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Stocks traded lower on news that consumer spending has dropped for a record sixth month in a row. The irony is that some Wall Street types wanting to shift blame away from themselves for the banking meltdown point fingers at the American consumer and our collectively low savings rate. And when we stop spending and start saving a bit, what happens to stocks? They fall. But at the time of this writing, the S&P 500 has moved to positive on the day in the last half hour of trading. And the VIX, which came close to breaking above 50% for the first time in a week, settled back down to around 45% once traders figured the downside fun wasn’t going to happen today. Even the financial ETF, the XLF, took a break from falling on reports that Treasury Secretary Geithner would be unveiling a bank plan next week. This choppy market doesn’t look like it’s going to pick a clear direction, up or down, any time soon. About the only thing that does look like it might be starting to trend higher is the US dollar vs the euro. I seem to remember it was about this time last year when European economists were suggesting that they were relatively immune from weakness in the US. Now, the only talk you hear of “de-coupling” is in train yards.
Tom Preston
thinkorswim, Inc.
Member FINRA/SIPC/NFA
thinkorswim, Inc. and its registered employee, Tom Preston, do not solicit or recommend any form of trading in the individual stocks (or their derivatives) mentioned above. Please do careful, independent research before investing any money as well as weigh the possible consequences on your particular financial situation before doing so. The risk of loss may be substantial.
Tom Preston
thinkorswim, Inc.
Member FINRA/SIPC/NFA
thinkorswim, Inc. and its registered employee, Tom Preston, do not solicit or recommend any form of trading in the individual stocks (or their derivatives) mentioned above. Please do careful, independent research before investing any money as well as weigh the possible consequences on your particular financial situation before doing so. The risk of loss may be substantial.
