“The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt.”

-Cicero, 55 BC ( Courtesy -Hedgeye)

Crazy day. Why did the market cave and then rally through the highs of the day? Unemployment was a confusing number at first glance, even CNBC  looked like they had a cobra in their hands as they tried to decipher it, but these are the same people that keep you updated on Apple’s after market action when in fact the stock had been halted for 40 minutes. Anyway, it’s estimated that 660,000 left the workforce last month and a couple of million folks have just stopped looking for work. Let’s face it, it’s a jobless recovery, forget the numbers for now.

Consumer credit was telegraphed at 3PM yesterday and the market rallied. Confused? We don’t have an app for that.

Was the near term bottom put in? They never ring a bell at the bottom or the top, so the answer will come over time. Days or weeks. One thing is certain, the volatility is back, if you’re a trader you are loving it, if your buy and holder, well, just go back to your morning nap or grab another cup of joe.

Europe still weighs heavily on this market, but any good news over the weekend would definitely continue this short squeeze. The XLF broke a level that I have personally been watching since August, but it then rallied like a scalded monkey to the highs of the day. Really amazing.

Remember the credit default swaps on AIG? Toxic IOUS’s right? Well,there has been a 14% rise in credit default swaps,written to insure 54 “governments” since last September. How much leverage is in “those” swaps?

The IMF just did an analysis of the top six developed economies that have to make massive structural changes to their budgets over the next ten years and the U.S was on the list at six.

Was 1045 the near term low or just a vicious technical bounce that often happens in greatly oversold conditions? I think the 1020 level is in the cards, if not lower, in the meantime trade it, stuff is oversold.

Things are never as good or as bad as they seem, in life, or in the market, so patience will pay. Will the World Bank or the IMF step up if Portugal, Spain, Greece (peaked in 400BC), England or Ireland say “no mas”? Or will that even happen in the first place? I actually heard some “experts” say that that Euro may even cease to exist soon. The media is loving this , so do your own due dilly and make up your own mind. You’re not a sissy if you hold cash.

Will everyone lean on JPM ( I love the warrants around $12 or better) now that Dimon got a bigger bonus than Blankfein? LMAO

Enjoy the links and have a great weekend.

I never thought gold was anything but a good paper weight. Paulson choking, but he deserves a mulligan.

Greece is a walk in the park compared to Spain.

Unemployed for more than 26 weeks

CIA spies on corporate world.

You can’t like Brazil if you don’t like China.

Interesting view of Obama’s policy on Iran-Asia Times

Mind the Gap

How to play Greece.

Paulson on Lehman, at least he didn’t blame Bush.

The $6.3 trillion scam.

Hedgies lose 0.7% in January.

The man who could take down Merkel.

A scoop of double dip.

7 states that are worse off than Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland.

Soda Pop

Hysterical E-Trade baby outtakes.

Blizzard coming east

The city under sin city.

Forget college, send your kids to Hollywood.

Godfather runs the gang out of prison from Facebook.

The fat lady sings for Olberman

Scarborough on Olberman.

Early draft of the Constitution found in Philly.

The list of Academy nods.

My 500th global warming link, I just can’t help myself.

The 10 best business lunch joints in LA

Will Stern replace Cowell?

NBC and Black History month.

Man indicted for shooting his parrot.

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My favorite lolly pop kid, Timmy Geithner appears on the Hill next week to discuss the “don’t tell anyone about AIG” matter and his good pal Hammerin Hank Paulson was also given an invite to appear. If you believe Timmy’s rebuttal to all this, than you also believe that he didn’t understand Turbo Tax and that pigs can fly.

Futures are down slightly in front of the Citigroup number and earnings reports go full steam this week. Citi is expected to report its tenth consecutive quarterly loss this morning. Such a well run bank. We see IBM after the close today and WFC, GS,GE, BAC and GOOG all report this week.

In the “you can’t make this stuff up department”,

The International Builders’ Show will go on this week in Vegas without its signature exhibit, The New American Home, which for years has served as a showcase for some of the latest trends in building, design and home products.

The private lender financing the project ran into credit problems and had to withdraw funding, according to the show’s Web site.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

It was a sloppy week for the market and an ongoing nightmare for the people in Haiti, aid pours in, but bodies pile up. The government is taxing the banks, even if they weren’t TARP babies and if you work for a union you don’t have to pay taxes on your insurance. Brown is ahead in Massachusetts and Google flipped China the bird.

1120-30 are the support levels to watch for the S&P, and the financials, which have played a leadership role since the month began, are acting a little soft. JP Morgan, which beat earnings nicely, showed softness on the top line by about one $billion, which set off selling in the sector yesterday. Citigroup reports Tuesday before the open and we see WFC and BAC next week. It will definitely be an active ride as earnings start to hit their stride. Good luck and have a great extended weekend.

Hedge funds are licking their chops and are waiting for the money to pour in.

Rosenberg’s “Not So Great Depression”

15 books every entrepreneur should read.

The Tweeting car.

Why mortgage modifications are a farce and why Wells Fargo should be ashamed.

When government picks.

30% of Florida’s crops may have been lost in the freeze.

It ain’t just Cali, more states on the brink.

Gotta blame something.

Haiti-Will the gangs take over?

The Shanghai bubble.

AT&T rolls out cheaper plans for your mobile devices.

Han Han, the daring Chinese blogger.

The Nexus One and Android are beating iPhone in the geek polls.

The top 100 liberals and conservatives.

Is AIG worthless or not?

Taking your 401k.

Coakley is dying on the vine.

More Americans went uninsured. Crossing their fingers.

Hedge funds returned 25% in 2009.

China-it comes down to trust.

Google and Islam.

A Massachusetts democrat’s view on Obamacare and Brown.

Soda Pop

Finding Hendrix.

I never saw a bad Denzel movie.

Jack is back!!

The return of Gordon Gekko.

Tiger’s in sex rehab.

Weight Watchers floor collapses.

“Avatar” depression.

“Book him Dano”

Eye test that spots Alzheimer’s 20 years before symptoms.

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