Daily Investment Interpretations

September 17, 2009

2009-9-17:  After yesterday's hearty gains, the indices have pulled back a little today. The NASDAQ Composite gave up 6.4 points, (-0.3%) to end at 2,126.75, the Dow back off 108.3 points (-0.08%) to finish at 9,783.92 and the S&P 500 subtracted 3.27 points (-0.31%) to end at 1,065.49. Oil moved up slightly to $72.53 a barrel, while gold rose $7 to close at $1,014. The VIX fell 0.04 to 23.65.
    The financial news is beginning to tilt negative again: Harrison assails conventional view. The news today seems to be quite good, although the real news that informs the markets often doesn't appear until later.
    In what to me is momentous news, the White House today abandoned the Bush Administration's missile defense plan that would have placed anti-missile missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic, opening the way to World War III and a nuclear holocaust. Russia had warned that if the U. S. persisted in its plans to erect a "ring of fire" (my expression) around Russia by 2012, Russia would respond with a pre-emptive strike that could include nuclear weapons. Russia's Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, pointed out last year that the U. S. anti-missile defense wouldn't be effective against cruise missiles.
    Mark Hulbert: Bubbles aren't just for the stock market.