Posted on 05/20/2010 10:08:05 AM PDT by EBH
The euro was weak again early Thursday and, predictably, global stocks followed suit. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.5% overnight, major European bourses were down 1.85% to 3% in recent trading, while U.S. proxies were down 2.5% to 3%.
In recent trading, the Dow was below its 200-day moving average of 10,250, while the S&P 500, Dow Transports, Nasdaq and Russell 2000 were each more than 10% below recent highs, or in official "correction" territory.
Traders watch such technical indicators closely, and concerns about moving averages and the like can become self-fulfilling and generate more selling.
At the same time, the selloff has brought out a rash of "crash" predictions in recent days, including from legendary newsletter writer Richard Russell. In addition, Fortune's Sean Tully compares the current environment to 1987 (pre-crash) and says "investors can, at best, expect extremely low returns in the years ahead."
The fact sentiment has seemingly swung so quickly from "pause to refresh" three weeks ago to "end of the world" today is a positive sign from a contrarian perspective. To wit, veteran market watcher Don Hays titled his report yesterday: "Nouriel [Roubini] is Sounding Good Again, and That is Bullish"
Sentiment is hugely important in the short-term and clearly it has turned sharply negative. Longer-term, the market tends to focus on fundamentals but here too, the naysayers are finding their voice, citing:
* -- The possible disintegration of the euro and general chaos in Europe, where policymakers can't seem to get their act together. * -- Potential for a second-half slowdown in the global economy and renewed weakness in U.S. housing. * -- Deflationary pressures in the developed world, and inflationary pressures in emerging markets. * -- Rioting in Athens, Bangkok and other global capitals. * -- Rising tensions between North and South Korea.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Get bamy on a bass guitar and they could start a string band.
We Didn’t Start The Fire
Artist(Band):Billy Joel
Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray
South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio
Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television
North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe
Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom
Brando, “The King and I”, and “The Catcher in the Rye”
Eisenhower, vaccine, England’s got a new queen
Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye
CHORUS
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Josef Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev
Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc
Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron
Dien Bien Phu Falls, Rock Around the Clock
Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team
Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland
Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev
Princess Grace, Peyton Place, Trouble in the Suez
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac
Sputnik, Zhou Enlai, Bridge On The River Kwai
Lebanon, Charles de Gaulle, California Baseball,
Starkweather homicide, Children of Thalidomide
Buddy Holly, Ben Hur, Space Monkey, Mafia
Hula Hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go
U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy
Chubby Checker, Psycho, Belgians in the Congo
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Hemingway, Eichmann, Stranger in a Strange Land,
Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion
Lawrence of Arabia, British Beatlemania
Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson
Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again
Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock
Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan
Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz
Hypodermics on the shores, China’s under martial law
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can’t take it anymore
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning since the world’s been turning.
We didn’t start the fire
But when we are gone
It will still burn on, and on, and on, and on...
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it
We didn’t start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning
We didn’t start the fire...
What? No unexpectedly?
•GROSS: FINANCIAL MARKETS EXHIBITING “MINI RELAPSE” OF FLIGHT TO LIQUIDITY
•GROSS: HEDGE FUNDS AND OTHER LEVERAGED POSITIONS NOW LIQUIDATING TO PRESERVE CAPITAL
Actually earlier today the news said that the downturn was partially due to the “unexpected” rise in first time unemployment cases, they went up to 471,000 +. So, yes, unexpectedly was definitely in there.
Looks like this just may be it....
READY....we can all jump together.
“Investor (Stockholm: INVE-B.ST - news) uncertainty is leading to a flight to quality and safe havens,” said Peter Dixon, economist at Commerzbank (Xetra: 803200 - news) .
“Dumping stocks seems sensible with so much uncertainty on the macro environment, and all fundamental ways of looking at value are out of the window.”
This is not “it”. This is a precursor.
That song needs a whole new verse to deal with Obama and Islam, the two biggest blights in our world.
This will fuel a GOP takover of Congress in November.
Please, can we stop being so gleeful about it.
It’s coming and it’s nothing to be happy about. All the “this is it” and “so it begins” posts every day are getting tiresome.
I’m personally praying it DOESN’T happen and preparing for the worst.
Could be all the census temp jobs drying up. Incidentally I went to the census.gov web site to get the numbers and got a “this connection untrusted” warning from Firefox. Go figure.
Always makes me giggle. Meaning of course that the market stays in crap as long as possible.
Used to be that the typical strategy would be to buy-and-hold quality. Now it's a rarity assumed only in panic.
The PPT trotted out Bahny Fwank to psychobabble for a few minutes before they started buying in. The miraculous rise’off the lows’ will now begin.
Sorry if you read it as glee.
I posted it shaking my head negatively in disgust.
The handwriting has been on the wall for over a year now and they just kept repeating the same mistake over and over and over.
It is either global insanity or will intent.
The world has gone insane...............
Ah, whew, thought the MSM was slipping.
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