Cuttone and Co. Inc.

Today is the 70th anniversary of Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast of “War of the Worlds”. As you may recall, Mr. Welles scared the bejesus out of the nation with his realistic portrayal of a Martian invasion of Earth. The broadcast featured seemingly normal programming interrupted with news reports of a terrifyingly realistic nature. Listeners were panicked and in parts of southern New Jersey (the fictional site of the invasion was reported to be in Grovers Mills, NJ) citizens ran for the hills.  If you want to get a feel for how the audience must have felt, think back two weeks ago to

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In recent weeks, bullish investors have been performing like an underdog football team whose offense keeps turning the ball over. They occasionally show flashes of brilliance and the market rallies. Unfortunately, despite some inspirational play, by the fourth quarter the defense is worn out from being on the field too long and the market has sold off sharply and rather predictably. The smart play has been to short into rallies and cover during the eventual last hour collapse. Until Yesterday.

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When young men and women are inducted into the military they are sent to boot camp for basic training. As part of that training they are subjected to simulated battlefield  stresses like smoke, live fire and loud noises in an attempt to desensitize them and prepare them for actual combat. Despite that training, one can never be sure what the reaction will be when those inductees face actual combat for the first time. Experience seems to be the best teacher and hardened veterans are valued by armies worldwide.
 
Investors have been through their own sort of drill in recent weeks. Conditions

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In the song "Dance This Mess Around", Cindy Wilson of the B-52s asked "Hey, now don't that make you feel a whole lot better?"
 
She probably wasn't thinking about improvement in the credit markets at the time, but traders were certainly pleased with the movement in Libor yesterday and they bought stocks with gusto. The rally was strong and broad, and the whiff of panic that had been poisoning the air in recent weeks seemed nowhere to be found.
 
This morning investors will be hoping that the good feelings continue. Investors will continue to watch the action in the credit markets, but earnings

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Bulls seem to be an endangered species on Wall Street these days and yesterday there were none in sight. The markets sold off hard on recessionary fear, which has replaced fear of systemic failure as the dread du jour. It is hard to believe that anyone who has been paying attention can be surprised by the weak economic numbers we’ve been getting , but investors seem to be completely bereft of hope and that is a tough headwind for the bulls to struggle against.
 
On a positive note, Libor continues to improve slowly but steadily, although traders unreasonably expect it to drop back to normal

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It is a measure of just how turbulent the investment seas have been that traders viewed yesterday as a calm one, despite swings of several hundred Dow points throughout the day. Weary investors have been searching for any port in a storm and in light of Monday’s incredible rally, yesterday’s modest loss must be viewed as a win.  We managed to get through the day without taking on too much water and there seem to be fewer whitecaps on the horizon.

Today, traders will cast off the lines and try to make headway. Favorable tidal conditions in the form of positive earnings reports should help ease

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It is a measure of just how turbulent the investment seas have been that traders viewed yesterday as a calm one, despite swings of several hundred Dow points throughout the day. Weary investors have been searching for any port in a storm and in light of Monday’s incredible rally, yesterday’s modest loss must be viewed as a win.  We managed to get through the day without taking on too much water and there seem to be fewer whitecaps on the horizon.
 
Today, traders will cast off the lines and try to make headway. Favorable tidal conditions in the form of positive earnings reports should help ease

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Much like the pioneering jet pilots training to be the first astronauts, investors found themselves strapped into a rocket sled yesterday and accelerated at tremendous speeds. G forces were high and there were concerns that the momentum might falter at midday, but the indexes all went parabolic and hit escape velocity late in the session. Investors were over the moon with relief as the Dow went into orbit and they returned home with smiles on their faces for the first time in what seemed like ages. If you ever wondered what a “melt-up” looked like, this was it. An amazing day by any

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In 1976, Billy Joel released a song called "Summer Highland Falls", in which he contemplatively sang that “it’s always sadness or euphoria”. Traders arriving at their desks this morning know that feeling well, although I suspect that many would merely settle for mild feelings of well-being today. Let’s face it: last week was an incredibly difficult one and while the weekend has offered a respite from troubling market news, anxiety has taken its toll on investors. The psychic battering has been nearly as difficult as the financial strain, yet there is optimism this morning  that a corner may

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We all remember the thundering herd of past commercials for a no longer independent brokerage firm. It was an apt metaphor for a time when free market capitalism was on the rise worldwide and possibilities were limitless. In recent weeks, however, that thundering herd has resembled a stampede of frightened cattle, spooked by a storm, racing towards the cliff’s edge. Chief wranglers Bernanke and Paulson have been riding hard, desperately trying to turn the lead steer and avert disaster. Yesterday, more help arrived, courtesy of central banks around the world. The herds momentum faltered but

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