We're not sure if this market tumble will continue, but it appears that it will take a lot more than just political BS and Bernanke/Geithner tag team to at least reduce volatility in the market. This might seem a bit silly, but for some reason, we started singing "Cold as Ice" after seeing the CPI and initial claims figures this morning. Never forget the music of the 70's and 80's :).
And as if the US isn't facing enough problems at home, the 'healer', President Obama, has called for the resignation of Syria's Assad. We note that we're not necessarily picking on the current President, as that 'healing power' has been used and abused by many Presidents before Obama. Then again, that 'healing power' has been created and provided by those great lobbying groups that basically buy up their preferred policies out there in Washington, D.C. We fear that the same groups might be making the pitch that wars drive economic growth (for the aggressors, of course) and create jobs. They're probably saying, "Mr. President, you'd be killing two birds with one stone - be more aggressive for 'our' benefit in the Middle East, and if you get into another military 'engagement', it'll actually be beneficial for you and the US economy." Hopefully we're wrong about that.
July existing homes sales disappointed; annualized 4.67MM vs. 4.87MM consensus.
ReplyDeleteLeading Economic Indicator Index was better than expected, but showed signs that the economy is not expanding nearly as much as many anticipated.
Philadelphia Fed's August survery came in at -30.7 vs. the +1.0 consensus, obviously disappointing.