"Every thread in the financial fabric is being stressed. It is only when a few threads break that we are forced to see the stress in adjacent threads. In fact, ALL the threads are coupled and affected by the weaknesses in all others. These guys have been getting away with murder, until now. An attempted fix here, an attempted fix there. Bush, Bernanke, Paulson, et al, right down to the guy most profiting from shorting the collapse, recognize the implications of a general collapse, and are working to try to prevent it. Timing is important, and this week, time ran out. I shook my head today, as I watched the major cyborgs begin the nibbling process, driving the indices toward the basement. The real nosedive began at 1500 HR, and that's the time that I believe Ben had to make a decision to play a trump card. The nature of the announcement, more of a HINT OF GOOD NEWS, came earlier than Ben would have liked, but, disaster was in the making. The announcement was rather another validation of Stan Freeberg's famous "Why radio is better the television." The power is in the ability of the mind to create more vivid images than the eye sees. "No details until next week. Just use your imagination." This was the giant sundae, topped with tons of whipped cream, onto which a bomber just dropped a giant maraschino cherry! And to ensure the outcome, Ben unleashed the PPT, but big time. Splash!
Yes, short sellers, who began to build positions during the day, got caught flat footed. The footprints of their scramble to get out are there on the intraday charts. And, analysts who began writing commentary before the close, had to rethink and rewrite extensively. Was this "a REAL rally?" No, the participation in terms of volumes was still at the 1-year average. It primarily was another cannibal dance, a computer video game, where outlooks and tactics had to be quickly revised. As I said, I think that Ben and his minions are on the job, and now imaginations must, for some short time at least, take over. That bodes bullish, at least for the beginning of next week. Just remember, Ben, attention spans are short."
- Charlie Miller, MIT Retired
