PPT-like action was taken, but it never involved the so-called PPT. FED called on the money center banks only to find out what they knew, but initiated action on its own. FED didn't take this action in order to manipulate prices, but to manipulate psychology away from fear
A rose by any other name is still arose. Whether the action is taken by a group of banks directed by the FED or by the FED itself based on collected information, does that make a difference to the price action of the market? What does it mean to manipulate price (assuming any such manipulation exists)? If the FED makes a practice of intervening to stabilize price to affect mass psychology, is that not a form of price manipulation? If you believe that the FED has intervened, or is still doing so, is it not possible that without such intervention the "herd" would have driven the market much lower in October instead of suddenly reversing direction?
When clowns .... make this claim that the PPT is operating, what they're seeing is the result of rabid traders wildly making random decisions based on specious indicators
If traders were making purely random decisions it is highly unlikely the market would have moved as high in such little time as it did off the October lows, or that the reversal would have been so abrupt. Such movement happens when something turns the herd in a new direction, perhaps those specious indicators you refer to. Every herd has a leader or small group of leaders. If those leaders have the resources to start the change (perhaps by manipulating the indicators?), the herd will surely follow, and that is the heart of the matter here. Those of us who don't have the resources to change the direction of the market can only hope to not get run over by the stampede, or be in the right position when the turns are initiated and the rest of the herd follows.
I don't think anyone believes that the entity or group engaged in "PPT-like action" has bought all the shares/contracts necessary to ramp this thing for eight weeks in a row. They don't have to. All that is needed is to hold the line when things appear to be weakening to keep the herd running in the "right" direction. Unless you are that entity or part of that group (if indeed it exists) you could never PROVE that the market is being steered in one direction, but you might very well see a series of market events that suggest such action is being taken. If, over time, there is an observed correlation between overnight action in the futures markets and yet to be released news, or other sudden flurries of buying at points where price can be moved with relatively little volume, why would I not conclude that somebody is more interested in moving the market higher than they are in acquiring an equity interest at the lowest possible price?
Do the clowns ever say the PPT is operating on the sell side when markets rise?
Nobody would call it the PlungeProtectionTeam if it was trying to drive the market lower, but if you recall the FED concern about the "wealth effect" leading into the top of the "bubble", the possibility of intervention to stimulate a correction hardly seems remote. Unfortunately, that change in direction, however it happened, took the herd too close to edge of the cliff, and there are now a lot of badly injured cows laying in the canyon. The cost to society for cleaning up that mess over the next few decades is going to be staggering. Why should I believe nobody is intervening to try to keep the rest of the herd from going over? |
