The Market On Tuesday

Good morning. It is 68 degrees and rainy here in Upstate NY. I see that there are protestors at the RNC - Republican convention protesters come armed with outrage. From the point of view of having any effect on the delegates and politicians, well, clearly they will have no impact. From the point of view of gaining some media coverage and in so doing shed some light on what exactly they are protesting, it seems like a reasonable strategy. One suspects that since this is the RNC then one would expect right wing agitators to join in with the ranks of the protestors and as we know start some mischief. Unfortunately it's always violent mischief. I am dreading the Romney presidency.

At 8:00 a.m. futures are flat, the dollar is mostly down against major world currencies, and the price of oil is up per barrel. The market is poised to open in the flat to slightly higher area with energy stocks possibly benefiting from the oil price bump.

Investors will get some economic news on home prices and consumer confidence today which might have some weight on the indexes. Otherwise the expectation is for more quietness in the market as we engage in these few days before Labor Day. After Labor Day anticipate a more active Wall Street, culminating in the election of a new President. When Romney takes over, Wall Street will react favorably. Take away taxes and corporate responsibility and the gates of unregulated irresponsibility are thrown open. Look forward to an economic bubble, the bubble will collapse but not before the wealthiest of the wealthy haul away another load of wealth, then anticipate an even worse recession which should really be the final blow to any last notions of a democratic nation where opportunity even exists for ordinary people. Entitlements of any kind will be a quaint memory, SSI gone, medicare gone, publicly held entities will be handed over to corporate control as the nation generally deteriorates further while a few pockets of opulence become the focus of star crazed media attention. Yoga anyone?

CNN: Stocks: Investors hit pause

...Investors are hopeful that he (Bernanke) will announce further action to ease growing concerns about a U.S. economic slowdown.

Experts say that prices (of oil) could shoot up another 10 cents fairly quickly, depending upon the extent and duration of the refinery shutdowns.