<p>BunsenBurner, I don’t think you understand what BCEagle91 said.</p>
<p>Futures are green. NASDAQ +29. I’m reading about insiders starting to buy here.</p>
<p>Perhaps Big Ben will calm the markets today. He has his own printing press after all…</p>
<p>Sorry everyone … my bad. When I headed out for my run the Dow was up 243. Upon my return it was down 76. I guess the lesson here is that I should stop exercising.</p>
<p>I was very tempted to frontrun the Fed but none of the smart traders that I know were trying to do that. One bought at the close yesterday and booked profits this morning. The Leavitt Brothers commentary this morning was lukewarm despite the green futures and predicted gap up.</p>
<p>Keep exercising - better for your health than watching the market.</p>
<p>A Harvard professor weighs in on the economy in his Xconomy essay (it is 3 pages long):</p>
<p>[Downgrading</a> America? | Xconomy](<a href=“Home | Informa Connect”>Home | Informa Connect)</p>
<p>His take: enterpreneurship is what will put us back on track.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>(sorry, dstark for my lame attempt at humor. The sector I’m most familar with often goes against every TA rule :))</p>
<p>Bank of America is up 8%. See, the Recession’s over!!! Oh, wait a minute … Cisco and Intel are down, which usually implies poor Growth. But Apple is up, so consumers must be in a spending mood. Pfizer’s up big … isn’t Lipitor coming off-patent soon? Proctor & Gamble is down, which means consumers aren’t spending. Wait, didn’t we just say the consumer WAS spending? Hmmm. Clear as mud. Think I’ll sit on the sidelines a bit longer.</p>
<p>Everyone is talking that job creation is the key to recovery. Companies are sitting on record-level piles of cash waiting for consumer confidence to recover to start hiring. Huh? Isn’t it Catch-22? Unemployed consumers are not in the mood to spend.</p>
<p>[Fearful</a> of economy, N.J.-based companies sit on large piles of money | NJ.com](<a href=“http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/fearful_of_economcy_nj-based_c.html]Fearful”>Fearful of economy, N.J.-based companies sit on large piles of money - nj.com)</p>
<p>And it is not just NJ companies. How can we jump-start this job creation? (Please, no political bickering!)</p>
<p>That’s ok BunsenBurner…what you said was probably funny.</p>
<p>I am amazed that the FED is committing itself to keeping rates down until mid-2013…</p>
<p>Commitment, schmammitment. The Fed will do as it wishes, when it wishes, as usual.</p>
<p>Why does everyone here seem to refer to the 2008 recession like it’s ancient history? Many people are stiff suffering from the consequences of 2008, and for many of them the recession has not ended!</p>
<p>
Well, relative to GDP federal government revenue is about 20% lower than its historical average since WWII right now. Does that suggest a solution to you? </p>
<p>Or are we still pretending that we don’t have a revenue problem?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>LOL…my sentiments exactly.</p>
<p>Since 2008, I’ve been following the stock market closely (have no choice - it’s all investment broker/tax accountant hubby talks about) and have been bewildered by how the ‘market’, the media and the supposed economists take the most inconsequential piece of news and make predictions, proclamations and give investment advice . It’s like reading tea leaves.</p>
<p>BTW- someone sent me this link today and I thought it was an excellent (non-political) analysis of what’s going on in the global economy right now:</p>
<p>[Global</a> Economic Downturn: A Crisis of Political Economy | STRATFOR](<a href=“Stratfor: The World's Leading Geopolitical Intelligence Platform”>Stratfor: The World's Leading Geopolitical Intelligence Platform)</p>
<p>Rumors are S&P is going to get sued. They apparently leaked the downgrade to some hedge funds on Tuesday.</p>
<p>All-together now: let’s short McGraw-Hill.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>We all know that lowering taxes to 0% will get the Laffer Curve in full swing and raise tax revenue.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Screw that. I want the public debt monetized.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sued? Whoever did that should be jailed.</p>
<p>Okay, let’s have some comments from Mini on S&P.</p>
<p>“Rumors are S&P is going to get sued. They apparently leaked the downgrade to some hedge funds on Tuesday.”</p>
<p>How about yanking their license to rate?</p>
<p>[You</a> Know, If You Wanted to, SEC, You Could Probe S&P and Threaten Its Rating License – Daily Intel](<a href=“http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/08/you_know_if_you_wanted_to_sec.html]You”>You Know, If You Wanted to, SEC, You Could Probe S&P and Threaten Its Rating License)</p>
<p>[Law</a> from 2006 gives SEC scope to probe S&P - MarketWatch](<a href=“Law from 2006 gives SEC scope to probe S&P - MarketWatch”>Law from 2006 gives SEC scope to probe S&P - MarketWatch)</p>
<p>Hmmmm…</p>