Daily Investment Interpretations
October 19, 2010
2010-10-19
(Tuesday Night):
My investment advisory service certainly this one right! Stocks fell through the floor
today: China, bank worries weigh. The NASDAQ Composite
lapsed 43,71
points (-1.76%)
to 2,436.95 The Dow dove 165.07
points (-1.48%)
to close
at 10,978.62, and the S&P 500
plunged 18.81
points (-1.59%)
to end at 1,165.90. Oil dipped to $79.52 a barrel,
while Gold shrank to $1,334. The VIX rose 1.54
to 20.63.
Income
Inequality: Too Big to Ignore This article delineates some of the
harmful consequences to an economy when income inequalities reach those seen in
the United States, Zimbabwe, and one or two South American countries. In 1976,
about 9% of all income went to the top 1% of earners; by 2007, that had risen to
23.5%, while the average, inflation-corrected hourly wage fell 7%.
"Recent research on psychological well-being has
taught us that beyond a certain point, across-the-board spending increases often
do little more than raise the bar for what is considered enough. A C.E.O. may
think he needs a 30,000-square-foot mansion, for example, just because each of
his peers has one. Although they might all be just as happy in more modest
dwellings, few would be willing to downsize on their own.
"The middle-class squeeze has also reduced
voters’ willingness to support even basic public services. Rich and poor alike
endure crumbling roads, weak bridges, an unreliable rail system, and cargo
containers that enter our ports without scrutiny. And many Americans live in the
shadow of poorly maintained dams that could collapse at any moment."
Death of a democracy
This is a "must-read" for everyone. Marketwatch's Brett Arends explains
that the recent Supreme Court decision that allows corporations to give without
limit to politicians spells the end of democratic government in the United
States. This isn't about Democrats vs. Republicans, but about global
corporations versus the rest of us. (Bear in mind that MarketWatch is published
by the same News Corporation that owns Fox News and the Wall Street Journal... i.
e., it's not staffed by liberals.)
S&P 500 hesitates at the 200-week average
Mitt Romney, and why dull is looking good
All crime and no punishment on Wall St. This
article by David Weidner revisits the lack of any discouragement for Wall
Street's leading "banksters", and the fact that this lack of
accountability will open the floodgates to pushing the envelope even further.
(The worst predators have gotten a slap on the wrist, and been fined 10%-to-20%
of their loot.)
The buck drops here
What IBM says about market mood
What IBM says about market mood is that at the moment, the markets are very
unforgiving at the moment of glitches that might otherwise be ignored.
For what it's worth, stocks are up a little
tonight.
I'll be making no moves in the U. S. markets until my
investment advisory service says, "Buy"