Market comments for June 15th: Astonishing!

The Put to Call ratio today closed once again above the 1.00 level this time reaching 10 consecutive days the ratio has reached this occurrence. The last time the Put to Call ratio had a run like this was starting on June 26th, 2008 where for 13 consecutive days a 1.00 Put to Call ratio was observed. In the chart below, I have circled both occurrences with red circles and arrows pointing to both periods.

In the chart below, the Dow Industrials average is plotted so that you can see what turbulence followed just after the June 26th, 2008 period. It started the big selloff in the market.

The real question to ponder right now is whether we are at the precipice of the decline, as we were at roughly this time in 2008 as you can see from the chart. That was the beginning of the drop all the way down to Dow 6,500. Back in June 26th 2008, the Dow was at 11,500, which wasn't too far from where we are starting now, is it? :) Only time will tell and it will be hindsight as that. Coincidence or correlated? Cause or Effect? That is the real question. Astonishing!

UPDATE: 5:45am PST

The Core CPI for May came in at +0.3% or an annual rate of +3.6. Also, the Empire State Index dropped from + 11.88 in May to -7.79 in June and that isn't good! Dow Futures are down about 110 points and the Nasdaq Futures are down about -20 points. Adding to the drop in the Futures is the riots in Greece over the austerity required to get bailed out by the EU. The people don't want any part of it and have turned unfortunately to violence in the streets as tear gas and water cannons are now targeting those protesters.

Market outlook for July 16th (With continuous Updates)

Well the news came out this morning on CPI. First the actual data and then how the media is portraying it. The CPI for the month of June came in at -0.1%. For the month of May it was -0.2%. The Core CPI for June came in at +0.2% while for May it was 0.1%. That's the unvarnished data. Now here are the headlines I noticed across the internet this morning:

From Yahoo.com
Headline: Consumer prices dip for third straight month
Excerpt: "The Consumer Price Index, the government's most closely watch inflation barometer, dipped 0.1 percent in June, the Labor Department reported Friday. Less expensive energy bills were a big factor behind the drop. Prices for some food items, airlines fares, computers, telephone service and personal care products also fell last month."

From Bloomberg.com
Headline: Prices Excluding Food, Fuel in U.S. Exceed Forecast
Excerpt: "The cost of living in the U.S., excluding food and energy prices, climbed in June more than forecast, easing concern that a slowdown in growth will spur deflation. The so-called core rate of the consumer-price index increased 0.2 percent, the most since October and exceeding the 0.1 percent gain projected by the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. Prices overall fell 0.1 percent, a third straight decrease and matching the median forecast."

So what's important to focus on her.I think the fact that the CPI is down for the 3rd straight month and in fact down for most of the past 6 months, but no one mentions that. You see yesterday in the NY Times, there was a column about the Fed being split at its latest FOMC meeting in that a number of them raised concern about Deflation for the first time. Quoting from the article, "Inflation has been running well below its unofficial target of 2%, so much that a few officials fear that the US is at risk of the kind of deflationary spiral that has hobbled the Japanese economy for the better part of 2 decades." So even here at the FOMC meeting is the deflation issue is creeping into the forefront of the news.

Now add to that how us real people feel and you get a better view of how things really are. Just out are readings of Consumer Confidence which is important because the Consumer makes up 70% of our economy they say. So here is the info on that: The survey's preliminary July reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment plummeted to 66.5 from 76.0 in June. So we know how things really are going and sooner or later the markets will have to follow suit and replicate the real economy no matter how much the Fed is pumping money into firms like Goldman Sachs and others to get them to manipulate the stock market by buying near the close of the market every day. Just look at 1 minute charts of the Dow or Nasdaq or any Index for the last hour of trading compared to the previous time during the day. You will be convinced if you are objective.

So the market has had a minor reaction to the news with the Dow down as much as about 180 points this morning. Let's see how the day ends. My guess as it always has been of late is that it SHOULD be down based on the evidence, but manipulation of the markets has not yet abated. Time will tell if sanity rules.

UPDATE: 8:00am PST
The Dow has managed to stay below the 50 day Moving Average again today and that is a good reversal from past couple of days. It puts the rise in the market on hold and sets up a declining trend. The 50 day MA is at about 10,250, while the 200 day MA is at 10,380. The other thing I like particularly about the day unfolding is that we are forming a Hammer pattern which stops the uptrend and reverses it. That would keep in tact the trend of lower highs (the first rally a month or so ago was to 10,594 and this one will have peaked at 10,400) and lower lows. This will mean that we will most likely go below the previous recent low of 9,614.

UPDATE; 8:30am PST
Volume is up significantly at 160 Million shares so far compared to yesterday's 210 Million shares traded on the Dow for the whole day!

Economic Indicators for July 15

Here I am waiting for a flight from Rochester, NY to go home via Chicago and I check the economic news out at 5:30am PST, and guess what, I see more bad news. For a starter, the PPI came in at -0.5 percent, which is another indicator we are in Deflation, not Inflation! Anybody listening out there? And that's with all the stimulation the gov't was allowed to spend. Paul Krugman warned that we needed twice as much stimulus back when the government was deciding what was needed, but Republicans in the Senate and a few Democrats like Ben Nelson and Independent Joe Lieberman wouldn't support any more. In fact they didn't even suppot the amount which was approved by Democrats and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Thank God they passed what they did!

Here's the other piece of news. The NY Fed announced that the Empire Manufacturing Index came in at 5.0, which is barely manufacturing. Last month the number was 19.6 and the expectation for this month was for a reading of 19.0, so how's that for a taste of reality.

One last piece of data to type on this iPhone, Continuing Claims came in much higher than expected at 4.654 Million Continuing Claims versus an expected number of 4.440 Million Claims. Still think the economy is getting better? What planet are you living on, because it doesn't look that way from where I sit!

I will be watching the market as much as I can traveling home today. God bless the iPhone! Good luck investing or trading.

Headlines and comments for July 13th

Ok, want to get a sense of what's going on and where the market is headed? Let's just look at the headlines from today's Bloomberg.com web site. I'll write the headline in quotes and then make a comment after each. Here they are:

-"European Stocks, U.S. Index Futures Rally on Alcoa Earnings; Euro weakens" Hmmm, why is the Euro weakening, I thought things were improving in Europe, as the Greek debt crisis had abated. Well it turns out they are now worrying about Portugal's debt, as Moody downgraded it.

-Greece Bill Sale Below EU Bailout Rate Eases Concern over Borrowing Costs" Hmmm, but what about Portugal's debt crisis looming?

-"Europe's Banks Poised to Win Reprieve in Basel on How Capital is Defined" Hmmm, I don't get a chance to redefine what my capital is. What kind of game is this? And why do they have to redefine what capital is? Haven't they had a definition all these years already? What's the old definition and what's going to be the new one? Isn't money, money? Oh, and here is the real news from the article, "A push to water down stringent standards proposed last year by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, and to allow more time to implement them, is led by France and Germany, according to bankers, regulators and lobbyists involved in the talks. Representatives from the U.S. and the U.K., who have sought to rein in risk-taking, are willing to compromise on how capital is defined to reach an agreement at a committee meeting that begins tomorrow, the people said." Feel better now? I don't! The games Governments are playing now threatens our very economic survival.

-"German Investor Confidence Drops as Debt Crisis Threatens to Hobble Growth" Hmmm, I thought we solved the Debt problem with 1 Trillion Euros. Are you telling us you are still worried? Now you've got me worried! It turns out that German investor confidence declined for a third month in July as Europe’s debt crisis threatens to cripple economic growth and banks undergo stress tests to prove their durability. Imagine that, they lend 1 Trillion to solve the debt crisis but then worry whether they have 1 Trillion to lend. By the way, this is the 3rd month of declining German Investor confidence has dropped. It went down to a 15 month low of 21.2 and they had expected a drop to only 25.3 from the 28.7 level in June. Hmmm, this is the only real truth out there it seems today. The German's seem to know it's a shell game. Their confidence level, or lack of it, says it all for me!

-"U.K. Inflation Slows Less Than Forecast; Rate is Above Government Target" Hasn't anybody been paying attention there? What good is a target if you never have acted on anything away from target before? Oh now you are concerned. Well the World is really experiencing Deflation if they pay attention.

That's enough to get you going on the headlines this morning from Bloomberg.com. Hope you enjoyed the recap and comments. You get the point, it's all a game of manipulation with a smattering of honesty mixed in for good measure. Read headlines for what they are really saying. There is another way to interpret each, using a more skeptical eye.

After reading all the headlines, I looked at the charts again and I do not believe we will go over 10,300 and stay above that level. And we are close as yesterday we closed at 10,1216.

PPI, Housing Starts for May: Not really good, but will it affect the market?

Yesterday was an unusual day in the market. The Dow soared up above the R2 (Resistance) level of 10,377, closing above 10,400 and all on bad news during the day. I had said it wouldn't happen. I was wrong. The Futures were pointing down as the PPI data and Housing Starts data was to be released. The PPI (Producer Price Index) came in at -0.3% compared to being down -0.1% in April, while Housing Starts were down -10%. May Building permits were down -5.9% after being up +3.9% in April.

The PPI numbers continue to support the fact we are in a Deflationary period, contrary to many who believe we are in Inflation. Does it really make a difference? It should as it affects Fed policy, but the stock markets seem to be driven by the beat of a different drummer and we aren't sure who's beating that drum, are we. This stock market even has Cramer scratching his head, as he said on his CNBC Mad Money show yesterday. To quote Cramer, "It makes no sense at all!"

A philosophical view of the stock market and commentary.

Yesterday's market action was a function of fluctuations in currency movement and the same could happen today, according to Art Cashin of UBS Warburg on CNBC this morning. I don't know if that was the cause but there was a surge of the dollar at the open yesterday and, within an hour of the close, the Dollar dropped. Theses fluctuations are expected to continue as Europeans settle in on what they think about the Euro now in light of the 1 Trillion bailout of EU zone countries.

Having said that, we continue to be in a negative frame of mind in US markets. Today the PPI number for April came in at -0.1%, which is deflationary in itself. That continues to plague our economy as we have had negative CPI or zero CPI with all the money and stimulus the Fed has been actively creating. Even with this major effort, there appears to be deflation worries continuing and so far the Fed has not managed to abate this concern. Inflation watchers, rightfully so, keep looking for inflation to rear its ugly head. It has in effect with the rise in Gold and other precious metals, but not enough to turn the tide in the direction of inflation. There is contention on this topic in most Cable programs based upon commentary by their guests.

You would think this would be the most ideal time to pay down Federal Debt with nearly zero interest rates, but it appears for political reasons we prefer to pay the debt down when interest rates rise and the pain is greater. I just don't understand the shortsightedness of Americans. I do understand the politics of the situation, as we are a democracy where politicians are working to get re-elected immediately after winning an election and pain means sure defeat at the polls. Which is why the pain caused by our lack of backbone in dealing with these issues at a logical time is not great enough to make us move into action. That is why we had a Great Depression and why we are destined to repeat history again, unfortunately. This is why I favor the view the markets will drop significantly and shake us to the core as the excesses of the 80's to the first part of the 21st Century will shape a new generation of true fiscal conservatives. We need a cleansing and we are going to have one. That is why the markets do follow Elliott wave Theory and are based on Fibonacci numbers. It is based upon the very nature of man (and woman).

Premarket July 24th, 2009

I believe we are still in the 7,800 to 9,300 range in the market and will have that major pullback I have been waiting for in the Fall. I expect the market to go down and retest the lows sometime by Options expiration in October. My reasoning is that business is not good anywhere and that any surprise profits are coming from cutting costs, not an increase in revenues. Unemployment is still rising and without that abating it's hard to see a true recovery taking place. While traveling in remote areas of upstate NY between Buffalo and the lower tier near Amish country, my wife and I saw many homes and farms for sale, one after another. The only place having any customers was WalMart and Dollar General, where everything is a dollar.

In the chart below from Chart of the Day, it shows expectations of the lowest earnings for companies since before 1929. That is not good at all.



And yes we will be in a period of inflation where whatever money we have will be worth far less 10 years from now, than we can today. Owning hard assets is the only protection against inflation, as cash will be worthless. So owning property, income generating property, Gold, Silver and anything that will appreciate as inflation increases, is the play for the future.

Market outlook for June 24th, 2009

This morning in pre-market Durable Goods Orders were reported to climb again 1.8% for May, as compared to a 1.8% gain in April. It is a very small positive sign, but the market is looking for any good news these days and a gain is better than a loss. The market may rise today but not a very strong rally in my view. The bigger news being awaited by the market is the announcement by the Fed after several days of meetings. Will Fed Chairman Bernanke say he still sees the worry of deflation or will they say they see and are concerned about inflation. In my view the Bulls and Bears will each have a strong case with whatever they say as a case can be made for being Bearish or Bullish. It doesn't really matter what they say. It is more important as to what the actual data says on the economy. So far, it's pretty bleak! If you are an American, Asian or European who is watching the data and see the Unemployment rate in the U.S. is at 9.4%, in California it's at 11.5% or in Spain it's 17%, you can say we are still in a bad recession. If you are one of those who are unemployed yourself, then you feel we are in a Depression!

But in pre-market the Futures are up and in Europe trading is up as well. Those views are by those who have money to invest and are obviously employed. They don't feel the pain of job loss! Only when the market goes down do most start to feel the pain of the reality of the economic conditions in their countries. Stay tuned!

Don't forget to vote in the Mini Poll on the right margin if you haven't voted this month. There is only 1 week left before I summarize June's data.

Market summary for June 17, 2009

The Market closed mixed today and the change was insignificant in all three Indexes. However, the big news to me today was that the Put to Call ratio closed at 1.13 which is the highest it has been in a long time. As a matter of fact, within the first 1/2 hour, the Put to Call ratio hit a high of 1.41. From the chart above you can see where that would have been, if it closed there. But still, 1.13 is getting up there.

I expect this to go higher before the market closes on Friday as Options are expiring each day. Today, VIX, VXN, RVX Options all have expired. Tomorrow morning settled index options cease trading. And on Friday, Expiring equity, P.M. settled index options and treasury/interest rate option classes cease trading. Expiring cash-settled currency options cease trading at 12:00 p.m. EST. The Quarterly Options Expiration doesn't occur until June 30th.

The volume for the Dow today was still significantly lower than the Moving average, but it was equal to yesterday's. The Nasdaq seems to have equal volume to its moving average. The Nasdaq gained 11 points today, the Dow lost 8 points and the S&P500 lost 2 points. The trend is still down for 2 out of 3 Indexes and the Dow has now fallen back below its 200 day Moving average. The S&P 500 is still above its 200 day MA but it is very close to going back below it again. The Nasdaq still has plenty of room above its 200 day MA.

Volatility was somewhat lighter today as the VIX closed at 31.54 today, down slightly from 32.68, which was yesterday's close.

Data announced in pre-market today was the CPI (Cost of Living Index). Many investors have been discussing perceived inflation concerns. But today, the CPI index came in at +0.1%, hardly inflationary. Yet many worry that eventually the heavy spending by the Treasury and the Fed flooding the market by printing as many dollars as the presses can turn out. I am sure eventually we will need to worry about inflation, but every sign I see is that we are still in a deflationary period. Everyone is dropping prices in hopes to gain more volume and sustain profits. But the Consumer is deaf to these announcements and continue to save cash rather than spend. As long as this continues, this economy is not going to recover anytime soon. You may not believe this but the best way of testing this premise is to ask yourself the question, Am I spending as much now as I did a year ago and am I going to be spending more over the next 6 months? Anyone want to respond, click on the word Comments and add your opinion as to how you are answering this question. Please also leave the name of the State you are living in currently.

Also, please don't forget to take the Mini Poll on how long you think the recession will last. Thanks!