Friends
We had the second day of testimony by Fed Chairman Bernanke, this time before the House Financial Services Committee, and there was nothing particularly new revealed today. Yes, the proceedings in the House tend to be a bit more feisty and partisan, but Bernanke is good at staying above the fray. He did indicate that housing is starting to improve and recent reports have indicated that, but in general he continued to confirm that the economy is struggling, and that Congress needs to address the “fiscal cliff”. He knows that the Fed is running out of bullets, and though the politicians want to lay everything at his feet, there is not much more the Fed can really do. It’s really up to Congress and the President now (God help us).
For the second day in a row stocks rallied. The idea that the Fed will continue to prescribe more medication for the ailing patient, and some “not too bad” earnings reports are emboldening the bulls, and beginning to worry the bears. For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 102 points to finish the day at 12,908. The S&P 500 was up 9 points to close at 1372. Gold was down $12.90 to finish trading near $1576 per ounce, while oil was up $.63 to finish near $89.85 per barrel WTI.
More earnings today after the close, as well as the rest of the week, so traders will have plenty of information to trade on. Do the bulls have solid ground on which to build a rally? Are the bears running for the hills and covering their shorts? There are so many crosscurrents, it is difficult to be definitive. Are we going up for the right reasons the past 2 days, or does that even matter? Is it more of bad news is good news, or do we have enough good news to build on? We’ll let you know how the rest of the week unfolds.
Have a nice evening everyone.
