RSSI've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!
By Jim Farrish | August 28, 2008 | 8:19 AM | 0 Comments
We can all sit down and rehash what is going on in the credit market, housing, consumer spending, inflation, politics and commodities, but none of it is new. The data gets regurgitated and published in different ways with different conclusions, but it seems investors are waiting. For what? As much as I regret saying this, "Change!" No, not the kind you get at the Democratic National Convention, but legitimate change on the horizon for any one or combination of what's ailing the markets.
In typical government fashion they stepped into the financial mess and have left it hanging. Finish Fannie (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie (NYSE: FRE) off or at least give some clue on direction, bail out the brokers or say you are going to let them die of natural causes, drill for oil or at least let someone, renew the tax credits for alternative energy, just finish something. Clarity, that's what investors need and want. This is something I have been discussing for some time now. I am not blaming government for any of the condition we are in currently (believe me I could). I am simply stating if they are going to get in the game - get in, otherwise get out of the way and let the cards fall where they may. The financial markets are like a 5 year cocaine addict we want to send to a 30 day rehab clinic. It's going to take more than that to fix the problem. Fixing it is not the issue, making a commitment to fix is.
A look at the charts shows the stalled state of the markets since last October. The major indices show downtrends in play with a consolidation wedge over the last eight months. Technically there are argument for both the bulls and the bears. The McClellan Summation for the NASDAQ has rolled over - bearish, yet the McClellan Summation for the NYSE has not rolled over - not bearish. We could go on with these various examples, but why frustrate you or me. So, the question I keep asking myself, "what is it going to take for the indices to break down or go up? Clarity - and until we get some we may just keep spinning our wheels.
| 
|
