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Friday, March 29, 2024

“Utterly Irresponsible”

Courtesy of ZeroHedge View original post here.

Authored by Richard Breslow via Bloomberg,

The roiling of the entire complex of global markets last night was utterly irresponsible.

Out of context or not, it’s on a spokesman to speak clearly. For people who are so intrinsically involved with how asset prices will take their every word, they don’t seem to know the very basics of Trading Room Communication 101. It’s hard to tell, with each episode, what is the cause. Whether it’s frustrated and angry people trying to prove their virility, people who don’t respect the markets having a bit of fun, or sheer incompetence, I doubt we will ever fully settle the matter.

What is equally disturbing, is the number of people who argued, after the fact, it was no biggie. Everything came back pretty quickly. S&P 500 futures don’t have a 70 point range because algorithms are just having a lark. Those who claim it was simply another dip-buying opportunity, truly don’t get what this is all meant to be about. Or what can be at stake. No matter your view of things, needing a late night tweet to save the stock market shouldn’t possibly provide any comfort.

At various times over the last week there was increased discussion about possible alternative paths to normalizing bank balance sheets and rates when the time comes and things settle down. Somehow that seems even to be even more premature now. Back in the day, new employees were given a due diligence checklist to learn and the manuals to study for the Series 7 Exam. (“No one at this firm has ever flunked the test”) I wonder, if instead today, it would be more appropriate to hand out a paperback titled, “How to Count Cards In Six Easy Lessons.”

Nevertheless, everyone is spending the European hours charging back to risk. Europeans in France, Germany and the euro zone each had Markit PMIs that beat estimates. And, of all things, analysts are also saying things are buoyant on trade optimism.

All is again right with the world.

Quickly forgotten is a line from a story last night saying Chinese equities rallied into lunchtime, led by distillers. Back then, a lot of people must have felt the need for a drink to regain their composure. A few hours later, and it is strictly sports tonics.

The dollar does appear to have been unable to surmount its resistance zone. And a lot of people seem full of glee at this event. We have also seen these prices over and over again. It needs to break new ground before we can declare it in some sort of trend. Do I know where the next big move is going? No. Frankly, I could argue both sides. But, again today, the Bloomberg Dollar Index traded at its one-year average price. And that should tell you something. It’s below the 200-day moving average and a lot of people credit that as important. But, to be fair, it hasn’t been a great line. The big range from March will be the most important deciding factor.

August Gold is inching toward the top of its range. Emphasis on inching and range. I may be the only person who finds the trade less than exciting. But I’m going to make some calls and see what the experts are saying. It may require a look at $1800 at some point to satisfy the bulls. There isn’t a lot of bang for the buck, if that is all it can muster.

Meanwhile, the curve steepeners will require the patience of a saint. Which, I’m sure, we all are

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