They're probably saving that announcement for tomorrow. After all, they used the ECB's .25-percent rate drop to kick-start today's rally. So they need something to prod tomorrow's futures. Two

Bravo, POKERSAM! Well written and thought out. If only more Americans could understand what has really happened, perhaps then we'd see needed change and reform. Two

Actually, NM, it looks to me like the NDX/Qs will gap up tomorrow morning. They haven't quite topped...but will in the morning and take a drop. Could be a mild consolidation day tomorrow? Just my take. Two

Hi, 2bit, when was the R3 recorded (yesterday)? I must have missed that post? TIA. Two

Good logic...and you're probably correct. Not the right time yet to take a short, I'd say. Two

Not sure, Gleno. But a guy named Taleb had this to say about the matter on his blog today. Pretty hard to disagree. Two

==================

The Treasury’s plan is unfair to taxpayers and rewards the failure of banks that didn’t understand the risks they took when using debt to boost returns in the mortgage market, Taleb said.

Subsidize Failure

“I don’t understand why I as a taxpayer need to subsidize those who failed, by giving them options so they can rebuild their balance sheets,” he said. “Taxpayers take the downside and Wall Street as usual is going to take the upside, another classical problem of socializing the losses, privatizing the gains.”

Taleb said it’s “shocking” that the government would allow banks to estimate the value of the toxic assets that remain on their books because there is effectively no market for the securities, making them almost impossible to value.

“I don’t understand letting banks mark to market, after all this incompetence,” he said. “Why don’t we allow people to mark their house at what they think the value of their house is?”

Hey, Dan, just curious. What was your reasoning for not going short around 12:20? It looks like Gleno's call was right on the money? TIA. Two

Hey, NM. So what excuse are Da Boyz going to feed the media re. today's rally? That the loss of so many jobs for so long is actually a good thing? Two

Obama fired Geithner this morning! (April Fools joke) Two

Hi, 2bit. I think you're right about Feb. 12. But as I go back and study January, today looks more like Jan. 8 than Jan. 9. Prices should fall hard tomorrow. Two

They're going to take it down a little now to set up the obligatory rally into the close. How many times have you seen this? Two

Good indicator, Gleno. Thanks for sharing. Two

jakemem: "Nocona's Early Retirement System." You can find its description at http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=2462. Two

LOL...yes, it could go to 400 or more. The daily charts are suggesting to me that we'll see a pullback tomorrow. We'll see. Two

Gleno, the NERS buy/sell signals at the end of the day have been pretty accurate as far as foretelling the next's day trend. If you follow the CCI-144 on a 5-min NDX chart, this indicator is now at plus-94 and rising slowly as the price rises. When it goes over plus-100, I'll be watching for it (and other indicators I use) to either go higher or drop below plus-100. Right after yesterday's open, it had fallen to an incredibily low minus-430 or so, which told me we'd bottom at some point during the day. And of course, we did around 3 Eastern. It looks like Da Boyz want to take the NDX up to around 1255-1260 +- before dropping it. JMHO. Two

NM, so many times I've seen buy/sell signals that occur in the 3 p.m. (Eastern) timeframe. I'm waiting patiently for the QID buy signal, which I think we'll see this afternoon. But probably not until near the close...or even at the close. When they really want to confuse everyone, they drive up the price--and everyone's indicators--right into the close. Which makes it difficult to decide whether to short or wait until the next day's open. In this environment, waiting until then is usually too late. Two

gloe, do you think the European markets are as rigged/manipulated as the U.S. market? My impression is that they all seem to move in lockstep most of the time. Perhaps central banks worldwide play the manipulation game in concert? Two

I'm up early, as well, and think you're right about living/trading in Europe to take advantage of the futures market. I remember your discussions some time ago re. Quotetracker and will once again investigate. Thanks. Two

Thanks, spdpro, I'll check it out. Two

gloe, this is fascinating and useful information. It seems to validate the point of my post. Which leads me to another question: would it be more productive for daytraders to work the overnight session? I've often thought about doing this. But I'm not even sure what trading platform I would use? In particular, what companies offer 24-hour charting services? Have you ever contemplated doing this? Thanks for sharing. Two

Slow-motion day today. Isn't it interesting how many trading days see half or more of their move, whether up or down, occur in the pre-market? In fact, some days see most of their move happen before the bell rings (like today?). To me, this phenomenon represents pure market manipulation. Would today, for instance, normally be an up day had someone not bought the pre-market to "set the pace"? Wonder if anyone has compiled data that records the proportion of days when pre-market buying/selling is "all she wrote"? Two

smartone, if my memory serves they upped the tax writeoff to $100K, which virtually covered the cost of any large SUV on the road. This was a big move for Detroit and all the automakers expanded their production capabilities for SUVs (not just Hummers). With their focus on SUVs, the U.S. industry temporarily shelved plans for more economic vehicles, thus slowing down the transition. Two

Sure, back in 2003 buyers of big SUVs could practically write off the entire purchase amount on their income tax...as long as they could prove it was a "business expense." It was amazing how many small businesses got started that year. Two

But as I recall, it was only due to the tax incentives for large vehicles that had been set up by the Bush administration. This kept folks buying the gas-guzzlers at a time when GM should have been focusing on fuel efficient vehicles. Two

Good points. But guys like Fuld and Raines were around for years, ran their companies into the ground, got big money and resigned. I'm not condoning Rick Wagoner, who, as you pointed out, destroyed GM (by focusing on SUVs and not on fuel-saving cars like his overseas competition). The "new guys" at the banks didn't clean things up, but rather continued the methods that resulted in the economic meltdown. As your Rolling Stone writer pointed out, they got the rewards. Two

Poor old Rick Waggoner. The irony of his being fired is that he probably did a better job of managing GM than any of the bank CEOs who ran their companies into total failure (and got $billions in bailouts and $millions in bonuses for their efforts). Two

LOL, Gleno. Nothing would surprise me. But can you imagine the US Govt. running GM? You think the company is run poorly now? Two

Anyone think they plan to bounce the pig after 11 a.m. when Obama speaks on TV? Perhaps there's a silver lining in the GM situation? Something we don't know about? Just a little suspicious. Two

Amen! He said it all, smartone. Two

Here's what I see shaping up for Monday. The 5-min charts think we gap up in the first half hour and then start a serious decline for the next hour. A bottom occurs before noon...and we're then off to the races. The quarter ends strong on Tuesday. But April Fool's Day may see the beginning of a strong slide. Have a great weekend. Two

How many years have we heard politicians, regardless of party affiliation, extol the "strong dollar policy"? What a farce! They've sacrificed the dollar--repeatedly--to cover their economic policy mistakes. When I was born, the dollar was actually worth a dollar. And gold backed the currency. It hasn't taken long for our inspired leaders to destroy what took so long to build. Only one lifetime. Two

Treasury really has its teat in a wringer, doesn't it, Foot (lol). Two

Fox, looks like if one missed going short at yesterday's close, the best time to buy QID would have been around 12:10...and simply hold. Two

The house next to mine has been on the market for a year and the price has been reduced by more than 25 percent. All I see is realtors stopping by in their black Escalades and pushing "open house" signs in the ground. It's a nice house that's been completely remodeled, yet the few potential buyers I've seen only stick around for a few minutes before leaving. Perhaps they know that in a few months the price will go down another 15 percent and mortgages will be under four percent? And maybe then the realtors will be driving black Jettas? Two

Hey, Fox. Your sell signal was excellent! I got a QID buy signal around 12:10, only a short time after your signal. Two

Hey, Foot. You may already know about this site, but here's a good resource re. the real estate industry and related subjects. Two

http://realestateandhousing2.blogspot.com/2009/03/market-update-were-stuck-in-situation.html

Dan, I've been experimenting with the SMA 3/7 on the 5-min chart and find it to be perhaps overly sensitive to price moves? Not being critical, just trying to see whether it's more effective than the EMA 3/8? Have you compared them? Two

I agree, John, but my charts suggest more downside ahead today for the NDX/Qs/QLD. Of course, the financials are the most manipulated. I used to track (and trade) FAS/FAZ and discovered how dangerous it was to trade those ETFs. What a snakepit! You were walking on quicksand if you held anything overnight. Two

The sell signal at yesterday's close was overwhelming. As I write, the 5-min chart tells me this bounce may not be quite over yet. We're toying around with the EMA 34/50 lines right now, which is where these bounces sometimes end. But other indicators suggest price will go higher than the 34/50 lines before it turns down. What I want to see now is what happens when the CCI-144 crosses above the plus-50 line. It could fail there or continue up to the plus-100 line, then turn down. We'll see. Two

Hi, jetlag. Based on a lot of stuff such as EMA lines, candles, RSI numbers, CCI numbers, etc., on 1- and 5-min charts (for QLD/NDX/QQQQ). What I'm seeing is a strong sell signal from yesterday's close, and a bounce buy signal that started around 10:10. Based on what I see, my guess is that it will fail and price will collapse later this morning. (Then possibly go on a buy before the close.) So, I didn't take that 10:10 buy signal, but rather held my short position. We'll see. Two