By John Galt August 22, 2011 – 21:35 ET Quadriplegic says violent neighbor assaulted him with fish: Vegans on the Red Planet? PETA says yes, please Kuwait denies “bad mouth smell” traffic ticket I report, you decide. God knows why I report this crap.
By John Galt August 22, 2011 – 16:25 ET Oh the temptations to add a lot of commentary to this but here is an excerpt from the Reuters story: Exclusive: Goldman CEO hires high-profile defense attorney 3:39pm EDT By Andrea Shalal-Esa WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein has hired Reid Weingarten, a high-profile Washington defense attorney whose past clients include a former Enron accounting officer, according to a government source familiar with the matter. Blankfein, 56, is in his sixth year at…
By John Galt August 22, 2011 – 10:00 ET The charts that I have been maintaining for over a year now are available within the economic charts pages to the right for permanent review and of course, after the releases on these pages. Now that my schedule has gone from just madly insane to regular insane, these charts will be updated in a more timely manner. No commentary really is necessary because the Federal Reserve doesn’t eat, doesn’t drive or pay for their own gas…
By John Galt August 22, 2011 – 08:55 ET Yup, it would appear the rumors of QE∞ and the removal of the whacky Colonel from power in Libya will be enough to power the markets higher today. Expect thin volume all week until GS receives the leak as to if there will be another round of Bernanke money bombs dropped on the economy. Remember to watch the one stock that the Fed loves to flaunt in your face, Goldman Sachs, to see what happens. 109-110…
By John Galt August 22, 2011 – 08:34 ET The Chicago Federal Reserve Bank’s National Activity Index was released a few minutes ago and shows some improvement and avoided the dreaded decline to the -0.7 level which indicates a pending or current recession per most readings. With this good news, the markets should enjoy today’s Dead Dictator Bounce as I like to call it and rally off the recent lows on low volume. Here is the chart from the Chicago Fed and the entire report…
By John Galt August 21, 2011 – 20:05 ET I guess we can all stop worrying now, all hail the Bernank and other central banksters. From the UK Telegraph, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard’s latest column (click on the title to read in full): 8/22 AEP: Relax, central banks can still save us
By John Galt August 21, 2011 – 18:25 ET Lots of breaking news tonight so here is the summary from the BBC, Reuters and the UK Telegraph (Click on story titles to read in full): Libya live: Gaddafi’s regime ‘crumbling’ as rebels advance 23.12 Al Jazeera is now reporting that Gaddafi’s eldest son Mohammed has surrendered. 23.11 The Algerian Foreign Ministry is denying that Gaddafi is in its grounds. 23.01 Abdul Hakim, a Tripoli resident, has told the BBC that he is looking forward to…
By John Galt August 21, 2011 – 09:25 ET As I scan the Sunday morning papers, some stories stick out more than others. This is another in a long list of Bank of America customer service nightmare stories that stands out. From the August 20th U.K. Daily Mail (click on the title to read the article in full): Woman, 70, and terminally ill husband face losing their home for paying the mortgage too early It would be funny if this were not the only example…
By John Galt August 20, 2011 – 08:30 ET And the selling continues with the Saudi markets failing to hold the psychological level of 6000 and down 164.47 points as of this posting. The selling worldwid appears to be snowballing into a potentially ugly event Sunday night and Monday which will end up on America’s doorstep once again. (Chart from btflive.net) Update: Closed on the day -2.58%. Well below the magic 6000 level for investor confidence. Next up is a retest of the 5000 mark.
By John Galt August 20, 2011 – 07:30 ET The headlines this morning and throughout the week are stunning. Just click on any of the headlines to read the story in full. It would appear that the world’s “September Surprise” may well be an entire region engulfed in conflict. Battle rages in cities outside besieged Tripoli Egypt summons Israeli ambassador over killings Israel-Gaza attacks stoke tension with Cairo Arab League to hold meeting on Gaza on Sunday Israel says investigating Egyptian deaths Turkey strikes Kurd…
By John Galt August 19, 2011 – 18:15 ET From the FDIC website, the first one is a big one at $293.2 million…. Lydian Private Bank First Southern National Bank
By John Galt August 198, 2011 – 05:50 ET From the British paper, The Guardian (click on title to read full article): Aliens may destroy humanity to protect other civilisations, say scientists Rising greenhouse emissions could tip off aliens that we are a rapidly expanding threat, warns a report It may not rank as the most compelling reason to curb greenhouse gases, but reducing our emissions might just save humanity from a pre-emptive alien attack, scientists claim. Watching from afar, extraterrestrial beings might view changes…
By John Galt August 19, 2011 – 05:45 ET All you need to know besides the 3 month Euroswiss and gold is that the fear of a European credit freeze plus a dying U.S. economy has “investors” seeking shelter of any sort. This quote this morning from Bloomberg tells the tale of the tape as the herd is more interested in the return of capital rather than gambling on a profit by playing the markets.
By John Galt August 19, 2011 – 05:30 ET No matter the results of today’s wild trading with options expiration, gold is making a statement not just about the distrust of Western economies and the condition of their financial systems, but the perceived stability of the currencies once held in high regard withing the European Union and North America. As I’ve stated before, since there was no “normal” technical correction this summer, $100 swing days will become the norm as gold is going parabolic and…
By John Galt August 18, 2011 – 21:45 ET And with this posting, I shall go to bed early as I fear things are going to spiral a tad tomorrow. In the mean time, I took the sub-headline from the UK Telegraph’s Ambrose Evans-Pritchard column tonight as it signals the ultimate demise of the “West” as a force in the world economy through the end of this decade if he is correct. Read the full story below by clicking on the title: Bond markets signal…
By John Galt August 18, 2011 – 21:32 ET Uh, the fear trade is not only on but accelerating. Here is a 1 week chart of the Euroswiss 3 month futures which as they move further above 100, they yields move further into negative territory: The more disconcerting question is this: What do the world’s extreme millionaires and billionaires know that we don’t?
By John Galt August 18, 2011 – 17:30 ET Uh, I thought it was my vodka martini but no, it is FDIC Thursday so this bank must have really, really, really, sucked. Here’s the poop with the link from the FDIC home page: Failed Bank Information Information for Public Savings Bank, Huntingdon Valley, PA Introduction Press Release Acquiring Financial Institution Question and Answer Guide Banking Services Loan Customers Possible Claims Against the Failed Institution Priority of Claims Dividend Information Brokered Deposits Please be advised you…
By John Galt August 18, 2011 – 16:45 ET Repeat after me: Gold is a barbaric but profitable relic. Gold is a barbaric but profitable relic. Gold is a barbaric but profitable relic. Gold is a barbaric but profitable relic. Of course buy and hold in a “gasp” inflationary environment does work if it is gold and not stocks. Here is the performance of COMEX gold versus the S&P 500 over the last 5 years (chart via WSJ/BigCharts.com): I’m not a graduate of M.I.T. but…
By John Galt August 18, 2011 – 05:15 ET While the American side of the world slumbered, something very serious began to occur. It would appear that a European liquidity crisis is indeed beginning to accelerate. Per a Bloomberg story, Denmark’s regional banks are dumping assets in a rush to generate cash (Click on this link to read in full: Denmark’s Regional Banks Dump Assets) as they attempt to escape the international funding market. This could be a further indication that people are diving into…
By John Galt August 17, 2011 – 18:30 ET Michele, as a Libertarian you and I agree a lot, not completely but on many issues.. But tonight, PLEASE, for the sake of our nation, PUT DOWN THE DAMNED BONG! From NewsMax: Bachmann: I’ll Push Gas Under $2 a Gallon Uh, really? EXCERPT: “The day that the president became president gasoline was $1.79 a gallon. Look at what it is today,” the Minnesota congresswoman said at a campaign event in Greenville, S.C. “Under President Bachmann, you…
By John Galt August 17, 2011 – 15:00 ET This must be seriously deflationary. Per Reuters: Chavez to nationalize Venezuelan gold industry 2:38pm EDT By Louise Egan CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday he will nationalize the gold industry, including extraction and processing, and use its output to boost the country’s international reserves. The move follows a dispute between his government and foreign miners who say the rules limiting the amount of gold that can be exported from the South American…
By John Galt August 17, 2011 – 13:30 ET Ruh-roh, quick call Cramer, call Altucher, call Biryini, call an idiot savant, save our 401K’s. Or just learn how to read a chart. OMG, it could be an EPIC one if we drop below 1190 or will the Fed bail out the Canadian sponsored OBAMAMBUS tour?
By John Galt August 17, 2011 – 11:50 ET How does that taste Indiana and Florida? To say those two states have permanently lost a few jobs in the Recreational Vehicle industry is an understatement. Per the Recreational Vehicle Industry of America, 280,000 jobs were lost in the RV manufacturing industry in the United States since 2007. Some of these people have been called back, but many companies went out of business or cut back their work forces so severely that it is doubtful the…
By John Galt August 17, 2011 – 11:15 ET As discussed on my program, the full story is at the Palm Beach Post and can be read in full by clicking on this link. Here is the letter where Congressman West refuses to submit to CAIRreroism in the classic style of the 101st Airborne’s General McAuliffe: (Click to enlarge/reduce photo):
By John Galt August 17, 2011 – 06:55 ET The Bloomberg headline and story says it all: Franc Gains as Switzerland Stops Short of Peg Apparently the Swiss National Bank has not been in consultations with the Japanese Central Bank. The one year chart for the Swiss Franc speaks volumes on the failure of intervention by central banks and the inability to control daily, weekly, or monthly fluctuations. The addition of liquidity to dilute the Franc is akin to wasting one’s time by asking Bernanke…
By John Galt August 17, 2011 – 08:30 ET This morning’s print edition of the UK Telegraph has what sounds like a eulogy for the European Union from Ambrose Evans-Pritchard. Click on the article title below to read the entire story: EMU crisis deepens as slump reaches Europe’s AAA core The German economy slowed drastically over the early summer and may be on the cusp of a double-dip recession, dashing hopes that Europe’s industrial engine would eventually lift EMU’s southern bloc out of slump. Growth…
By John Galt August 17, 2011 – 06:10 ET Yesterday the leaders of France and Germany held a 1938 Munich style meeting where instead of the Sudetenland being carved up, the two political elites bowed to the pressure of their nation’s banksters and carved up the spoils of the now failed European Union experiment. Below is a full translation of the press conference with the details being provided by the UK Telegraph in an article at this link on the 16th. Here are their proposals…
By John Galt August 16, 2011 – 22:45 ET Translation: Tea Party supporters Ron Paul supporters Gun Owners Christians Heterosexual Constitutionalists Conservatives Non-Conformist Capitalists I’ve cleaned out the political correctness from this CNN interview for my readers and summarized what he “meant” and the insanity of the road our nation is now on. L’obbedienza a il Duce senza discutere
By John Galt August 16, 2011 – 22:15 ET If one watches enough financial television, one might get that rare opportunity to see one of the gold naysayers practically break down and cry on the set as their GLD short position gets eviscerated about every ten days now. It is sort of fun because the “expert” looks as if they are about to cry as they say “gold is going to crash and could go back to $600 easy” every time there is a 1,…
By John Galt August 16, 2011 – 22:00 ET When you click on the headline below and read the story, please remember the following: 1. Nobody forces an individual to go to college. 2. Nobody forces an individual to get a degree in Law. 3. Nobody makes an individual choose school X or school Y. 4. Nobody puts a gun to anyone’s head to force them to sign a student loan CONTRACT. 5. If an individual gets a degree in LAW and that person is…
By John Galt August 16, 2011 – 18:05 ET From today’s Marketwatch.com commentary section (click on the title to read the full story): Tax the Super-Rich or Riots will rage in 2012 - Commentary by Paul B Farrell SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (MarketWatch) — What a year. Rage in London, Egypt, Athens, Damascus. All real. Just a metaphor in the new “Planet of the Apes” film? No, much more. Warning: More rage is dead ahead. Across our planet a new generation is filled with rage.…
By John Galt August 16, 2011 -05:30 ET Based on the horrid Eurozone economic data and the lack of faith investors have in our markets and now China it would appear, guess what gold is predicting today with a +$26 jump as of this entry….
By John Galt August 16, 2011 – 05:10 ET Breaking on all the financial channels and wires this morning: European GDP +0.2% Q/Q below +0.3% estimates; +1.7% YoY German GDP +0.1% Q/Q below +0.5% estimates This is the nation that’s going to bail out the PIIGS and the world? I think not if Germany falls into recession and the stock markets across Europe have reacted sharply: All this before the Sarkozy-Merkel press release which could have an even more dramatic impact on the markets later…
By John Galt August 15, 2011 – 22:45 ET The rally in world equities might seem to be providing a sigh of relief to investors and some governments world wide as a sign of calm and confidence might be returning to the markets but reality is, as always, found in the credit markets. This time the destination for a safe haven has been diverted from the Swiss currency and into Swiss bond futures. The 3 month Euroswiss futures for September 2011 have surged so much…
By John Galt August 15, 2011 – 22:15 ET Here we go again, with the official China Securities Journal reporting that ¥4.6 trillion or about $719 billion in local government debt due this year and next. This has been estimated by the authorities to be approximately 43% of total troublesome debt according to an article in Business China today. From the same article, RMB 4.6 tln of Chinese Local Government Debt Due in 2011-2012 (Click to read in full), it would appear that some aspects…
By John Galt August 15, 2011 – 21:45 Uh,oh…Germany is getting a wee bit ticked about bailing out the weak sisters in this unfortunate political union. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard outlines this in his latest UK Telegraph column. Click on the title below to read the nightmare of European devolution in full. Germany’s Angela Merkel faces eurobond mutiny
By John Galt August 15, 2011 – 21:35 ET The UK Telegraph has the most bizarre story I have read in a long, long time in tomorrow’s print edition: Navies seek “pirate cultural adviser” (Click on the title to read in full) From the story by Colin Freeman: It must rank as one of the most unusual recruitment adverts ever placed, even by the standards of the European Union: the search is on for a “pirate cultural adviser” to help naval commanders understand the foes…
By John Galt August 15, 2011 – 21:20 ET I’ll let Obama from July 3, 2010 in this YouTube video from the Associated Press and the headline and summary from Bloomberg tonight say everything that needs to be said. Evergreen Solar Files for Bankruptcy Owing $485.6 Million By Steven Church – Aug 15, 2011 3:58 PM ET Evergreen Solar Inc. (ESLR), a maker of electricity generating solar panels, filed bankruptcy with plans to sell itself at an auction in order to pay creditors owed $485.6…
By John Galt August 15 2011 – 07:00 ET I noticed once again the big hoopla with the rumor the Swiss National Bank may or may not have started regarding the pegging to the Euro and the “sudden” price move in the USD/CHF cross. A quick look at the charts should give even the most casual observer the obvious observation that a 20% correction is more than warranted regardless of the rumor and 30% would not be a surprise. At this point in time, 70.70…
By John Galt August 14, 2011 – 22:55 ET The story seems eerily familiar to me, as when the Florida real estate bubble began to burst, people walked away from contracts even if it mean sacrificing deposits and rightfully offered the primary reason for abandoning their commitment was that they felt the top was in and would wait for the price correction to finish before re-entering the market. Numerous condominium complexes and subdivisions were left on the drawing board leaving vacant lots everywhere or worse,…
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