The market is now propped up by HFT volume. Even as there are billions of dollars of outflows from funds in the market every month for the last umpteen months, the indices continue to totter ever higher on wispy thin volume.
Part of the problem here is that the SEC refuses to do anything about the HFT’s.
The second part of the problem is the expectation of a QE2, which I would add, would NOT be needed if the economy were doing oh-so-peachy.
The thing that pisses me off the most here is this: we have clear evidence of massive fraud in the banking sector now, (I mean fraud on a scale of “steal the nation out from under our feet” level of fraud - a fraud that makes even Madoff look like a street corner three card monty huckster), there is clear evidence that the markets are a) rigged and b) the retail investor can sense this (hence the pullout of funds), even some previously successful hedge fund operators are pulling out and closing up shop, it is so bad.
And what does the political leadership do?
Not a damn thing. The Democrats are knowledgable and complicit in this; they know full well what is going on and there are many among them who know how the markets work, how they’re rigged and who is making a fat roll from the scams being run on the taxpayers and investors. For this, I think that they’re corrupt beyond redemption.
The Republicans are, in some ways, worse. To me, the GOP now appears to be run by witless bought-off dupes who cut deals behind the backs of the rank-and-file in order to gain campaign contributions. The leadership is so feckless and ignorant of how the markets work, they cannot comprehend what they’re doing.
The new GOP candidates are so ignorant of the situation in the financial markets that they might as well be martians who just blew in from beyond the asteroid belt. They’re earnest yet utterly clueless, and they give me no evidence that they have the mental capacity to quickly learn the information necessary to understand the markets, much less write effective legislation to undo what Phil and Wendy Gramm, Bill Clinton, Bob Rubin, Larry Summers, Hank Paulson et al have wrought.
Such is now the end game for the US: A choice between the cynically evil and the earnestly ignorant.
They are rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic..
It is unsinkable...
Yep...that is more than concerning...we can only hope they have some ducks in a row to counter their lack of mental capacity. One thing about Bush...he did know to appoint those wiser than himself for the most part. Tricky ground we are on...but I will still go with those less experienced and pray hard they will be wise in who they choose to support their positions.