iCharts Discussions

[vinay28]

and now QE3 is certain

[rk_a2003]

[ajayhkaul]

The market was always on steroids and now it cannot function without it.

And now this ...... panic coming ???

''.....things have changed. Investors are not so naive anymore. They have seen that their investments haven't returned anything in the last few years. As for the experts, they can't offer the same lines anymore to the harried investors who have lost or at best made single-digit returns from the market in the "long term".

Worse, some of these investors are not even ready to listen to any amount of reasoning. They have mostly made up their mind that they are better off with conventional investment avenues like bank deposits, bonds and so on. They have already parted company with the stock market or are in the process of doing so....'' ET

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personal-finance/savings-centre/analysis/should-investors-abandon-equities-for-good/articleshow/13178968.cms

[ajayhkaul]

[vinay28]

ajay, what is the chart of? I mean Y axis?

[ajayhkaul]

Heh heh ..its not the nifty ...but all charts of stock exchange indices look the same ...they are all on steroids.

So it doesn;t matter.

RK has posted the QE on nifty earlier

[vinay28]

may be but I MUST know what Y axis stands for!

I guess it is dollar-swiss fr?

[ajayhkaul]

Its the S&P 500 Index

[chetan83]

U.S and Europe market gaining strength....does it mean we will see a Green picture in our Market

[ajayhkaul]

Not so fast , I think.

Only steroids that come after the summer holidays will do any good.

Right now loads of bad news timed to drive down the markets and clean out the 'noise traders'

Meanwhile , see what the Too Big to Fail banks are up to

'....The fines JPMorgan has paid to date ( $8 bil + for failing to disclose that hedge fund Magnetar not only helped choose the assets in a CDO transaction called "Squared," but also bet against much of the deal,making unlawful payments to win municipal bond business in Jefferson County, Ala. conspired to lower WaMu's sale price by leaking false information about WaMu's finances to federal regulators and potential rival bidders.
Meanwhile, Chris Whalen of Institutional Risk Analytics estimates JPMorgan may face up to $50 billion in additional claims stemming from lawsuits related to its crisis-era purchases of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual. The firm is also exposed to separate settlements with state and federal regulators over illegal foreclosure and servicing practices.---the fines are a drop in the bucket of the tens of billions of dollars of government bailouts and subsidies the firm has received -- and continues to enjoy -- going back to the take-under of Bear Stearns in March 2008. Plus, they're a tax write-off!

Additionally the current losses have exceeded $ 3b and counting.

[ajayhkaul]

[ajayhkaul]

Gold Bugs !

"....In the midst of the current market correction in the price of gold bullion, a Japanese pension fund, Okayama Metal & Machinery, is going to place 1.5% of its total assets ($500 million) in gold bullion-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) (source: Financial Times, May 16, 2012).

This is the first time the fund has bought gold bullion in its history.

The chief investment officer of the fund said explicitly that investing in gold bullion was meant to protect against sovereign risk.

Historically, the $3.4-trillion Japanese pension market has invested in bonds, with the balance finding its way to other assets, but not gold bullion…until now.

The perception in Japan has begun to change, as retail investors are beginning to view investing in gold bullion as a protection against a crisis—whether it is a tsunami or a debt crisis like in the eurozone.

The oldest and largest Japanese wealth manager, Normura, has added investing in gold bullion in its survey to retail investors. It has found—much to its surprise—that the average Japanese person views gold bullion as the third-most desirable investment.

The second-largest financial firm in Japan, Mizuho Financial Group, has begun to allow smaller Japanese pension funds to invest in gold bullion.
Unlike North America, the talk isn’t of investing in gold bullion as a commodity, but the perception is that of gold bullion as a currency.

Now that the tables have turned and Japanese pension funds are beginning to dip into gold bullion, while the average person in Japan is warming to the idea of investing in gold bullion, increased demand in Japan is just beginning.

If even five percent of assets are invested in gold bullion, then five percent of a $3.4-trillion dollar pension fund market is a staggering $170 billion.
You know what that would do for gold bullion prices…


If the perception of gold bullion as protection against a crisis takes hold in Japan, then five percent is a reasonable portion of one’s portfolio to set aside for insurance against a crisis. Not counting the average person in Japan. The $170 billion represents just the pension funds....'


Beijing was heavily buying gold last year, importing it through Hong Kong, and dramatically increasing its gold reserves.

Beijing is looking to add even more gold to its reserves on price dips, which is happening now.

Third, Beijing wants its yuan to eventually become a gold-backed currency, much like the Swiss franc was originally. Backing the yuan with some gold will certainly help it become a major international currency.

China is also set to become the world’s largest consumer buyer of gold, soon surpassing India. Consumer gold demand in China for the first quarter of this year soared 10%, an amazing number.

This is Beijing’s forward march of the yuan — its efforts to not only internationalize its currency, but to also knock the U.S. dollar off its perch as the world’s sole reserve currency.

So did you add @ $1525 odd ? Japs and the Chinks did,looks like.

[ajayhkaul]

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE/HPQ) is considering cutting 25,000 jobs in an effort to help the company trim costs and increase profits.

we will see more companies like Hewlett-Packard announcing job cuts as the year progresses.It’s been a snowball effect…

The recessions in various eurozone countries have resulted in big American companies that sell in Europe seeing softness in product/service demand.

And the slowdown in China’s economic growth is causing a pullback in demand from one of the world’s biggest economies.

Amid stagnant economic growth, companies are finding it difficult to deliver revenue growth. If revenue is not growing, and companies want to increase profits, their next logical move is to cut expenses.

Twenty-five thousand job cuts at HP is a big number, but percentage wise, it’s only eight percent of Hewlett-Packard’s total workforce. As more companies cut payrolls in the second half of 2012, more pressure will be placed on the unemployment rate and, consequently, economic growth in this country could easily stall.

In a global economy, it is unreasonable to believe a country as big as America can isolate itself from worldwide slowdown in economic growth.

What will this do to the Indian IT sector?

[vinay28]

1520 is anyway a support for gold

[STEPUP]

Ajayji take out time to read it:-

Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse.

Last month, he did the unthinkable -- he shut things down, claiming dealing with his bank counterparties had become too risky. Today, Lahde passed along his "goodbye" letter, a rollicking missive on everything from greed to economic philosophy. Enjoy.

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde