Can Super Market ignore 3 major issues in a single day?
Issue #1 (this is my audition to take over the McLaughlin Group, by the way): Americans are disgusted with Wall Street and give both Wall Street Executives and Corporate CEOs ratings as low as Congress (66% disapproval). In a Bloomberg survey conducted over the weekend, by a 2-to-1 margin Americans believe the economy has worsened over the past year and only 3 out of 10 people benefitted from the rise in the markets over the past 12 months, missing the rally as their wiped- out life savings went to pay for mundane things like food and fuel.
A sense of despair pervades perceptions of the economy and nation. Barely one-in-three Americans say the country is on the right track. Fewer than one in 10 say they believe the economy will be strong again within a year. Just 4 percent of Americans who cut back on spending during the recession now say they are confident enough to open their wallets, according to the poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Clearly these are not the same people Jim Cramer knows. In general, the public wants Wall Street regulated – AND Punished!
Issue #2: Greece is still uncertain and the Dollar moves to a 10-month high against the Euro, which touched $1.33 this morning with the Pound dropping to $1.494 and, even against the Yen we gained ground, rising to 91.35 Yen to the dollar as investors fly to the relative safety of the dollar. French and German leaders said any aid package for Greece would require help from the International Monetary Fund, denting confidence in the European Union. The 16-nation currency also fell against the yen and the pound as Fitch Ratings cut Portugal’s credit grade. “If Greece goes with the IMF, that says something terrible about the political process within Europe,” said Stuart Bennett, a senior foreign-exchange strategist at Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank in London. “This undermines any confidence in the currency.”
Issue #3: Are the Bulls in a China Shop? Vitaliy Katsenelson compares China’s economy to the bus in Speed, that would explode if its speed dropped below 50 m.p.h. “Well,” he says: “China is like that bus with 1.3 billion people aboard. If the Communist Party can’t keep the economy growing at a fast clip, the result will be catastrophic.”
To achieve high growth, China kept its currency, the renminbi, at artificially low levels…
