Fleck: Rap Presents the Al.com Archives
By Bill Fleckenstein
02/13/2003 17:52
Index Close Change
Dow 7749.39 -8.78
S&P 500 817.30 -1.38
Nasdaq Composite 1277.44 -1.53
Nasdaq 100 951.90 -4.87
Russell 2000 354.72 -0.66
Semiconductor Index (SOX) 264.80 +0.37
Bank Index 701.33 +3.21
Amex Gold Bugs Index 138.09 +4.84
Dow Transports 2073.44 -27.23
Dow Utilities 193.33 +3.11
NYSE advance-decline -674 +550
Nikkei 225 8599.66 -64.51
10-year Treasury Bond 3.87% -0.041
First, a talking-head alert: Today I was interviewed by Carolyn Baum for her radio program "No Nonsense," which airs on Bloomberg radio at 11:30 a.m. EST Saturday. For those of you who don't live in the New York area, it will also be on the Web at www.bloomberg.com/radio. And, the topic is none other than our illustrious Fed chairman.
Masking Tape Fear : Turning to the overnight action, there wasn't much to talk about. This morning, our market repeated the pattern we have been seeing for the last week: a modestly higher opening that was immediately sold. In the first hour, the market was down about 0.75%, and this time, tech mostly came along for the downside ride, though some stocks like Dell DELL remained green in the early going. A headline passed that London's Gatwick Airport had been closed, which I think helped to put pressure on stocks. Not surprisingly, the early going could best be described as very skittish.
The early morning skittishness continued all day. There seemed to be a good deal of fear in the air, though it wasn't extremely apparent on the tape. At the lows, the S&P was down about 2%, as was the Nasdaq , but many tech stocks were hanging in there. The volatility measures were picking up. So again, it was like part of the market was cowering, and part was trying to prepare for the rally that people expect.
In any case, the white-knuckle ride ended with a spirited rally in the last few hours that continued into the close. The prices you see in the box scores are in essence the best levels of the day. Obviously, there is a lot of trepidation going into Friday's U.N. meeting, and tonight we will hear from Dell. Tomorrow, we will learn how the market reacts to both those events. It seems almost certain that some fireworks are in store, one way or the other.
Away from stocks, fixed income was slightly higher, and the dollar was under a good deal of pressure, with the euro up about 1%. Gold was $4 lower overnight, but wound up closing $5 higher on the day. Silver was only up fractionally.
Show-and-Tell for Shares : Lately, a number of emails I have received carry a common theme, so I thought I would address them now. First of all, yes, I still own my Annaly Mortgage NLY . As I have said many times, if I change my view, I will state it here. Though I haven't bought some more, I am inclined to do so, and I will certainly let everyone know. Yes, I own my Pan American Silver PAAS . I don't intend to sell it, but if I were to sell some shares, I would let folks know. Of course, I would have to disclose that in a public filing, as I am a director of the company. And, I am looking for an opportunity to add to my metals position. When I do, I will let everyone know this as well.
Click for Cluelessness : I also have received many questions about my previous columns on Greenspan, and specifically, why I feel like I do about him. It would be impractical to answer each one individually, so I have assembled a few articles on the man I used to speak about (and sometimes still do). Get ready to start clicking (and note the publication dates), because here they are:
(1) October 1999: "Spinning Financial Illusions: the Story of Bubblenomics." This was a speech I gave at the Contrary Opinion Forum.
(2) March 7, 2000: "Alan Greenspan, Friend or Foe." This was my reprisal of his speech from the top of the bubble, which I dubbed "An Ode to Technology." This one is truly priceless.
(3) Feb. 27, 2002: "Alan's Monetary Insurance Policy Features Lifetime Benefits for Acute and Chronic Cluelessness." This was my assessment of his speech two years into the bust, which I labeled "I Still Don't Get It."
There's more: (4) March 7, 2002: "Greenspan Awarded MBA: Master's in Bubble Administration." A brief recap of the Fed's attempts at bubble management (in essence, a short followup to my Bubblenomics speech).
(5) Sept. 3, 2002: "Maestro Ducks as Baton Turns to Boomerang." My dissection of Al's attempt to dodge the blame for not recognizing and dealing with the bubble. Well, given that everyone's reading has just been compounded, and given the fact that I have been on my soapbox pretty heavily lately, I'll just shut up for now.
First, a talking-head alert: Today I was interviewed by Carolyn Baum for her radio program "No Nonsense," which airs on Bloomberg radio at 11:30 a.m. EST Saturday. For those of you who don't live in the New York area, it will also be on the Web at www.bloomberg.com/radio. And, the topic is none other than our illustrious Fed chairman.
Masking Tape Fear : Turning to the overnight action, there wasn't much to talk about. This morning, our market repeated the pattern we have been seeing for the last week: a modestly higher opening that was immediately sold. In the first hour, the market was down about 0.75%, and this time, tech mostly came along for the downside ride, though some stocks like Dell DELL remained green in the early going. A headline passed that London's Gatwick Airport had been closed, which I think helped to put pressure on stocks. Not surprisingly, the early going could best be described as very skittish.
The early morning skittishness continued all day. There seemed to be a good deal of fear in the air, though it wasn't extremely apparent on the tape. At the lows, the S&P was down about 2%, as was the Nasdaq , but many tech stocks were hanging in there. The volatility measures were picking up. So again, it was like part of the market was cowering, and part was trying to prepare for the rally that people expect.
In any case, the white-knuckle ride ended with a spirited rally in the last few hours that continued into the close. The prices you see in the box scores are in essence the best levels of the day. Obviously, there is a lot of trepidation going into Friday's U.N. meeting, and tonight we will hear from Dell. Tomorrow, we will learn how the market reacts to both those events. It seems almost certain that some fireworks are in store, one way or the other.
Away from stocks, fixed income was slightly higher, and the dollar was under a good deal of pressure, with the euro up about 1%. Gold was $4 lower overnight, but wound up closing $5 higher on the day. Silver was only up fractionally.
Show-and-Tell for Shares : Lately, a number of emails I have received carry a common theme, so I thought I would address them now. First of all, yes, I still own my Annaly Mortgage NLY . As I have said many times, if I change my view, I will state it here. Though I haven't bought some more, I am inclined to do so, and I will certainly let everyone know. Yes, I own my Pan American Silver PAAS . I don't intend to sell it, but if I were to sell some shares, I would let folks know. Of course, I would have to disclose that in a public filing, as I am a director of the company. And, I am looking for an opportunity to add to my metals position. When I do, I will let everyone know this as well.
Click for Cluelessness : I also have received many questions about my previous columns on Greenspan, and specifically, why I feel like I do about him. It would be impractical to answer each one individually, so I have assembled a few articles on the man I used to speak about (and sometimes still do). Get ready to start clicking (and note the publication dates), because here they are:
(1) October 1999: "Spinning Financial Illusions: the Story of Bubblenomics." This was a speech I gave at the Contrary Opinion Forum.
(2) March 7, 2000: "Alan Greenspan, Friend or Foe." This was my reprisal of his speech from the top of the bubble, which I dubbed "An Ode to Technology." This one is truly priceless.
(3) Feb. 27, 2002: "Alan's Monetary Insurance Policy Features Lifetime Benefits for Acute and Chronic Cluelessness." This was my assessment of his speech two years into the bust, which I labeled "I Still Don't Get It."
There's more: (4) March 7, 2002: "Greenspan Awarded MBA: Master's in Bubble Administration." A brief recap of the Fed's attempts at bubble management (in essence, a short followup to my Bubblenomics speech).
(5) Sept. 3, 2002: "Maestro Ducks as Baton Turns to Boomerang." My dissection of Al's attempt to dodge the blame for not recognizing and dealing with the bubble. Well, given that everyone's reading has just been compounded, and given the fact that I have been on my soapbox pretty heavily lately, I'll just shut up for now. |
