Tuesday, September 6, 2011

What In This Picture Does't Match The Others?

Stocks are rallying sharply overnight, despite that a pall of gloom overhangs world financial markets. Something doesn't quite match here. Are stocks showing signs of recovery, or is Europe truly the bellweather of gloom that these Wall St Journal articles suggest?
This reminds me of the pictures we would see in children's magazines that would show a picture or drawing and ask, "What in this picture doesn't match the others?" It's hard to imagine why stocks are rallying on this news of global gloom, but that's what's happening!
It also reminds me of another phenomena to which we have become accustomed. That phenomena is one off stocks rallying during the overnight hours when most Americans are asleep. This routinely occurs between 3-4 am EST. What gives? One wonders if this is market manipulation at an hour when few traders are awake to sell and there is such incongruity between market fundamentals and market valuation. Is there really this kind of momentum when there is no one to present a counterpoint to this bullishness? Is the market being manipulated at an hour during which there is no opposing force? One certainly has to wonder! And one must also wonder who is behind this. Is this Fed market manipulation at work? I am not the first to suggest it!