S&P 500

Submitted by David Stockman via Contra Corner blog,

Every day there is more confirmation that the casino is an exceedingly dangerous place and that exposure to the stock, bond and related markets is to be avoided at all hazards. In essence the whole shebang is based on institutionalized lying, meaning that prouncements of central bankers, Wall Street brokers and big company executives are a tissue of misdirection, obfuscation and outright deceit.

Submitted by Charles Hugh-Smith of OfTwoMinds blog,

The battle boils down to what controls the market: central banks or fundamentals.

The tug of war between Bull and Bear has rarely been so clearly matched--and the stakes have rarely been so high.

Bulls are confident that central banks have their back in 2016. After all, whatever it takes has successfully pushed equities higher for seven years. Why not an eighth?

• Early Warning Signs of Recession Flash Faintly in U.S. Jobs Data (BBG)
• Who Needs Buybacks? One S&P 500 Variant Just Rallied to a Record (BBG)
• The unpredictable new voice of Saudi oil (FT)
• Saudi's Other Warning Makes Oil Traders Sweat After Doha Failure (BBG)
• U.S. oil investors rush for protection at $35 as Doha talks collapse (Reuters)
• Trump candidacy: Where some fear to tread others see a path to victory (Reuters)
• Iron Ore Powers Above $60 as Steel Rally in China Spurs Demand (BBG)

If asking traders where stocks and oil would be trading one day after a weekend in which the Doha OPEC meeting resulted in a spectacular failure, few if any would have said the S&P would be over 2,100, WTI would be back over $40 and the VIX would be about to drop to 12 and yet that is precisely where the the S&P500 is set to open today, hitting Goldman's year end target 8 months early, and oblivious of the latest batch of poor earnings news, this time from Intel and Netflix, both of which are sharply down overnight.

The Fed’s “Four Horsemen” Unite 

Written by Jeff Nielson (CLICK FOR ORIGINAL)