- In a what’s new moment, futures point to a much lower opening. My idea of a rally are, so far, misguided. Proves, once again and again, that to project one’s estimates of market behavior more than a day or two is fruitless.
- Oil is flat to down which is somewhat confusing. Overnight there has been some major saber rattling in South America. The defense minister of Columbia thinks it is OK to follow Colombian rebels into Ecuador and Venezuela. Chavez had declared the minister an enemy of the state. Ecuador has dared Columbia to try it just one more time. This is all in the face of US’s treatment of Columbia’s most favored nation status. Should this escalate it will be interesting to see how Hilary handles it. And, of course, any escalation will have an impact upon oil.
- The other oil shoe to fall is projected production cut backs by OPEC. But this has been bandied about for so long that it may be baked in the current $45/barrel price.
- Elsewhere, North Korea has thrown down the gauntlet. As it prepares to fire a missle, which it says is only exploratory, it dares anyone to try to shoot it down and they will declare war. This is happening while US and South Korean forces conducts it annual war game exercise. North Korea views this as unnecessary provocation and has said so for years.
- Hilary may have to divert her attention from Russia/Gaza/Iran and tackle these vexing problems.
- And this from a major Republican:
“Close them down, get them out of business. If they’re dead, they ought to be buried.”
-Richard C. Shelby, the senior Republican on the Banking Committee, on ABC’s “This Week”
- Seems to me Mr. Shelby should remember how his pals voted for the Paulson bail out plan. Oh, and he should not be dying his hair with a bottle of liquid shoe polish.
- Bank America got a boost in Barron’s and elsewhere and could be a day trade.
- I will be concentrating on short ETF’s: SDA, TWM and SRS.
Make it a great Monday!
