Monday, March 1, 2010

Topsy Turvey

Yes, AIG and Fannie/Freddy were back at the window looking for more handouts. Nothing topsy or turvey there. Greece and California were on default watch and nothing new there, either.

But now the British Pound is in free fall and the UK credit rating is actually in peril. So is Japan! To put it another way, two G-7 nations are in trouble, too.

But the stock market went up! Well, not Chile as could be expected but the Chilean currency soared. Now that is topsy and turvey - especially since copper closed well off its highs.

Economic data were up in the USA, helping to push stocks up along with an AIG divestiture. Really? Up? The ISM was actually down this month although it was still above the 50 market to indicate good stuff. You can see my skepticism.

A non-financial TV commentator said today that if Japan gets downgraded then they will sell US bonds to raise cash. They are, after all, the largest holder of our debt. And all that supply will compete with all of our new borrowing to push rates higher - way higher.

Good thing the US dollar is going up. Again - oh wait, it is all relative to the others. What is not relative? Gold. Think about it - even though the dollar went up today, gold held its ground.

Call me Midas (the king, not the muffler).

4 comments:

Paul O'Cuana said...

It looks to be a critical week.
Will the NYSE Composite break through that 7100 level?

It reminds me of that Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times."

Paul O'Cuana

Ramu said...

CEO's from chipmaker companies are saying the good times are back. Inventories are not piling up, demand is good and factories are running on full ramp. Expect the NYSE to break through that level and go to 8000. There IS a disconnect somewhere but I wouldnt bet money against the market now.

Michael Kahn said...

s much as I hate to admit it, the market is staying strong. Usually, I do top down but if I look bottom up there is too much going on to the upside.

Ramu said...

Volume is ultra low. No conviction in the buying. Probably the only reason from Bears. But from last year's experience, I dont want to consider volume anymore. But intraday I see volume spiking (in millions of shares on qqqq when it moves up after a short selloff). not sure if it counts :)