19/03/2004
Trading yesterday evening was a tad manic. The S&P spiked from 1117 to 1126 on the rumour that Osama had been captured. It then fell all the way back when it became apparent that he hadn't. The market then carried on with it's impersonation of the Grand Old Duke of York by spiking back up to 1125 on news that "Bin Hiding's" deputy was about to be captured. Quite what the situation is now is beyond me and as the CIA are involved in the operation it would not surprise me if they have merely apprehended some poor trainee minicab driver from Kabul, doing the Afghan version of the knowledge. The poor chap will no doubt have a couple of years in Camp Delta to brush up on his map reading skills.
Hard on the heels of the Madrid atrocities we have this morning seen the attempted assassination of the President and Vice President of Taiwan just days before their elections. It seems that these sort of events are now going to be part and parcel of elections all over the world as nutters everywhere come out of the woodwork. I suppose this is not actually the case in the US where the nutter is already running the country; or rather when Dick Cheney lets him!
Whilst I'm on a roll, it is nice to see the FSA getting tough on the UK fund management firms guilty of market timing offences. The new regime at the UK regulators are alot tougher than the previous lot and perhaps we will soon see them tackle the financial education and tip sheet market. They will be spoilt for choice as it seems that all the worlds "financial gurus" are descending on to this market. I am reminded of the old Genesis song: "Jesus he knows me." The video featured an evangelical preacher tapping his congregation for millions of dollars one minute and then spending it in an orgy of drugs and dodgy women the next. I look on the likes of Winters and Stanzione in a not dissimilar fashion, but obviously I would not dream of suggesting that they partake of narcotics. They do however offer the prospect of untold riches and all you have to do is make a donation to the Church of the Latter Day Alchemists as well as a yet to be determined some of money throw into the market using course material that even my Goldfish Squishy knows is a load of rubbish.
I suppose I ought not to be so self indulgent and mention something about the markets. The equity market is at an important point. We are bearish whilst the semi-Conductor Index remains below 495/7 and this ought to equate with the S&P around 1127/33. We are still bullish of the Nikkei of which we have been long since 10443, and no we didn't need that crappy Goldline system that those Muppets at ADVFN keep touting, to tell us. By the way isn't it about time that ADVFN do the market and the world a favour and go bust. They would accept advertising from the devil himself aslong as he paid the fees. Anyway if we can continue to close below the mentioned levels then the S&P will fall. If not we could be in for a vicious short squeeze up to 1250.
Right I feel alot better after that. If I have upset anyone then excellent. I'm off to buy a bullet proof vest and then find an election to stand for.
Harry
P.S According to the Windows spelling checker, nutter is not a word. Now that's irony. Oops another word that they don't have in the USA.