Stress tests had the market stressed out as the market tried to figure out the winners and losers. Apple is THE big winner as hedge funds continue to pour into the name as the dollar volume in Apple overwhelms the market. Apple has gone parabolic in its returns. Trees don’t grow to the sky – as much as we would like them too. Apple may be THE Market General and market fortunes may rest with Apple’s fate. Watch Apple.
We have noticed what seem to be an inordinate amount of secondaries in the market by corporations. Corporations may be taking advantage of higher stock prices in order to repair balance sheets or in the case of Capital One to finance an acquisition and growth. If a company is tapping the secondary market it may be a hint that they feel that their stock is no longer cheap.
We have a great deal of respect for Lakshman Achuthan and his people at ECRI. They made a recession call in the fall of 2011 and continue to pound the table. In a blog post from the Big Picture blog Achuthan outlines his case for an underperforming economy and chance for recession. Follow the link below. The bond market is having something else to say on the subject and recent moves there see anything but a recession on the horizon. Watch money flows. If money is coming out of bonds where is it headed? Here is the money quote from ECRI.
The bigger question is, can unprecedented, concerted global monetary policy action repeal the business cycle? The objective coincident and leading indexes that we have always monitored are still telling us that it cannot.
Philly Fed will be closely watched as Empire Manufacturing Index showed New Orders imploding and Prices Paid exploding. Bernanke has been pouring gasoline on the fire hoping it would ignite. When that fuel catches fire will the fed be able to contain the flames?
New Orders 6.8 vs. 9.7
Prices Paid rises to 50.62, 25.88 previous.
The 6-month outlook conveyed a “high degree” of optimism, while the capital spending index rose to its highest level in more than a year. The large increase in the prices paid index suggests manufacturers saw a sharp rise in input costs. -Seeking Alpha
The pace of change continues to accelerate. In China overnight it looks like the government may have squashed the power struggle that Arthur Cashin so astutely pointed out yesterday. Let’s hope so for the economic outlook anyway.
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/03/why-ecri%e2%80%99s-recession-call-stands/
Answer: The active coach who has the most NCAA basket championship wins is Coach K from Duke University.
Today’s Question: Who is the only player to have won the NCAA Basketball‘s Final Four Most Outstanding Player award 3 times?
If you are feeling bad about your brackets already remember that you had a 147.57 quintillion to 1 chance of filling out a perfect tournament bracket. – Wikipedia
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. – Winston Churchill
Disclosure: This blog is informational and is not a recommendation to buy or sell anything. If you are thinking about investing consider the risk. Everyone’s financial situation is different. Consult your financial advisor.
