Market Mayhem

Investors should be treading very carefully these days in the capital markets. This is not a time for Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob and unemployed day traders. Former FED Chair Alan Greenspan said today that the market may be juiced some 50% due to FED stimulus. While the effectiveness of the stimulus can be argued, the FED cannot operate quantitative easing forever, and at some point, the stimulus will need to be retracted.

Forecasting the extraction of FED injected stimulus is one task, but navigating a market without integrity and rule of law signals a retreat to the sideline. Regrettably, in my estimation, we sadly have reached this point. MF Global is fresh on our minds, and last I saw, Jon Corzine was two fisted with his favorite cocktail cranking around the Hamptons. Meanwhile, his investors remain fighting to retrieve small portions of the investments placed with his frim feared lost.

The events surrounding the MF debacle should have been a major warning sign. In the aftermath, Ann Barnhardt shut down her brokerage firm Barnhardt Capital Management due to lack of confidence in the governance of the cattle futures market. Barnhardt warned of future issues to come, and this week we were greeted with the bizarre goings on at PFG Best. Score one for Ann.

Rick Santelli of CNBC further explains:



It seems clear we have issues at the CFTC and/or NFA, and all capital markets, for that matter. The FED seems to be in bed with the Obama administration, rather than operating with impartial market driven guidance. We have news the LIBOR rate has been manipulated, with Barclays among the first of potentially many banks to be signaled out.  JP Morgan, with problems turning up everywhere these days, reportedly played a role. LIBORgate will become a major financial mess, potentially blowing up every HP12C on the planet as the lawsuits get going. As it turns out, approximately 1 million mortgages were based off this rate, and that could be a huge problem.

We ran a blog post a few months back discussing market mayhem, eloquently described First Principles Capital Managements Doug Dachille, which we will present again below.



These market manipulations are quite complex difficult to get your arms around. However, when you couple the imminent implosion of the European Union with market manipulation and The FED gaming the system it becomes exponentially difficult to properly measure risk. In addition, the rewards of potential gains versus the risk exposure within tainted and manipulated markets seem not worth the effort. Although seemingly safe in large big caps positions, investors should keep a very tight leash on any investments.

Do you know who is running the casino? Are their friends being rewarded at your expense? Corruption is everywhere! There is market mayhem, being controlled by those who are not ashamed to be helping you lose your money. Trust and rule of law are absent. It is most unfortunate it has come to this, but in my view it clearly has.

Caveat Emptor!

Information Misrepresentation: NBC News

Information presented to the Public by various outlets is being crafted to misrepresent reality in an effort to skew political thinking, gain economic advantage and nudge social justice further down the American psyche. This is the fourth in a series of blog posts detailing instances in this regard, as it is imperative the Public recognize the significant level of misrepresentation and how vast the manipulation is and gather information from trusted sources.

Information Misrepresentation: NBC News.

For years, NBC News was a respected outlet for news. Many may recall Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, and there were days when Tom Brokaw was credible. Sadly, this is no longer true. Perhaps the fatal blow came when General Electric (GE:NYSE) became the parent company of NBC, but at any rate, make no mistake, they are not presently accurate, cannot be trusted and are essentially Obama campaign members. Doubt me?

Although there were instances raising eyebrows, it was a two by four to the forehead during the emergence of the Tea Party in 2010. Please see the following report from MSNBC:




Oh my gosh! Racist white folks protesting out first black President are running around with machine guns at Tea Party rallies! It is not football season and I think Lee Corso is fishing; but not so fast my friend! MSNBC misrepresented the truth by a large measure, and risked placing people in harms way by playing the race card and potentially inciting riots. Please see a local ABC-TV report showing the real story:



Nothing has changed over at NBC, even though Comcast (CMSCA:NASDAQ) is now owner. NBC recently busted doctoring a tape of George Zimmerman, the Central Florida man who is charge with killing Travon Martin, which recently strained race relations.  No worries at 30 Rock.

In fact, with Obama dive bombing in recent polls, NBC has increased the propaganda. NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell, wife of former FED Chair Alan Greenspan, blatantly edited a Mitt Romney speech in juvenile fashion in effort to misrepresent Romney's comments. Glenn Beck was not amused, and gives you the full story:




Recognizing the error of their ways, Andrea Mitchell cleared the air on her program. Well, at least she thinks she did. Beck is really fired up now, and you should be as well.




We have a very important election ahead of us,  and it is critical you get your information from trusted sources, and make no mistake, NBC is not one of them. This is regrettable. I have been on the Today Show and enjoy the history of the proud peacock and NBC News. But the days of solid reporting from this network are history, and they fake out thousands of our citizens who have formerly trusted this news division and have no idea they are sellouts for progressive interests.

There are countless examples of this type of activity, and NBC is not alone,  But, they are by far the worst and no longer even attempt journalism. It is worse than you think with these anti-America impostors, but now you know.

Yes, employ a sell signal should you own Comcast (CMSCA:NASDAQ) or General Electric (GE:NYSE), which I do not.

Is The Game Up?

The US financial markets blew up in 2008 in the aftermath of a housing crisis, a bubble caused by easy money and governmental influence, one far from in conclusion. According to the Obama administration, their policies pulled the US economy from the brink of depression and have jump started a recovery. And I am King Tut.

Birth Pangs. Day by day since, there continue to be warning signs of global financial collapse across the globe. From France burning two years ago to London two weeks ago, the natives are restless and are lashing out.

Broken in spirit, void of incentive and corralled from leadership, the youth who were promised a gravy train from a central planning government are violently attacking now that the money has run out. A history of Margaret Thatcher would seem appropriate.

Europe, joined at the hip in promoting global socialism, and through inclusion in the EU, search for stability by limiting member governments from operating independently with the necessary flexibility to innovate and increase production and individual wealth. Who could have seen the negative fall out coming?

Nigel Farage for one.

Farage hits a home run, one which should be absorbed as a shot heard round the world. Investors Business Daily notes in today's edition that Euro Zone debt fears start to hit France as the 10 year yield spread between France and Germany has tripled in recent weeks, which could be foretelling the financial contagion is spreading to the heart of Europe, just as Farage predicted.

Former FED Chair Alan Greenspan, The Maestro, who contributed to the easy money platform the housing crisis sprang from, weighed in on the Euro today, noting “The euro is breaking down and the process of its breaking down is creating very considerable difficulties in the European banking system,” Greenspan continues the European contraction would hurt profitability and stock values of American companies. You think?

The more central planners plan, the more their plans fail. The more their plans fail, the more they plan. Continue as they must to contain the fallout, we know one thing. Well, it won't work.

Greenspan correctly pointed out “The problem is that there is a growing cleavage in the economic and analytical and banking circles as to whether the Euro, which is the crucial issue here, should be 17 countries with very significantly different cultures” regarding the role of government, consumer spending and inflation. Indeed, while there can be alliances to further trade agreements, each country should have independent currencies for sound monetary policies to anchor allowing the necessary flexibility needed to create sustainable growth.

This is not the case in Europe, and with America moving swiftly to a cradle to grave entitlement nanny state, a global collapse is all but certain. PIIGS don't fly. Bailouts will lead to more bailouts, and at some point the money runs out.

Farage is quite right in hoping market principles derail the central planning elites prior to the spirit of the individual being lost for eternity. It is the principals of free market capitalism that provides the best path prosperity, and we must seek out and associate with leaders who are rock solid on this principle before the game is up.

Of course, in America, we always have the voting booth to cleanse out those void of our founding principles. At least for now.

Squawker Silenced

Certainly saddened today to learn of the passing of CNBC's Mark Haines, the veteran co-host of Squawk Box and later Squawk on the Street.

Haines was a straight shooter and I spent most every morning over the last 15 years or so listening to his interviews and analysis along with David Faber and Joe Kernen. I always loved the "briefcase indicator" in attempting to gauge the direction of the FED on interest rates based on the volume of Chairman Alan Greenspan's briefcase. Fun times.

Haines also did a masterful job on September 11, 2001, bringing us the dreadful events of that morning all the while knowing many former guests and current friends were in peril.

There is an abundance of talent over at CNBC, but from the beginning Haines was a centerpiece. Along with much of the street and viewers across the globe, I will miss his smart elect remarks and pinpoint interviews.

Inside Outside Upside Down

In my daily whip around the world wide web in search of credible information, I usually make a stop by The Drudge Report. In recent days, some of the stories I came across there echo what I feel in my gut, that the world has practically turned inside, outside, upside down.

Presented below are a handful of recent stories with some short commentary on each.

China downgrades US as our economic situation continues to worsen. China is not innocent in destabilizing trade and currency manipulation, but given they hold so much of our debt, we are in a pickle. Hopefully, we learned from The Great Depression that protectionism is not a prudent avenue to travel, but given our recent actions we have not. Not only are we engaging in dangerous trade policies, we are manipulating our own currency.

It appears there is an Orderly Decline of the Dollar taking place. Central to sound economics, and a pillar of the Reagan Revolution, is a strong dollar. With The FED exhausting the printing press, it would seem that our debt is being monetized, decreasing the value of the dollar, which is quite dangerous. Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros, who Glenn Beck is accurately exposing this week, has called for global governance. Soros, who has crashed foreign currencies and is noted as the man who broke The Bank of England, controls through media operations and financial positions much of the progressive agenda wrecking our sovereignty. Through an orderly decline of the dollar, Soros and his agents can remove monetary power of the single largest obstacle to global governance, which is the free market capitalists of The United States of America. This is quite alarming, and even The Maestro, former FED Chair Alan Greenspan, is concerned.

Off the west coast, low and behold, we find Unidentified Flying Missiles. After decades of being spooked by the potential existence of spaceships and aliens, nobody seems the slightest bit alarmed that the apparent missile launch cannot, at least publicly, be explained by any US military or governmental official. Surely, with all the high level security we got over at Area 51, we can come up with something plausible. It seems the public thinks this is no big deal. Maybe Big Foot water skiing on Lake Tahoe would do it, but given the American Idiot society we live in these days, maybe not. Then again, what is this firestreak across the NYC skyline?

Obama Slams Israel yet again, which is the opposite position of every President of my lifetime. It boggles the mind how this guy got elected, but I can assure you the greater majority of the US citizenry does not concur with his repeated Israel bashing. Nor do we appreciate his continuing assault on America from foreign soil. Back in the day, this would not be tolerated, and should not be now.

Government Elites Living Large during high level meeting to discuss fraud in the stimulus package. The whole thing is a fraud, and the administration going around pontificating about the several million jobs they saved or created is nothing short of lying to the American people. This erroneous rhetoric raises my already elevated blood pressure. Since when do we tolerate our President lying to our face in discussion of his stimulus package, and then, having his administration slap us upside the face by having lavish meetings to investigate fraud in the package. I recognized the fraud the day it was announced.

A Stranded Ship Although I have always been a boater and have been offshore in my own boat on many occasions, I have always been inclined to steer clear of the cruise ships. Perhaps it is a control thing, who knows. Warnings after 9-11 about terrorists potentially unleashing some sort of deadly virus aboard one further extended my apprehension. I now read of a Carnival cruise ship floating powerless in the Pacific due to an engine fire, creating less than favorable conditions aboard while waiting rescue. No doubt, an odd turn of events which one would not wish to be part of. On top of that, the beer was warm.

Obama AWOL on Veterans as he barely recognized the heart and soul of our great nation, our Veterans, on Veterans day. The sacrifices made by our Veterans go far beyond what any words can describe, but one word I never hear from President Obama, is victory, Our country exists today because our Veterans were victorious. Today, Hail to the Victors! My heartfelt thanks and may God Bless You All!


There are many very puzzling things going on these days, so much so it seems that life has turned inside, outside and upside down. I conclude the worst is not behind us yet, so adhere to the principles of your faith, the founding fathers and free market capitalism to weather the storm.

Languishing Among Looters

The events of 2009 were economically horrible as free market capitalism was assaulted on a frequent basis. Throw in a corrupt government with increasing involvement in the economy and you are living Ayn Rand's classic, Atlas Shrugged. The number of those now looting off the government with our money is staggering.

I have chronicled the rise in popularity of Ayn Rand on the blog over the last year HERE, HERE and HERE.

CNBC's Larry Kudlow visits with Jerry Bowyer and Don Luskin regarding Ayn Rand's legacy. Although Rand was an Atheist, Christians can indeed adopt great portions of this philosophy and do so. Take a listen:



As Kudlow states in his Kudlow Creed, Free Market Capitalism is the best path to prosperity. The sooner we change course and get back to this creed the better we all will be.