Davidc,
It’s all about a certain notorious "bank holding company": its traders are buying from and selling to themselves–in the upward direction; when enough pension fund managers have bought in at the higher levels over a period of time, as they inevitably must, this group of scumbags will cash out again. This is all going to end very badly within the near future. All the talk about "high frequency trading" completely misses the real point: illegally inflated prices. Were someone to have access to individual trade records, we would see exactly how the market is being manipulated up by coordinated buyers and sellers, all of whom are working together and share the same corporate logo. There is no solution for this other than complete collapse of the market, since these people will always have the advantage and they won’t stop until they are forced to…
Hi Headless,
Eloquently put! It’s what I was alluding to hence my initial sentence and the posting under Chris’s ‘Market Manipulation’, but I really liked your post.
I think what’s being done behind the scenes (whether it’s for the powers-that-be to maintain their power or to keep the sheeple happy) is doing nothing but exacerbating the situation. Irrespective of short term manipulation or other shenanigans, the incoming waves can’t be stopped and won’t be stopped by the hubris (for whatever reasons) of the people trying to stop them. In the absence of another bubble to inflate and the inability to cut interest rates further - unless rates are set negatively, in which case the parallels with Japan will be even closer - the market will HAVE to reset to a deleveraging and a paradigm change.
I do think HFT is part of the problem though - Joseph Saluzzi had some good stuff to say today (and refers to the certain notorious bank holding company, albeit not by name!).
http://market-ticker.org/archives/1261-More-On-High-Frequency-Trading.html
DavidC
DavidC,
It’s a unique time in history when one can use the word "scumbag" in a declaratory sentence and be called "eloquent"; it takes the existence of true scum to allow this to happen. We know who we are talking about.
I have been "screaming" about the crime syndicate known as Wall Street, more specifically, a certain "bank holding company" for years, and it is with a great sigh of relief that there is finally some indication that some few of my fellow citizens are starting to understand that you don’t need to have Italian names to constiute a mafiosa-like organization(as Gerald Celent would say): your "eloquence" comment being a milestone in my lonely and seemingly–until recently–self-abusive quest.
I, at one time, was what could be considered a normal American: going about my business, trying to get ahead. Then, I got sucked into the insanity of the stock market and, having degrees in math and physics, I quickly came to the conclusion that something was amiss. Having childhood friends who worked in the inner sanctum of a certain "bank holding company," I heard stories that made me want to burn American flags. This is the same old story; as simple as buying a yellow Volkswagon and suddenly noticing how many Volkswagons are on the road around you (for the 200Xs, think Honda Civic); that is to say, without any conscious effort, I suddenly realized that level II trades came in mathematical patterns–distinct patterns, that were related to certain market makers in a way that was reminiscent of watching a warm-up rally between Venus and Serena. I can’t even imagine how many people out there know the truth about what has been being done to the average American 401k contributor for the last couple of decades or so, but it’s excrutaitingly too bad some large number of them didn’t decide to speak up, in the interest of national security and simple fairness to working Americans( Max Keiser being the standout exception), as opposed to covertly conspiring with the criminal syndicate and exploiting the manipulation by riding the wave and exacerbating the market swings for their own benefit.
We are many seconds past our financial 11:59; we can hear the approach of the "tick"; and any day now we could all wake up to financial armageddon. Certain "bank holding companies" have so thoroughly sacked the working class of their hard-earned wealth and concentrated that wealth in a place that knows no productivity in the name of Humankind, that it is merely a downhilll slide into the cauldron from here on. There will be obstacles that will slow or detour the descent, but it is absolutely inevitable. Ask Karl Denninger about the math. Anyone who has some understanding of mathematical reality (which, apparently, 90+% of Americans don’t) can foretell the heinous destiny of America and Her sheeple.
Hi, Headless;
Your last two posts are great examples of why I value the member contributions of this site so much . . . You nailed it, dead on . . . precisely my current take on what’s going on in the market . . . and why I give it a wide berth . . . It’s tempting to think that one can outsmart the market . . . but unless one does exclusively short-term trades, and skillfully at that, it’s more than an unfair playing field . . . it’s a death-trap. Thanks for the vivid description . . . . a scumbag by any other name . . . . well, you know the rest . . .
you don't need to have Italian names to constiute a mafiosa-like organizationCharles "Lucky" Luciano was given a tour of the banks/Wall Street, I forget his exact words, but they were to the effect, "And you call me a crook?"
Names, Perception and How Reality Lags Behind