The wait

The market continues to go higher, today the Dow is over 14,125 and the S & P is over 1,520, but there are a lot of market veterans that don’t trust this rally.  The Italian elections have thrown Europe into chaos, but they did manage to do a decent bond auction.  Walmart, WMT, is even having problems with its supply chain, so how well can the rest of the US be doing.  Japan is raising wholesale wheat prices by 10%, kind of like the rise in gasoline prices in the US.  JC Penny, JCP, and Groupon, GRPN, are both getting hammered due to terrible earnings but all anyone is really concerned about is what John Boehner will do.  Come the stroke of midnight the cuts begin and we will be living with the minute by minute update of how our country can’t function without an additional $85 billion.  People love to watch car wrecks as long as they are not involved but the American public is not sure if they are the driver, passenger, or spectator in this race.   We are about to find out.

The Sequester

The sequester will begin on Friday March 1, 2013 and some and somehow I am supposed to be concerned with an immediate government spending cut of $85 billion.  We are currently running deficits annually of over $1 trillion and this is supposed to grab my attention.  I am tired of the current state of politics in this country.  I have no faith in the current government and even less faith that my representatives will do the right thing to get the country back on track.  I have been a lifelong conservative and for better or worse, especially lately, I have been identified by my peers as a Republican.  It is obvious that the Republican Party sold out to big business starting in 2008 and has no intention of working to my best interest unless I am a lobbyist.  The Democrats continue to try and buy their votes with generous welfare benefits that continue to hamper the economy and make it difficult for small business, the country’s true life blood, to function properly.  The simple fact is that eventually taxes are going to have to increase and social programs are going to have to be cut, even a fifth grader can figure out basic math.  The Republicans are going to have to accept defense cuts and tax increase.  The democrats are going to have to accept Social Security and unemployment cuts.  On a side note, 2 years of unemployment benefits is counterproductive for employers and workers, there needs to be an incentive to get into the work force.  These are all just basic starting points and I am sure none of them will be addressed in the next week.

Why I'm here

I am a former trader.  One of those nasty market makers from the 90's who was cheating and stealing and completely fleecing the public if you remember what was written and believed of us.  Actually I am a very good trader, more right then wrong, and I have a different view of the world then most.  I have been replaced by an algorithm that can get you the volume weighted average price (VWAP); so you are never better then or worse then average. I have been replaced by central bankers bent on keeping the markets going higher, no matter what the cost or the reality of the economic situation.  I will be sharing my thoughts and experiences from the past and present.  Hopefully this will add a new perspective and give you a laugh as well.  I am looking forward to this, thanks for stopping by.