31 July 2012

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - End of Month, FOMC Tomorrow


Gold and silver were a little weak to flat today for the end of month.

FOMC announcement tomorrow and possibly something from the ECB on Thursday.

Rough seas ahead.


SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - End of the Month


Say goodby to July.

Stocks sold off slightly in to the close, with tech slightly stronger than the SP today as there was speculation that AAPl would give a dividend and may be included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

FOMC decision tomorrow, and perhaps something from the ECB the next day.

Its almost an even bet if Benny will do the twist, or anything else for that matter, tomorrow.

They *might* follow on the ECB if some news comes out. But if they do nothing this week the next meeting is in September, the last time they are likely to act before the elections.

Take Two Interactive had a big miss across the board after the bell.

Electronic Arts did poorly as well, but their stock is not being hammered like Take Two, which also guided lower.


Confessions of an Insider Trading M&A Attorney Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison



Matthew Kluger's rationalization, self-defense, and righteous indignation is interesting.
"We had a gentlemen's agreement. My accomplices cheated me!"
But it does illustrate the familiar axiom: There is no honor among thieves.

And you just have to love the line from Matthew Kluger's full interview, not included in this clip,
"This is not a victimless crime. I'm going to jail!"



30 July 2012

This Week's US Economic Calendar



The Fed has a meeting scheduled this week with their decision to be announced on August 1.

There are rumours that the Fed will take some action this week after the ECB and the Bank of England take some action on Wednesday or Thursday first. The Fed may need 'air cover' for a decision that is likely to be viewed as political.

I suspect the Fed may wait for the Non-Farm Payrolls Report unless something happens in Europe. Or if they learn of something that we do not know.

The markets are expecting this. If nothing happens, or even worse, something negative occurs, we may see some volume show up, to the downside.