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A quiet day all things considered, with more housecleaning going on in the fundish portfolios as the markets lumber on into the quarter end close.
Let's see if the selling does dry up now, and the paint sprayers switch on and begin to hit the tape.
If 'something happens' all bets are off of course. This is a flimsy market to say the least, about as cynical as it gets.
Economics is a disgraced profession because of the actions of a few that were tolerated by many, too often for the sake of grants, appointments, and academic timidity. Careerism.
I would not give many of the Wall Street friendly economists too much credit for an obsession with abstract thinking and even dogmatic blindness, but much moreso a willingly cynical preoccupation with temporal honors, prestige, power, and money handed out by the financial interests in a bubble economy of their own creation.
And there is a fitting emblem for this hubris, the cult of the self, with the long tenure of Alan Greenspan at the Federal Reserve.
A bureaucrat who is in a position of power for far too long can become a debilitating influence not only on their particular area or department, but on a profession as a whole. One might think of it as the J. Edgar Hoover syndrome.
Robert Johnson serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) and a Senior Fellow and Director of the Global Finance Project for the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute in New York.
Johnson is an international investor and consultant to investment funds on issues of portfolio strategy. He recently served on the United Nations Commission of Experts on International Monetary Reform under the Chairmanship of Joseph Stiglitz.
Previously, Johnson was a Managing Director at Soros Fund Management where he managed a global currency, bond and equity portfolio specializing in emerging markets. Prior to working at Soros Fund Management, he was a Managing Director of Bankers Trust Company managing a global currency fund.
Johnson served as Chief Economist of the US Senate Banking Committee under the leadership of Chairman William Proxmire (D. Wisconsin). Before this, he was Senior Economist of the US Senate Budget Committee under the leadership of Chairman Pete Domenici (R. New Mexico).
Johnson was an Executive Producer of the Oscar winning documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side, directed by Alex Gibney, and is the former President of the National Scholastic Chess Foundation. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of both the Economic Policy Institute and the Campaign for America’s Future.
Johnson received a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from Princeton University and a B.S. in both Electrical Engineering and Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In addition to the end of quarter mark to market boogie woogie, which I think is responsible for quite a bit of the stock market action, there are also a few key things happening in the gold and silver futures markets this week that also provide the occasion for some 'technical trading.'
Harvey Organ reminds us that the metals often get 'hit' as an active month rolls over, to discourage speculators from taking delivery on their contracts. This is often marked by the 'first notice day.'
In the short term the markets are a bit treacherous because of the lack of enforcement of the basic rules that govern healthy markets. In the longer term these things tend to become just noise.
Pick whatever time frames you wish, but know the character of the markets in which you choose to participate.
Also bear in mind that during times of excessive market speculation because of hot money and lax regulation, information sources are often used and even co-opted to help to shape 'perceptions.'
This may even be unconscious if the information provider does not view certain stories that are offered at certain times with a skeptical eye. A little truth broadly embellished and assigned is the most reliable sort of lie.
Sept. 26 Comex October miNY gold futures last trading day
Sept. 26 Comex September silver futures last trading day
Sept. 27 Comex October gold options expiry
Sept. 28 Comex September gold futures last trading day
Sept. 28 Comex October E-mini gold futures last trading day
Sept. 28 Comex October gold futures first notice day
Oct. 27 Comex November E-mini silver futures last trading day
Oct. 27 Comex October silver futures last trading day
Oct. 27 Comex November E-mini gold futures last trading day
Oct. 29 Comex October gold futures last trading day
Nov. 27 Comex December gold options expiry
Nov. 27 Comex December silver options expiry
Nov. 28 Comex December miNY gold futures last trading day
Nov. 28 Comex December miNY silver futures last trading day
Nov. 30 Comex December gold futures first notice day
Nov. 30 Comex December silver futures first notice day
Dec. 27 Comex December gold futures last trading day
Dec. 27 Comex December silver futures last trading day
Dec. 27 Comex December E-micro gold futures last trading day
Dec. 31 Comex January 2013 silver futures first notice day
The formation will not be valid until the previous high is exceeded and there is a clear breakout, or a handle is set for a 'cup and handle.'
These charts are from my friend Nick Laird.
The lesson seems to be 'buy post London fix' and 'sell before the London AM fix.'
Or just ignore the intraday wiggles if you do not have the time and inclination to trade, and wait for this cynical, hypocritical, and criminally fraudulent market centered in NY and London to tear itself apart.
