Bill Cara’s Blog for May 14, 2010 [See post-close report]

New release from the National Inflation Association. Running time 54:37

The NIA makes it's case for hyperinflation.

If you enjoy kaimu's posts (as I do), you'll probably enjoy this new, well made video starring Ron Paul and Marc Faber.

Watch it here:

http://tinyurl.com/c2m34v

When Bill mentioned the Maria Bartiromo interview on the Charley Rose show, I watched it and took note of Maria's reference to the " digital growth ", as so many people have referenced.. HAUP was a hottly traded stock several years ago, and if one had looked at the flattened charts, and especially the increased volume/Obv over the past month, something was brewing... Well, yesterday we found out.. But, I got lazy, and did not bother to follow up with research, because, in honesty, I could not remember Haup, but mainly, I got lazy.. Always follow your hunch, even if it is for a short or long... and this requires the hours of necessary research... Bill does this day in, day out... So should I.

These are Canadian mortgage stats, report just released by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals :

. 93% of Canadians have never missed a payment.
. 65% of mortgages last year were at a fixed rate, 29% variable or adjustable, and 6% are combination mortgages.
. Most terms are long – 70% are five years or longer, nine% have short terms of two years or less, and 21% have terms of three or four years.
. 16% voluntarily increased payments
. 13% made lump-sump payments

Numbers are quite interesting. Does anyone know where to find the numbers for the U.S.?

(Other details at http://shockedinvestor.blogspot.com/2010/05/93-of-...)

Good morning.

AMZN - Caris & Co. Initiates Coverage with a Buy. PT = $164

GOOG - Caris & Co. Initiates Coverage with an Average. PT = $565

SNDK - target upped at Morgan Stanley to $49. Product pricing appears firm so far this quarter. Overweight rating.

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Other stocks of possible interest:

MON - estimates, target lowered at Morgan Stanley. MON estimates were reduced through 2012. Expect further disappointments from Roundup. Overweight rating and new $70 price target.

.... http://seekingalpha.com/instablog/523862-kllj-inve...

Armstrong compared the Euro regime tp the Gold standard monetary system in place during the 1930s. Both systems tied each member country inextricably into a regime where deflation is inevitable because of the ability to devalue is not there.

The heavily indebted euro nations of the day, one by one, eventually went off the gold standard and devalued - in addition to defaulting on their external debt. Perhaps the same thing will happen here? It turned out, the nations that did this faster avoided most of the troubles of the Great Depression.

KSS - Upgraded to Outperform @ BMO. PT = $65

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Note to baz22:

Thanks. I appreciate your contributions as well.

Regards,
BH

9:40:30 AM
(EU) German Chancellor Merkel: Europe is in a very serious situation; solution is not guaranteed

Interesting move in gold 5 minutes ago. Unusual of late, usually the metal rises when folks are nervous, now it's being sold. Perhaps the central bankers are getting nervous? Or maybe traders are selling what they can to meet margin calls? It will be interesting to see if this dip gets bought or not.

Merkel, translated - "Yes, I am the Wolfman"

"9:40:30 AM
(EU) German Chancellor Merkel: Europe is in a very serious situation; solution is not guaranteed"

Ah, the soothing confidence of Frau Merkel. Not. Euro is going down with debt defaults. I hear there is a serious run on bullion over there right now. Velocity from paper to gold has commenced. Brace yourselves. That's the definition hyperinflation.

Now Sarkozy is threatening to quit the euro.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7723782...

And GG is down on the day at the moment

and so does in North American Markets. Are we going to witness another FAT finger coming in today too?? Just wondering ..

will be popular as we approach 4pm.

We already know the upside gap potential since we already witnessed the $1T debt bomb fizzle in a matter of hours.

HI Bill,

regarding your comment:

"The dually listed goldminers in Canada and the US today are doing better in Canada, right across the board. That tells me that's European money, escaping the Euro, but not wanting to switch to US Dollars."

could this discrepancy be due to the fact that the USD is up against the Loonie, which has the effect of rising the miners on the TSX, while the opposite sees lackluster gains as the miners loose ground to a rising canadian dollar. (this is often the reason given by mining outfits about profits cut into by many of their valuations listed in a rising canadian dollar)

Have no idea, but gold/EUR was up a few EUR over 1000 for a while today in the European session, so this is a natural area for both profit taking & to try out some intervention if anyone is really doing that.

Today's close should be interesting, the PM bulls will want to try to run it up into the close like last week.

I believe next Friday is opex.

Thank you Bill Cara. It seems you were spot on, and as a result I was able to watch today's action in its proper context.

I have some gold at bullionvault. I wondered about picking a top out of the last 2 days - nearly sold yesterday at just under USD 40,000/kg but decided the risk of being locked out when the next spike comes is greater than the profit potential of a trade. Could well have been wrong.

I bet the bullion banks will struggle to take the heat out of the coin market.

Oil [USO]getting pounded today. Yesterday you mentioned that at some point the central banks will step in on the Euro and the Europeans will then go back into the Euro which would bring down the gold prices. Will this also strengthen oil?

I am watching JPM
http://bit.ly/aHpN4o

Friday, May 14, 2010 12:04:24 PM

Waddell & Reed Financial Weakness attributed to reports that Waddell Reed may be mystery trader at the center of the "Flash Crash" on 5/6
- Reports state that Waddell sold on May 6 a large order of e-mini contracts during a 20-minute span in which US equity markets crashed, according to an internal document from CME Group.

From my perspective, todays decline looks rather orderly thus far. I haven't seen anything similar to the madness that occured last thursday with select stocks being de-hinged from the broad market. Looks to me like a nice market purge for those who came to join the party after the Monday rocket launch and stayed way past the free buffet. I'm enjoying watching the PM/miner prices come back to me.

However, these market conditions remind me of a movie quote from City Slickers:

Mitch Robbins: Hi Curly. Killed anyone today?
Curly: The day ain't over yet...

New release from NIA

http://preview.tinyurl.com/c2m34v

ALOHA!!

Looks like to me the global currencies are not confirming the slide in the POG NY market. Since we now live in LESS WORLD, where we are always making decisions based on the "less evil" or the "less worse" stability and safety are out the window. Does BEST still exist any more? Perhaps now the general consensus in the midst of wolfpax and mega debt addiction is that nobody wants to be short gold over the weekend. Bouncing from one currency to another is looking like jumping to the "less worse" frying pan! Except "less worse" is getting "less" easy to tell! Thank you Keynes and the multitude of "Sell outs" who are tenured in America's "less worse" ivy league academia. My advice to Professor BB is to "hang it up" and get a real job!

For the Aussies out there I like what former PM Paul Keating once said, which could apply to Ben or any one of America's elected "lesser evils"...
"All tip and no iceberg ..."

On to the ASX ...

Yesterday Silver Lake Res(SLR:ASX) closed at all time record high at $1.38AUD(800%+ gain). I sold some 20,000 shares(7% of holding)to cover my buy in. Long term capital gain tax on that one!! Still positive outlook on SLR and current drill campaign.

I do like Sue, as she trys (within GE's limitations ) to be non-bias.. Tyler also can spark a temper and good questions... its just that Mr. Kneale refuses to see any point but his own, even with the other anchors... Granted, I have made some statements that have come back to bite me in the ***, but I tried hard not to repeat them.. I just wish there was a financial news source that did not play for ratings... CNBC says they are a ' family ' network... baloney// the program decision makers have tended more and more toward sexual innuendo's ( Michelle's recent " Is that an I-Pod in your pocket or are you just glad to see me " was totally unnecessary.. Sue shot her a look that could kill... Bloomberg is not quite as bad, but they still play the game...

It's good that you can stomach some of that crew. Wish I could.

I do pay attention when Rick Santelli and Art Cashin are on screen but when any of the other regulars are on, I can't stop throwing up.

Regards,
BH

Make that 1.1%

Inflation can cause problems but as the value of the dollar increases we are seeing the problems of deflation.

"ANV up +0.2% on TSE and down -1.9% on AMEX"

And the $CAD is down -1.5% as I write, though perhaps some of the tiny-cap stocks are not being efficiently arbitraged between the exchanges?

I've noticed also that the tape can on occasion be painted quite differently in the US and in Canada at the close, giving wildly different % gains/losses the next day, even if the forex markets have not moved.

A commentator on BNN this morning talked about everyone recommending gold now as a flight to safety. The downside is that when everyone piles into the same lifeboat it usually ends badly.

I don't know about but I am discouraged that I could not get into my account to buy stocks when the drop happened last week. I am putting in buy orders at 40 % of current price on many stocks under the theory that there is never just one cockroach. We could easily have drops similar to what happend last week. It appears that the only way to participate is to have orders sitting there. Any suggestion to improve on this strategy.
Interested in any input.
Thanks.

There are times when nothing works. At the time of the big drop my month old order for 1000 shares of Excelon @ 25 was filled. I was happy. BUT later it was cancelled. I was mad.

Anyone ever used this site before? A friend turned me on to it recently, some great stuff there I think people here could benefit from:

http://finviz.com/

-Ryan

Lets hope that marijuana gets legalised, won't save much money, but fewer people will care.

Hi Bill,

I'd like to ask what are you thinking going into a weekend after a week like this one; if you were managing your own capital vs clients?

Nothing specific. Just overall mind set. Playing it safe, aggressive, cash?

And what are the top 3 things you are looking for Sunday night/Monday?

Thank you in advance.

NYG

EDIT nevermind, I just read your close report. That's enough for me.

Legalizing marijuana would in fact save billions. Not so much via reductions in law enforcement budgets, or even healthcare expenditures. Rather, it would wipe out a significant percentage of the GDP that gets diverted to criminal syndicates (both in terms of money spent on drug use/transportation/corrupt officials and money spent on allied vices).

I assumed we would fill the up gap but so soon? It usually takes a few weeks or more of back and fill before we get a retest. Must be getting old. Either that or events happen at mach II nowadays.

Where ever the 200day is (around 1100?) that might be a place for trend Geezer traders to re-establish positions. I doubt 1066 will be breached. As Louise Yamana said recently, while the tape printed there, the rule of thumb for a freak event is to put your thumb over it.

I have used FinViz for a couple of years. The charts are not as flexible as some but the overall presentation is superior... max info per page. My only gripe is concerning financials : P/CF is null for too many stocks.

New piece on gold by Janszen of iTulip. (no short-term trading tips here.)

He has shortened his time target from 2018 to 2014, and adjusted his price target expectations of how the Dow/gold ratio getting to 2:1 will be achieved. Some other worthwhile observations.

Before the FIRE Gold Update – Is $1,237 the new $720?
http://www.itulip.com/forums/showthread.php?15580-...

" . . .
Summary

Gold is wealth FIRE insurance. The insurance premium keeps rising as more investors see and smell the “smoke” as sovereign debt defaults, the inevitable result of financial system crisis bailouts. Peak Cheap Oil added fuel to the FIRE. First come the crises, then the resolution of the crisis. The time to get out of gold is between the end of the crisis period and before the onset of resolution. Stay tuned. It’s going to be a rough few years. "

http://www.thumbcharts.com/1311/asset-bubbles-sinc...

LOTS of fun little charts where you can view relationships between markets in history!

the only danger: I once justified to a friend an off-beat opinion as result of a desire to "have an open mind". He replied, "but not so open that your BRAINS fall out!"

In these strange times, that IS a danger - 2nd only to the opposite!

MiniPanic in gold/miners was immediately after Prechter interview on CNBC

In war planning circles, it has been thought from at least from the early 80's that Brazil would one day develop Nukes. The original 'Dr. Strangelove' Herman Kahn published on this in his book 'The Coming Boom' in 1981. To quote "Actually, by 2000, Brazil may have a gross product of a trillion 1980 dollars and be in a position to join the great powers club."

Pakistan already has nuclear weapons. I'm sure Brazil feels like the Rodney Dangerfield of the southern hemisphere. It will be interesting to see if they can effectively self govern when we reach the end of the commodities cycle.

Perhaps a new acronym describing corrupt governments with dangerous toys is in order. They would be the U.S., Pakistan, Russia, India and China or "US PRICs"

GREAT new acronym! They'll compete to see who can be as big a PRIC as the original nuclear powers!

ALOHA!!

Ahhhh ... US PRICS

How about this ...

US

BRAZIL
IRAN
GERMANY

PAKISTAN
RUSSIA
INDIA
CHINA

So that Brazil, Iran and Germany form the acronym for "BIG" ... In essence these countries are aspiring to become "BIG PRIC"s ... HA!!

Hey ... its Saturday!!!

My family member needs to open an account in Austria. Does anyone know a good safe bank there. Does anyone know if it will be possible to open remotely.
Bob

Agree cheapy.
How about safekeeping at different venues in the Caribbean? Then when the need or urge strikes, take a cruise and visit your money.

God I miss Swiss banking!

I actually had a thought similar to this vein the other day.

I was wondering why is it that we, the people, pay taxes to the Federal Government. Why don't we pay taxes to the state, and have states pay taxes to the Federal Government.

http://www.bankaustria.at/en/open.html?opencf=/en/...

1. At the left border, choose: "International private customers"
2. Next choose: "General information"
3. Finally click on: "Foreign exchange regulations"

"Opening an account:

As an international private customer (non-resident) you may bring foreign money and euros into Austria in unlimited amounts and open current accounts (foreign currency current accounts), numbered accounts and free-euro savings accounts. Borrowing by non-residents from residents in euros and foreign currencies is also permitted.

Overdrafts on free-euro accounts and foreign currency accounts at Austrian banks are only permitted if an overdraft limit has been agreed. Such facilities must be backed by 100 % security provided on cash accounts or securities accounts.

Anonymous investments are not permitted in Austria. For this reason the bank must record your name and address and make a copy of your passport. These data are of course protected by the strict Austrian banking secrecy regulations.

Accounts may be opened personally at the bank's offices or by letter.

ipc@unicreditgroup.at

Retransfer

You may use the balances in your current and savings accounts as you like, there are no restrictions under Austrian foreign exchange regulations. Transfers from Austria to other countries may be made in unlimited amounts. Austrian and foreign money may be taken out of Austria without restriction."

ALOHA!!

In truth I believe US INCOME TAX should be abolished. On May 13th the US Treasury reported that they spent $6.987TRIL USD YTD, that works out to be $932BIL USD per month(7.5 months), way more than a TARP a month. Yet during that same time period the US Treasury only collected net tax revenues of $860BIL USD, so they are spending over eight times(8.12) revenues. You and I would go broke, lose our house, car and be homeless, but somehow the US Treasury gets bigger and bigger as the US government ups its spending propping up the most unproductive sectors of American business and society. Not to mention our participation in global debt bailouts via the IMF and our central bank currency swaps that were recently put back into play again.

If our government spends 812% more than it receives in tax revenues then what is the point of taxation? It makes no sense to have the most productive sectors of America suffer the forced austerity of "taxation without representation" while those who contribute the least to Treasury suffer no austerity. There is no real difference between "buying votes" and "buying time", which seems to be the theme of the two monopolies in control of America's destiny now. Must we all be bankrupt and homeless at the end of this?

Welcome to LESS WORLD ... where the more you work and save the LESS you have.

bazz22, will you leave a trail of breadcrumbs to the secret treehouse?

Kaimu, you are preaching to the choir. Income taxes at the Federal level are anachronistic. Other taxes are more subtle and go unnoticed by the majority whose sole outlook is 'can I afford the monthly payment.'

Look at your TOTAL tax bill; Federal, state and local. You pay many items that are not billed as taxes. The charges and 'fees' on your telephone bill are probably 20%. Social Security and Medicare levies bite on the first dollar of income. I have never EVER seen a state sales tax percentage reduced. They only increase and now there is talk of a European styled VAT?

Most poor shmucks pay their mortgage with property taxes and insurance costs folded in. Most would never challenge their valuations. Perhaps it is a badge of honour to be taxed and insured on a $500,000 home when the market value is $350,000...It might make you feel better but a quart of Bourbon is cheaper.

When I was a tike, we would go to my grandparent's house for a visit. My grandmother had a peck box of old toys and junk. There were empty thread spools, buttons, odd pieces from my Uncles discarded erector set, crayons and these round wooden tokens that were printed '5 Mils.' I asked someone what they were for and was told that you used them to pay sales taxes. A mil is 1/1000th of a dollar.

We don't need no stinkin income tax. They just print what they spend and the 'tax' is the diminished purchasing power of your assignants and an impaired life style.

James Madison is quoted as saying "I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."

Every Federal bond issuance and every bond election, state, school district and local comes with and intimidation clause..."If we don't get the money, we're DOOMED."

Income tax. It drives commerce underground. If there is a wealth tax coming, I want mine out of their grasp. Exchange controls have been used by desperate Tyrants.

baz22, How kind to suggest my experience is helpful. I so appreciate the exchange here and for that I am eternally grateful also. Would love a sneak peek at your 'hell with it all' spot in the NC mountains some day :)

ALOHA!!

Has Hawaii considered seceeding from the Union?

There is a move by native Hawaiians who want their Nation back. Its kind of like the American Indians at this point since there has been so much dilution of the races. I recall to qualify as a minority Indian owned company in California to get preferential bidding discounts or "set asides" on Public Works you had to prove 1/16th Indian, Hawaiian or some other "qualified minority". That was back in 1993, maybe its 1/32nd now ... I have lost track with all that!

There is no doubt the Hawaiian Nation was stolen just like the American Indians by force. Now Hawaii is home to the US NAVY and is a very strategic military base so I doubt that the Federal government would ever agree on returning the Hawaiian Nation to the Hawaiians. I am not sure that most of the Hawaiians would want that either. Right now Hawaii is known as a "welfare state" and there have been a multitude of families in Hawaii, Hawaiian and all others, who are used to welfare as a way of life, especially in the more rural areas where jobs pay less and are not very plentiful. Those EBT food stamp cards are quite popular here. I know plenty of residents here who work under the table and also apply for welfare. I am sure even the welfare department knows that conduct goes on. As if it is a big secret! My wife works in the mental health sector here and she sees all the welfare scams every day, whether its some of her clients or others. A lot of the mental health clients she has are in the lower wage scale or in outright poverty. Most are also addicted to drugs and alcohol. Then there is also the whole domestic violence issue mixed in as well. This is a small community and sooner or later you find out everyone's "business" no matter what!

I have always thought Hawaii should be the Monaco of the Pacific since we have a 3000 mile moat around us already. A tax free haven for those seeking to preserve their accumulated wealth. After all Europe has supposed "tax havens" and so does the Caribbean but the Pacific is devoid of any. Still the noose is a lot tighter now across the globe for such havens. It would be hard for Hawaii to survive unless there was some sort of a financial angle. Not a lot of mines and oil here, only year round food and water. I am sure there exists some resources under the ocean around our islands, but the depths are staggering, unlike the Gulf of Mexico.

Considered seceding? Definitely ... Realistically though it is a long shot in my opinion. The US government would have to totally collapse and then a "maybe"! Hawaii is so strategic from a military sense. If the US Navy and Air Force were not here in the 1940s then Japan would own Hawaii now! For awhile in the 1980s Japan almost did own Hawaii!

ALOHA!!

Not satisfied just taxing the mining industry ...

How creative the Aussie government has become in the taxation department. Why not tax the pub bar stools? Maybe footy goals are next?

The idea is you get taxed if you buy a house over $500K ... Then the tax goes up higher once it gets over $1MIL ... In the example they quote $200. Now that isn't much, but no tax ever stays low ...

READ ON:
Property buyers hit with new sales tax
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
SEAN NICHOLLS STATE POLITICAL EDITOR
May 13, 2010

UPDATE: The Minister for Lands, Tony Kelly, confirmed today the new tax would begin on July 1 and had been formulated as a NSW budget measure.

The tax will be levied on the buyer.

- noon, May 13, 2010

TENS of thousands of NSW home buyers a year are set to be hit with a new tax that will cash in on the improving property market and boost state government coffers by an estimated $90 million annually.

Quietly released by the Minister for Lands, Tony Kelly, amid the wash-up of the federal budget, the new land transfer charge will be imposed on the sale of residential and commercial property worth more than $500,000.

Have your say

The announcement has outraged property groups, which branded it ''just another stamp duty increase'', while the opposition has criticised the timing of its release as ''sneaky''.

Under the proposal, the portion of the sale amount between $500,000 and $1 million will attract a tax rate of 0.2 per cent, before the charge rises to 0.25 per cent for the portion of the sale above $1 million.

The median Sydney house price is about $600,000, which would attract a charge of $200, while the tax on a property sold for $1.2 million would be $1500.

According to figures provided by the Department of Lands, almost 30,000 residential and commercial property sales of between $500,000 and $1 million were settled in the past 12 months. More than 10,000 properties sold for more than $1 million in the same period.

Aaron Gadiel, the chief executive of the developer lobby group Urban Taskforce, said the new charge amounted to a 4.5 per cent increase in stamp duty for the top end of the property market.

He estimated that a developer looking to acquire a $10 million development site for new housing would be hit with an extra cost of $23,000.

ych,

Great plan. Probably the only way to cut their spending addiction.

Go Cold Turkey!
To get their attention we can all stop paying taxes entirely. Obama seems to have put an end to the National Day of Prayer (No p(r)ayers!)

Let's replace it with the National Day of No Payers.

Keep it going.

YouTube, http://bit.ly/a4wL3u

The Aussies got off easy!! In British Columbia (North Vancouver), we pay a property purchase tax of 1% of the first $200,000 and 2%! of the balance!! Average house price in North Vancouver is $900,000! I just sold my very average house and rented a house half way to Whistler in Squamish. 2% of the $700,000 is $14,000 and the 1% is $2000. Every property transfer in B.C. is taxed the same way! We don't need a super tax on miners, we tax the supposed rich property owners - owners of debt. Although that super tax on miners might be around the corner....

Les,
Glad you enjoyed it. I liked it for many of the same reasons. The clash of cultures, the art house cinematography, the incredible acting and at the end of the day it was basically a simple "High Noon" type western. Just a well made film that captured emotionally the birth of Australia. I did not know that about the many languages of the aboriginal people, but I am not surprised. We really don't get much education about the aborigines in the states. Probably all I know comes from the book "Songlines" by Bruce Chatwin. Which is a great book, but a view of the people from only one narrow perspective.
Bob

and structural issues with the dollar. Not exactly the "gold is in a bubble" answer the talking head was looking for, but perhaps a little more enlightening for the thoughtful and concerned punter.

http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2010/05/r...

I appreciated the 3-5 year time frame Mauldin offered for Europe to break down, given that they have bought time with 1T Euro's of people's money. I'm ready to go long any junior miners Bill might suggest. Just waiting for that entry. Seems like a no mans land right now and the fight might go either way.

Thanks Bill, well done again. I can't wait for your review of the golden babies.

I looked up David Cameron in Burkes but couldn't find him. Probably my edition, 1970. Anyway I wish him well. God knows the Brits need a breath of fresh air. I do like his agenda.

Again thanks for your insights. Got my orders in at the 200MA, GTC (good til close) as we used to call them.

Yes, you have it correct ... the photo that you see is about 2 miles from ' the rock ' (on up the Blue Ridge Parkway (north).. ( probably 500 ft. higher than the town of Blowing Rock )..The area is so nice, all year-round... Fall colors are unreal.. My friends out west call them foothills... and, I guess they are , in comparison to the Rockies.. But, I like the not-to-drastic altitude.. ( Grandfather Mt. is actually close to 6000 ft)... it is to the west. Really laid back lifestyle, with Applachian State U. just a few miles away in Boone... take care.

ALOHA!!

Talent ... Any NBA star that makes the big bucks has "talent" or they wouldn't be making the big bucks. Goldman Sachs is no different, but there is one element of Goldman's success that is as crooked as Lombard Street. Full of as many or more "conflicts of interest" than even their trading desk. You cannot escape the fact that Goldman Sachs more than any other "private" company in the World has well placed high profile shills in almost every nook and cranny of the US government, the US Treasury and the US FED, even in foreign governments. I have to ask where are the Exxon ex-CEOs? GE? I don't see any of them over at the US FED, in the "money seat" ... So just how "talented" do you really have to be when you have the deck stacked?

The following article takes us back to the heady bailout days of October 2008 when Hank Paulson and his cronies were wrangling the biggest bank heist in history. Who says you have to rob a bank from the outside?

NYTIMES LINK: http://tinyurl.com/2c69yph

As time goes by we forget the details of the crisis just like we tend to forget the details of a car crash over the years. The people over at CSI know that the longer you wait to interview an eye witness the less they recall. Crime scenes are traumatic and humans tend to avoid trauma at all costs. Out of sight ... out of mind! As the years pass and we get further from the crime of TARP we will forget just as most of the youth now have forgotten the ineptitude of government that got us into the Vietnam War in the first place. Never mind the ineptitude that escalated the War over its 16 year duration. My guess is half the youth alive today couldn't find Vietnam on a World map much less tell you which US President got us into the War and which one got us out. Probably none could tell you how many Americans died in Vietnam ...

Time passes and we are engaged in new crisis, with new faces with yet more ineptitudes. Hank Paulson and George Bush and all the other Goldman Sachs cronies who advised Bush and Congress have moved on, some promoted. Even George and Laura are probably sipping Margaritas in a Dallas restaurant right now ... Where are you Hank?

Kaimu, I really do not know what they teach in school anymore but it certainly is not history.I guess the past and even the recent past is deemed a parochial subject by most school boards.

In Bill's WIR this week he mentioned the S%P low of 1066 as relating to the battle of Hastings. I coded most of my farm gates 1066 thinking that people could remember it as a significate date in history. WRONG. For 95% of the people that need access, it's just a number. I explained that it was the year that my family did a hostile takeover of an island ;-).

I'm afraid Vietnam as well as Korea are forgotten as 'lost' wars. No so, but that is a topic for someday. There was an incident on the carrier Enterprise (CVN 65) that was captured in a photograph from about 45 years ago. To relieve boredom the launch crew hooked up a Ford to the catapult and launched that sucker into the ocean. Great fun. None of us volunterred to pilot a flying rock! Hey it's sunday and the markets are melting. Search 'catting a Ford' and you will probably be able to find the photo.

Speaking of Goldie, I see they are trying to help 'save' a Chigago bank that is near and dear to Obama's political base. The bank only needs $125 mil. Chickenfeed to buy a get out of jail card.

Hi,

I use Finviz quite extensively. I would like to know how folks use futures data (http://finviz.com/futures.ashx) when making decisions. Are they a sentiment indicator of where the market is going in near future (5 mins, 60 mins, 1 day, 1 week , etc...)? Do futures traders also have money in the normal markets? I understand the effect of futures on commodities and gold and such (that makes sense) but I fail to understand what type of corrolation or effect i.e. trading S&P 500 e-minis would have on the true market as they are not actually trading an S&P 500 company or ETF but only a future price? Is it pure prediction of where they (futures traders) think the market is going and others (us) reacting to their predictions?

Any thoughts would greatly appreciated.

NO

Trust the Walrus.

"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
The Walrus did beseech,
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach."

AND THICK AND FAST THEY CAME AT LAST,
And more and more and more--
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.

"The time has come" the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes --and ships--and sealing
wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings"

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have out chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"

The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!"

"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-hankerchief
Before his streaming eyes.

But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.

Oysters Roosevelt, Oysters Rockafeller, Oysters Obamination. Different times, same recipe.