-1.898% to be ex…
Does This Market Have Serious Issues?
Given that (a) stocks have fallen for four consecutive days and (b) there haven't been any clear-cut, obvious catalysts to the pullback, it is probably safe to say that there are "issues" at work behind the scenes. Granted, the decline over the past four days hasn't been severe (the S&…
Putting Fear Back In The Mix
There are times when the market's moves do not appear to have a clear-cut driving force behind them. Monday's decline of about one-half percent was a decent example of this. Stocks fell for a third consecutive session and although the damage wasn't terribly significant, the fact of the ma…
Bernanke Taking No Chances
Ben Bernanke's Fed surprised the vast majority of investors yesterday when the FOMC decided not to begin tapering the stimulus being provided to the economy via the monthly purchase of $85 billion in bonds and mortgage-backed securities. The move came as a surprise because "Gentle Ben" ha…
Is The Taper Priced In?
Depending on your point of view, stocks appear to be set up to either (a) break out to new highs after today's Fed announcement or (b) dive back into what would then be a very defined trading range. While the consensus among analysts is that Ben Bernanke will announce a "tapering" of the …