LLOYD'S WALL OF WORRY http://www.minyanville.com/businessmarkets/articles/wall-of-worry-investor-worries-us/1/10/2012/id/38783#ixzz1j7LpeH5p
QE: Look for another 50 billion pounds of UK quantitative
easing coming to help the Brit’s economy. Roughly equivalent to selling four or
five residential properties in Kensington Palace Gardens. Oh, behave!
U.S. ECONOMY: “Ain’t no stoppin’ us now, we got the groove….”
A barely GDP positive, high unemployment, weak housing market, rising inflation
groove.
UNEMPLOYMENT: Just like the rent, Jimmy McMillan would say:
“It’s too damn high!”
INVESTOR SENTIMENT: Once bitten, twice shy. Twice bitten,
friggin’ pissed forever.
HOUSING CRISIS: 2012 is its five-year “wood”
anniversary. To be celebrated with a piece of driftwood in an effort to help
underwater mortgage holders stay afloat.
CENTRAL BANKS: The Wall of Money has started. Hard to
see as it is a glass wall, but a wall all the same. Will it hold?
HUNGARY: Sending up flares, smoke signals, and red flags all
with the same message – S.O.S.!!!
EUROPEAN ECONOMY: Stealth devaluation of the eurodollar
setting up as a Hail Mary pass to make the eurozone globally competitive again.
Hey Uncle Sam, I wonder where they got this idea?
THE EUROPEAN UNION: “Oh let's, let’s stay together, lovin’ you
whether, whether, times are good or bad, happy or sad….”
SOVEREIGN DEBT: Can I interest you in a light, bubbly,
effervescent vintage 2012 $8 trillion debt auction?
BOND VIGILANTES: Barring a Mayweather/Pacquiao galactic
superfight, this is the one bout to watch this year.
GREECE: “You’ve lost that loving feeling, oh that loving
feeling….”
IMF: Dear IMF, I hereby grant you the 2012 Nobel Prize for
Economics. Now, I expect you to earn it because nobody else will.
SUMMITS: The holiday respite is over. Merkozy sit-downs,
Geithner in Asia, Ahmadinejad catching some rays in Venezuela. I hear the
thundering hoof sounds of hysteria-inducing headlines coming from the
distance....
POLICY CLIFFS: The US government in its entirety is taking
“Murphy’s Law” to a level not seen since Chicxulub crater 65 million years ago.
BANKS: Italy's and Spain’s finest are racing to recapitalize
with equity, and taking some serious pass-the-hair-tonic haircuts on their stock prices.
VOLATILITY: Just gonna put on my astronaut diaper and ride
this bronco till it busts.
HIGH FREQUENCY TRADING:
Lloyd: I hear you bid on a hundred million dollar townhouse.
HAL: I threw in a few bids.
Lloyd: Just a few?
HAL: 78,576. Didn’t want to make waves.
CHINA: Cutting the “RRR” – reserve requirement ratio – 50
basis points for the first time since 2009 in an effort to stem the troika of
drooping real estate, stock market, and PMI numbers. Likely to keep the knife
out for the rest of the year, too.
STOCK MARKET TECHNICALS: When all else fails the fallback move
is to follow the technicals…even when they're failing as well.
EARNINGS SEASON: The gates fly open and they’re off!
CORRELATION: “Same as it ever was, same as it ever was,
same as it ever was….”
CREDIT WATCH: Alright, ratings agencies, we are bent over and
waiting. “Assume the position…thank you, sir, may I have another!”
IRAN: Really thinking about cancelling that Strait of Hormuz
family-fun cruise I booked for this year’s spring break.