Markets Close Higher, Investor Worries Depress Averages
Closing Market Commentary For 09-03-2013
Afternoon averages moved to the negative
side several times in the afternoon session but closed up just above
lackluster - on moderate volume. We are most definitely in a consolation
mode as the last 5 sessions show. Tight and constrained all of the
major averages have moved sideways building pressure to go one or the
other.
Markets closed up in a moderate fashion,
with many investors to continue to worry over World affairs. There is no
simple answer to whether the markets will continue to go up or face a
substantial 'correction' in the next week or so.
What We Read Today 03 September 2013
Econintersect: Click Read more >> below graphic to see today's list.
The top of today's reading list has
Gary Shilling's discourse on the promise of the future ........ and
the last article is Bloomberg's ranking of the efficiencies of global
health care systems - be patient if you start at the top and look for
the U.S..
Averages Melt Down On Syrian War Worries
Midday Market Commentary For 09-03-2013
By noon the markets looked tired and weak
on low volume. Around 11:15 the averages started to melt down in
earnest below the +0.70% mark.
The was a moment or 2 where the bears
were about to upset the apple cart with some heavy selling but the
BTFDers saved the day - for now anyway.
I wouldn't bet on anything today in this casino market.
September 2013 Blogger Sentiment Reverses
Econintersect: The Blogger Sentiment Poll released by Ticker Sense shows the bloggers have a fairly bearish market sentiment - a complete reversal from last month.
This blogger poll is very noisy.
'I didn't join Navy to fight for Al-Qaeda': US Servicemen Against Syria Strike
Images
have emerged showing U.S. servicemen speaking out against a looming
strike against Damascus. Those pictures cannot be verified but the
Pentagon is reportedly already looking into the identities of those
involved.
August 2013 ISM Manufacturing Survey Again Strengthens
Written by Steven Hansen
The ISM Manufacturing survey for August 2013 showed the survey's
expansion strengthened. The New Orders sub-index which historically
correlates to the economy showed even a stronger expansion.
Read more >>
Construction Growth Was Slightly Above Expectations in July 2013
Written by Steven Hansen
After last month's terrible data, the data returned to the 2013 trend
line (aided by backward revision) - but rate of growth still is slightly
decelerating.
Read more >>
Markets Gap Up +1% At Opening, Many Investors Wary
Opening Market Commentary For 09-03-2013
Premarkets were up +1.00% recovering from
the previous week of Syrian war scare. Markets are very fragile and
most investors wouldn't consider moving one way or the other.
Markets opened up and the DOW moved up to
+1.11%, SP500 +1.09% and the NASDAQ +1.27%. Most of the major indices
left significant opening gaps representing a bearish outlook. MSFT took a
2 point hit this morning edging down to 31.62 approaching a support
around 31.25.
By 10 am the markets had turned very
slightly and were melting down, but this is most likely going to be a
sea-saw action at this level.
A Word from This Newsletter's Sponsor
The Next Industry to Crumble...
Imagine owning Amazon.com (up over an insane 4,000% since 2001) when
Internet sales rendered big-box retailers obsolete. Now an industry 99% of
us use daily is set to implode... And 3 established companies are perfectly
positioned to take advantage of this game-changing economic shift.
July 2013 CoreLogic Home Prices Now Up 12.4% Year-over-Year
Econintersect:
CoreLogic's Home Price Index (HPI) shows that home prices in the USA
in July 2013 are up 12.4% year-over-year (the June report said home
prices were up 11.9%).
Stratfor: Obama's Tightrope Walk
By George Friedman, Founder and Chairman, Stratfor
Last week began with certainty that an attack on Syria was inevitable
and even imminent. It ended with the coalition supporting the attack
somewhere between falling apart and not coming together, and with U.S.
President Barack Obama making it clear that an attack was inevitable,
maybe in a month or so, if Congress approves, afterSept. 9when it
reconvenes.This is a comedy in three parts: the reluctant warrior
turning into the raging general and finding his followers drifting away,
becoming the reluctant warrior again.
Read more >>
How to Invest with DRIPs and Boost Your Returns
Money Morning Article of the Week
by Tony Daltorio, MoneyMorning.com
It's
a strategy that isn't discussed often in the financial media, and on
top of that, it has an odd name. So if you're wondering why you need to
know how to invest with DRIPs, just wait until you learn how powerful
they can be.
DRIPs are Dividend Reinvestment Plans -
at its most basic, a simple, easy way for long-term investors to
reinvest money into a company they already own.
Dividends by themselves are a great thing.
A number of studies over the years have
shown that dividends accounted for more than 60% of total U.S. stock
market returns since the 1870s.
Rothbard and the Libertarian Populists
by David D'Amato
This article originally appeared 15 August 2013 at
mises.org.
Recent weeks have seen much speculation by pundits about the nature of
'libertarian populism.' For those who regard all of libertarianism as an
ideological whitewash for plutocracy, libertarian populism is clearly a
matter of pulling the wool over the eyes of the common man.
Read more >>
Ronald Coase, 102
Econintersect:
As a child in England he attended a school for the physically defective
because of congential weakness in his legs. The education provided
there was not oriented toward "
intellectual
things"
(Coase's words). He managed as a teenager to take some "External
Programme" courses at the University of London and from there he gained
admission to the London School of Economics to study for a degree in
Commerce. This might best be compared to a modern degree in Business
Administration. He was on the faculty at the London School of economics
from 1935 to 1951. He then came to the U.S. (University of Buffalo,
University of Virginia and University of Chicago). Ronald Coase was born
29 December 1910 in Wiillesden (suburban London) and died yesterday 02
September 2013 in Chicago, Illinois.
Infographic of the Day: The Psychology of Poverty - Its Impact on Mental Health
Poverty
has an impact on the mental health of all Americans. Those living below
the poverty line are three times more likely to have serious
psychological distress as compared to those living above the poverty
level.
The Great Recession, 2008: U.S. suicide rate was increasing by about
0.12 deaths per 100,000 people between 1999 and 2007, but when the
recession hit in 2008, the rate began increasing by an average of 0.51
deaths per 100,000 people each year. This jump resulted in about 1,500
additional deaths from suicide each year after 2008.
Competitors Can't Keep Up With Amazon's Growth
by Felix Richter, Statista.com
Online retailer
Amazon.com posted net sales of more than $61 billion for the past year. A
number, that none of its U.S. competitors comes even close to match.
This chart shows the online sales growth of the largest U.S. e-retailers
In the past decade, the internet has completely changed the way we shop.
In the United States alone, e-commerce sales rose from $42 billion in
2002 to almost $190 billion in the past year.
France's Pension Reform Neither Far Nor Fast Enough
Written by Hilary Barnes
Olli
Rehn, EU Budget Commissioner, said on August 28 that France should go
further and faster with reforms to get its budget deficit under control.
The pension reform outlined by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault on the
evening of August 28 may be a good example of how France neither goes
far nor fast enough, which may encourage the commission to bring forward
the day when it places France's finances under administration through
the EU "
excessive debt" procedures.
Insider Trading 30 August 2013: Facebook Insiders Selling Again
by Asif Suria
Insider
buying increased with insiders purchasing $47.13 million of their stock
last week compared to $39.95 million in the week prior. Selling also
increased with insiders selling $917.32 million of stock last week
compared to $742.11 million in the week prior.
Sell/Buy Ratio: The
insider Sell/Buy ratio is calculated by dividing the total insider sales
in a given week by total insider purchases that week. The adjusted ratio for last week increased to 19.46. In other words, insiders sold more than 19 times as much stock as they purchased. The Sell/Buy ratio this week compares unfavorably with the prior week, when the ratio stood at 18.57.
Central Banks Split on Rate Moves Last Week
Monetary Policy Week in Review - Aug 26-30, 2013: Brazil, Indonesia raise rates, Hungary and Angola cut, 5 on hold
by Peter Nielsen, Central Bank News
Last
week two major emerging market central banks, Brazil and Indonesia,
raised their policy rates to stem the decline in their currencies and
counter growing inflationary pressure while Hungary and Angola cut rates
and five other central banks maintained rates.
Brazil and Indonesia raised rates by 50
basis points as international investors continued to shift funds toward
advanced economies in anticipation of improving economic growth,
illustrated by the U.S. Federal Reserve's tapering of quantitative
easing later this year, possibly already in September.
Assad's Regional Unpopularity
by Felix Richter, Statista.com
As the United States and its European
allies consider launching a military strike on Syria in the wake of a
chemical attack alleged to have been carried out by Bashar Al-Assad's
government, the Pew Research Center has revealed that the regime has few
friends in the region.
This chart shows public opinion on Bashar al-Assad before the alleged chemical attack.
