I thought I might try something different here, and see how it goes. It's quite difficult for me to post a lot to the various topics, especially with charts, since the method I use for posting charts is very cumbersome. Some charts can take me a half hour or more to put together. Since the charts I use for posting are not my 'working' charts, this work is duplicative.

I have various ideas and thoughts here and there about different things, and if I have a 'central clearing area' where I can just put out a sentence or two, pointing to something without doing the work, the members can do what assessment and analysis they want with the ideas, and post charts if they want, preferably to the respective areas they have for that topic. This way it would leave this topic more 'clean'. If you have a question or comment on what I was pointing out you could post that in here.

Let me know if you have any thoughts on this, or anything you think would be helpful/useful. Keep in mind I am not going to just tell you all my best setups in advance, especially if I plan to trade them, as that is not 'what I do' in here, or anywhere. I want to point out things that may need some work, and might go unnoticed otherwise, or are just of interest.

So Meredith Whitney had some interesting words today....

Originally posted by mreiserer

So Meredith Whitney had some interesting words today....

Yeah, first she's super-bearish, then super-bullish, the banks are the bagain of the century up 400%-500% already, now back to reality. I wonder who got to her to have that intermediate, short-lived phase?

Here's a great video, despite the music being too loud.

http://www.xtrenders.com/2010/01/aeternum-vale.html

I just heard a tagline for the new Mel Gibson movie. Thought it was cool.

"It's never what it is, it's what it can be made to look like."

So, I just heard the latest bull/bear sentiment readings. The percentage of bears is at a 23 year low. The only lower reading was in...drum roll... 1987. I'm not sure what the next lower low was before that? So, being about one percentage point from that '87 low, it may be within a point of a lot longer than a 23 year low. And we all know what happened in '87... The only time in maybe the last 50 (or was it 1929 when the next lower low was, I'd like to know...) or 80 years we've had this few people bearish was in 87! Nah, it means nothing, and it's not ominous at all...

regardless we gonna pay for it...

So, I'm watching the more conservative financial news station, and they are interviewing a guy, and they preface it by saying he is the most bearish on this upcoming year of any analyst they have interviewed. So, this catches my attention right away. Someone bearish? That's new. So, I'm thinking his year end prediction may be below that 666. I mean, the most bearish of everyone they have interviewed. Nope, not below 666. Okay, then 700? No? Okay, 800? That's hardly even bearish to me.

Nope, his prediction is 1120. That's up on the year. The most bearish analyst they interviewed is still calling for an up year after a well over 70% rise essentially straight up with no real correction to speak of. Unreal. Just unreal. You think anyone is ready for any kind of real decline? You know how fast they would panic and change their sentiment if any real selling came in? Everyone is on the same side of the boat, highly, highly exposed. Talk about a house of cards... Just my opinion.

Crazy, the last post talked about how everyone is bullish, and yet I just saw on the same station that predictions of a market plunge just hit a 26-year high (which makes Jim say get ready for new highs...). Now, the above is analysts coming on TV, and this stat is likely newsletter writers, not the type that come on TV. TV is reserved for fund manager/analysts types. But, very curious extremes in both cases.

Originally posted by jimkane

Crazy, the last post talked about how everyone is bullish, and yet I just saw on the same station that predictions of a market plunge just hit a 26-year high (which makes Jim say get ready for new highs...). Now, the above is analysts coming on TV, and this stat is likely newsletter writers, not the type that come on TV. TV is reserved for fund manager/analysts types. But, very curious extremes in both cases.

In that case, perhaps one ought to be bullish AND bearish at the same time?

I think the second chart is particularly telling. I agree with the conclusion, this market is nothing more than Euro-yen carry trade on, Euro-yen carry trade off. No balance, no participation, no depth, as I discussed in my last monthly commentary, just leverage/deleverage, risk on/risk off, and that's it. Skynet is totally sentient. How long, like in the movie, until the machines decide to vaporize the useless humans?

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/tale-two-decouplings