Now, this is not my message, but it seems to be a message that the folks at PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC) are making a concerted effort to get into the public domain. Their intentions may be pure and noble, but instilling doubt and uncertainty might also be a desirable after effect. Having said…
Session 39–The Media Gets It Right For A Change and Life After (and before) QE
It would not be fair or intellectually honest of me to constantly bash the media without pointing out work really does serve the public good. Today we have two for you to take a look at. The first is a piece from MarketWatch by Quentin Fortrell titled, “10 Things Economists Won’t Tell You.” If…
Session 38–The Bad News Bearer
It is Tuesday, June 4, 2013. As the markets rolls to its 4:00 PM EDT close, I see a bevy of bad news articles penned by Jeff Cox (a.k.a. “The Bad News Bearer”), senior writer for CNBC. I have rarely heard (in his on-air appearances) or seen in print a positive word emanate from Mr….
Session 37—Selling, Cash Positions and Comfort.
Kortsessions lately has sounded like the work of an unrepentant bull, a total Pollyanna. I didn’t really mean the blog to be that way: but we have been having a tough time finding bullish material to poke holes in. On the other hand we have been inundated with a fairly constant negative opinion / misinformation…
Session 36—“Futures Slump As Fed Threatens To Yank Stimulus Rug.” CNBC.com, 7:15 EDT, May 23, 2013
Here are a few more eye-catching headlines from CNBC: “If it sounds like Bernanke was dancing in his testimony, it is because he was doing figure-eights, trying to signal Fed direction.” “Fed mulls tapering as soon as June.” Below is a little snippet from MarketWatch: “How Bernanke Blew It.” This article focused on the response…
Session 35–“Fed Bolt From Hell” part III
There continues to be a lot of ink and air time given to Quantitative Easing (Q.E., the open-ended monthly Fed purchases of $85 billion of longer maturity U.S. Treasury securities). QE is credited by many as the primary reason for the market’s current levitation. The removal of Q.E. is also a constant concern, as…
Session 34–“Forecast For a 20,000 Dow Still Holds”
Jeff Sommer and his “Strategies” column in the New York Times has often have been the target of our slings and arrows, and we can’t resist one more shot. This Sunday’s business section in the Times carried an article penned by Mr. Sommer with the uncharacteristically bullish headline–“Forecast For A 20,000 Dow Still Holds.” …
Session 33—“Investors Can’t Beat the Machines—Commentary: Computer-Dominated Trading Takes Over.”
This bleak headline from the weekend edition of MarketWatch.com not only sounds depressing, but also it sounds like something out of “The Terminator.” Just give up ‘flesh and blood’ investors the machines are taking over. I mean why bother? You don’t have a chance. Mark Hulbert of the Hulbert Financial Digest, who is usually a…
Session 32—This Market, I Don’t Get It!
I think this has become a common refrain in the Wall Street community, the financial media and punditry corps. They continue to puzzle about the S&P and Dow breakouts to new all-time highs. How can this be with such high unemployment, weak jobs growth and a generally sluggish economic backdrop? Well, that is the…
Session 31— “Dow 15000, And the Big Disconnect—Wall Street’s Giddiness vs. Main Street’s Pain”
Leave it to the New York Times (which in the article referred to herein sounds more like the Fox News Network) and their reporter, Jeff Sommer, to present a masterpiece of negativity and misinformation. I believe this story is wrong on both counts. Wall Street is by no means giddy and Main Street may be…