Note - from June 24th 2009, this blog has migrated from Blogger to a self-hosted version. Click here to go straight there.
The entire planet is awash in bullshit at the moment - from the silly little 'Salaam aleikum' charade of The Great Brown Hope (the important phrases of which were actually censored out by AP in their reportage), through to the continued anal rape of taxpayers in order to pay for bankers' palaces.
Still, from time to time you see clever people do clever things. Elizabeth Warren, for instance.
Warren is chair of the congressional oversight panel that oversees the Taxpayer Anal Rape Program (TARP). Ordinarily, anybody in such a position deserves scorn and calumny - suckling at the taxpayers teat for the sole purpose of helping in the propaganda effort to polish the government's biggest post-Depression turd.
But Warren is slightly different: I first became aware of her when I saw a talk she gave in which she made it clear that the US was failing in its promises to the middle class. She did this quietly, concisely, and using unimpeachable sources. Her conclusions were dire - at least as dire as those I have already harped about.
Likewise her recent quiet vivisection of Geithner's "stress tests". Anyone with half a brain knew that the 'adverse scenario' should actually have been the 'base case' - employment at 10%, GDP growth zero, and so on.
Recently, Warren suggested that the stress tests be re-done, with the following additional suggestions:
- that the methodology used be completely transparent, in order for third parties to run their own scenarios;
- that the tests be re-examined with a more adverse scenario and/or a longer timeframe.
As she noted, the US has already 'blown past' the unemployment
assumption of Geithner's "worst case" scenario - which, according to
Geithner's rose-coloured forecasts, had only a 10% chance of occurring.
Geithner is a hack - as is Bernanke (whose Fed is about to receive a summons for failing to provide documents requested by another oversight committee). For some reason unbeknownst to me, Warren - who really seems to be almost unimpeachable - has decided to go int o the maw of the parasite-political complex, and try to do good from within. I give her zero percent chance of succeeding, but it is highly interesting that she's being as frank as that interview above shows.
Headline Indices
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index (DJI) dropped -1.43 points (0.02%) to 8763.06 points. The index high for the day was 8803.26, and was set in the first half-hour of trade. The low was 8725.12, set just after 11 a.m. NY time.
Total volume traded in the 30 components of the index was 994.78m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.3 to one, with 15 decliners to 12 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 486.26m to 298.88m shares. The main decliners (in percentage terms) were -
- United Technologies (UTX) -0.97 (1.7%) to $55.52 on volume of 5.87m shares;
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -0.57 (1.5%) to $36.84 on volume of 15.42m shares;
- Procter & Gamble (PG) -0.73 (1.4%) to $52.41 on volume of 11.55m shares;
- Pfizer (PFE) -0.18 (1.3%) to $14.13 on volume of 42.45m shares; and
- Boeing (BA) -0.48 (0.9%) to $52.35 on volume of 7.71m shares.
The S&P500 Index advanced +3.29 points (0.35%) to 942.43 points. Total volume traded in the 500 components of the index was 3.59bn shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.6 to one, with 293 advancers to 180 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 1.94bn to 1.38bn shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- LSI Corporation (LSI) +0.45 (10.7%) to $4.64 on volume of 16.57m shares;
- AK Steel Holding Corp. (AKS) +1.7 (9.8%) to $19.1 on volume of 19.51m shares;
- United States Steel Corp. (X) +2.76 (7.9%) to $37.82 on volume of 18.85m shares;
- Pall Corp. (PLL) +2.1 (7.8%) to $28.95 on volume of 2.64m shares; and
- MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR) +1.38 (7.1%) to $20.89 on volume of 6.42m shares.
The Nasdaq Composite rose +17.73 points (0.96%) to 1860.13 points. while the Nasdaq100 gained +13.06 points (0.88%) to 1501.55 points. Total volume traded in the 100 components of the index was 779.09m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 3.9 to one, with 78 advancers to 20 decliners. Advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 675.44m to 103.65m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) +1.63 (14.5%) to $12.84 on volume of 48m shares;
- Microchip Technology (MCHP) +1.3 (6%) to $23.07 on volume of 6.74m shares;
- NII Holdings (NIHD) +1.11 (5.7%) to $20.58 on volume of 3.27m shares;
- Broadcom (BRCM) +1.43 (5.5%) to $27.25 on volume of 15.7m shares; and
- SanDisk (SNDK) +0.86 (5.5%) to $16.44 on volume of 9.74m shares.
Volatility
The CBOE Volatility Index dipped 1.5 points (5.04%) to 28.27 points. and the CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index slid 1.49 points (4.78%) to 29.69 points..
Breadth and Internals
A total of 3808 issues traded today on the NYSE;2281 stocks posted gains for the day, and there were 1394 losers. 28 stocks made new 1-year highs on the NYSE, while 48 shares plumbed new 52-week depths.
On the Nasdaq 2855 tickers traded today; total Nasdaq volume was 2.12bn shares. A total of 1625 stocks posted gains for the day, with aggregate volume of 1.65bn shares changing hands in the day's winners. The red zone of the Nasdaq exchange comprised 1069 losers, and total declining volume was 0.45bn shares. 45 Nasdaq-listed stocks hit new 52-week highs, while 15 shares dipped to new 1-year lows.
| Major Market Statistics | |||
| Index | Close | Gain(Loss) | % |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 8763.06 | -1.43 | -0.02% |
| S&P500 Index | 942.43 | +3.29 | 0.35% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1860.13 | +17.73 | 0.96% |
| Nasdaq100 | 1501.55 | +13.06 | 0.88% |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 28.27 | -1.50 | -5.04% |
| CBOE Nasdaq100 Volatility Index | 29.69 | -1.49 | -4.78% |
Dow Darlings
- American Express (AXP) +1.28 (5%) to $26.93 on volume of 26.1m units
- Alcoa (AA) +0.38 (3.5%) to $11.15 on volume of 35.5m units
- Intel (INTC) +0.5 (3.1%) to $16.42 on volume of 63.4m units
- Du Pont (DD) +0.72 (2.7%) to $26.93 on volume of 8.2m units
- Chevron (CVX) +0.61 (0.9%) to $70.19 on volume of 10m units
Dow Duds:
- United Technologies (UTX) -0.97 (1.7%) to $55.52 on volume of 5.9m units
- Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) -0.57 (1.5%) to $36.84 on volume of 15.4m units
- Procter & Gamble (PG) -0.73 (1.4%) to $52.41 on volume of 11.6m units
- Pfizer (PFE) -0.18 (1.3%) to $14.13 on volume of 42.5m units
- Boeing (BA) -0.48 (0.9%) to $52.35 on volume of 7.7m units
Most Traded Dow stocks:
- Bank Of America (BAC) unchanged at $12.06 on volume of 201.2m units
- Intel (INTC) +0.5 (3.1%) to $16.42 on volume of 63.4m units
- JPMorganChase (JPM) -0.13 (0.4%) to $35.26 on volume of 58.9m units
- General Electric (GE) +0.01 (0.1%) to $13.57 on volume of 54.2m units
- Microsoft (MSFT) +0.03 (0.1%) to $22.08 on volume of 47.7m units
Precious Metals
The Gold Bugs index (XAU) gained 0.05 points (0.03%) to 151.13 points. Total volume traded in the 16 components of the index was 75.58m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 1.3 to one, with 9 decliners to 7 advancers. Declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 41.59m to 33.99m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Freeport McMoran (FCX) +2.48 (4.4%) to $58.96 on volume of 17.04m shares;
- Silver Stand Resources (SSRI) +0.46 (2.1%) to $22.59 on volume of 1.23m shares;
- Gold Fields Ltd (GFI) +0.13 (1.1%) to $12.16 on volume of 4.69m shares;
- Silver Wheaton (SLW) +0.11 (1.1%) to $10.29 on volume of 4.45m shares; and
- Pan-American Silver (PAAS) +0.21 (1%) to $21.71 on volume of 0.83m shares.
Bellwethers
The nine-stock group that makes up the Rant bellwethers advanced on average by 0.1%. The fallout occurred as follows:
- General Electric (GE) +0.01 (0.07%) to $13.57 on volume of 54.22m units.
- Citigroup (C) -0.01 (0.29%) to $3.41 on volume of 208.45m units.
- Wal-Mart (WMT) -0.2 (0.39%) to $50.61 on volume of 14.37m units.
- IBM (IBM) +0.65 (0.6%) to $108.14 on volume of 8.57m units.
- Intel (INTC) +0.50 (3.14%) to $16.42 on volume of 63.43m units.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO) +0.21 (1.06%) to $20.08 on volume of 49.55m units.
- Google (GOOG) -3.15 (0.72%) to $435.62 on volume of 3.24m units.
- Fannie Mae (FNM) unchanged at $0.69 on volume of 10.28m units.
- Freddie Mac (FRE) -0.02 (2.74%) to $0.71 on volume of 5.46m units.
Other Indices of Interest...
The Banks index (BKX) added 0.17 points (0.45%) to 37.72 points. Total volume traded in the 24 components of the index was 722.9m shares. Advancers outpaced decliners by 1.1 to one, with 10 advancers to 9 decliners; however declining volume was greater than advancing volume by 374.51m to 143.4m shares. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Keycorp (KEY) +0.18 (3.3%) to $5.64 on volume of 22.04m shares;
- Capital One Financial (COF) +0.61 (2.6%) to $24.05 on volume of 10.12m shares;
- BB&T Corp (BBT) +0.52 (2.4%) to $22.45 on volume of 10.15m shares;
- Zions Bancorp (ZION) +0.33 (2.3%) to $14.65 on volume of 4.16m shares; and
- PNC Financial (PNC) +0.8 (1.8%) to $44.18 on volume of 5.69m shares.
The Semiconductor index (SOX) was unchanged at 271.31 points. Total volume traded in the 18 components of the index was 318.75m shares. Not a single stock declined withinin the index: 17 of the 18 index components rose, with total upside volume of 318.75mshares. The index's rather boring situation arose as a result of a mixed bag of results, the most notable amongst these (in percentage terms) being -
- Marvell Technology (MRVL) +1.63 (14.5%) to $12.84 on volume of 48m shares;
- Texas Instruments (TXN) +1.25 (6.3%) to $21.02 on volume of 45.75m shares;
- Broadcom (BRCM) +1.43 (5.5%) to $27.25 on volume of 15.7m shares;
- Sandisk (SNDK) +0.86 (5.5%) to $16.44 on volume of 9.74m shares; and
- Micron Technology (MU) +0.28 (5.3%) to $5.58 on volume of 18.39m shares.
The ChildKiller ("Defence") index (DFX) advanced 5.05 points (1.93%) to 266.21 points. Total volume traded in the 17 components of the index was 88.08m shares. Decliners outpaced gainers by 2.2 to one, with 11 decliners to 5 advancers; however advancing volume exceeded declining volume by 57.74m shares to 30.34m. The biggest gainers (percentage-wise) were -
- Gencorp (GY) +0.06 (2.8%) to $2.24 on volume of 0.42m shares;
- FLIRr Systems (FLIR) +0.41 (1.7%) to $24.42 on volume of 2.17m shares;
- Embraer Empresa (ERJ) +0.27 (1.5%) to $17.79 on volume of 0.59m shares;
- Alliant Tech (ATK) +0.48 (0.5%) to $89.17 on volume of 0.37m shares; and
- General Electric (GE) +0.01 (0.1%) to $13.57 on volume of 54.19m shares.
