CARTEL CAPITULATION WATCH
Weekly S&P
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/SW/X
Seems to me the US stock market is putting in a giant double top, which has ominous implications for the months ahead. At the same time, it appears gold is about ready to charge through $430 in the VERY near future.
Many of the pundits on Wall Street are concentrating on the growing number of dividends, high corporate cash levels, firm corporate profits, etc., as reasons to be bullish. My bet is that the macro level re Iraq and US fiscal problems will overshadow the micro when it comes to the market. In addition, the good news which propelled the US market to a recovery over the past couple of years is over. Low interest rates, government stimulus and various tax cuts have run their course with their effects diminishing in the months to come.
The controversy over how China will affect the world economic scene rages on. Another piece of the puzzle for those trying to figure out what lurks in the future regarding this emerging economic behemoth:
Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Foreign direct investment in China rose 10.7 percent last month from a year earlier as companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. expanded to tap demand in the world's fastest-growing major economy.
Investment increased to $4.1 billion, as the government allowed 3,563 foreign companies to build stores and factories in January, China's Commerce Ministry said on its Web site. Contracted foreign investment, or investment pledged but not yet delivered, also surged 27.7 percent to $12.8 billion, the ministry said. This figure is an indicator of future investment.
China, the world's seventh-largest economy, attracted a record $60.6 billion from foreign investors last year, as companies tapped low labor costs and a market of 1.3 billion consumers. Government efforts to slow the economy by curbing credit to industries such as steel, autos and real estate haven't deterred foreign investors such as Pirelli & C. SpA...
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