First off, let me just say I consider myself a “moralist,” or, at the very least, ethical. I believe we should all pursue our endeavors in a manner that does not cause harm to others. This is pretty basic, right? Isn’t it what religious institutions teach, you know, the Golden Rule, respect for others, etc.?
So, when I read about rather large corporate institutions pursuing their goals at the expense of others (all of us), well, it reminds me that we live in a world where the goodness of religious institutions has failed to take root after 5,000 years of religious institutions sending out their roots.
- The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether the world’s biggest banks manipulated prices of precious metals such as silver and gold as it pushes to wrap up probes into currency-rate rigging, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Yes, the world is ripe with examples of goodness, but, overall, when you look around, there are too many people still behaving in ways that are wholly and completely antithetical to what society has deemed moral, or ethical.
- Precious metals have come under scrutiny as authorities around the world investigate allegations that other financial benchmarks have been rigged.
Moral, ethical, or otherwise, the ending for the recent chapter in the saga that is Greece is boring. Could it have ended any other way? Big yawn …
- Euro-region finance ministers approved Greece’s package of new economic measures and paved the way for an extension to the country’s bailout agreement.
Another big, really big, yawn …
- Treasuries fluctuated after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled that a change in the central bank’s guidance on interest rates won’t lock it into a timetable for raising borrowing costs.
Putting Yellen and the Fed aside, economic data goes up and it goes down; it fluctuates. Yup! Big yawn ….
- Home prices in 20 U.S. cities appreciated at a faster pace in the year ended in December, a sign that a limited supply is forcing up property values.
- U.S. consumer confidence fell more than expected in February, pulling back from a multi-year high according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.
- The U.S. services sector expanded in February at its fastest pace since October, with businesses reporting customers boosting orders because of improving economic conditions, an industry report showed on Tuesday.
Keep your eye on the macro, always, unless you are trading the ticks. The US economy (and soon other economies in the world) is still gaining momentum. It will be hard to reverse this flow any time soon, unless something unspeakable happens. Goldman Sachs notwithstanding, the market will respond to this by showing its approval.
New floors and ceilings are being formed everyday now, so expect a small pullback soon, but don’t expect a wholesale rout. The market is going up and there is nothing at this point to stand in the way of that.
Trade in the day; invest in your life …
