I suppose this could be considered a follow up to my post last week of "Opportunity Delayed". This weekend and into Monday morning I have had that emotional sinking feeling of "why try?" Usually on the first morning of monthly options trading which was Monday I would be well fed with a Bo's biscuit, well read on the financial issues, and jazzed for the competitive atmosphere ahead. Making money is nice, but the emotional lift of competition with top level talent is what really gets me going. Competing against the best is usually an ego boost. Planning my positions and then waiting for people to make trading mistakes on which to pounce is the fix.
I suspect it began this weekend when I read where it appears Jim Corzine has basically stolen all the money, $1.2 billion dollars, from his clients accounts in exiting MF Global during the bankruptcy in process at the agency. Then add in that Obama has basically told his CFTC which oversees customers in commodities trading to ignore the law breaking in this case. In showing no concern for the little investors who entrusted their money with Mr. Corzine, Obama is looking after his Chicago style friends. Yeah, most people will never see this but think if it was YOUR money that just got stolen.
Then I hear on CNBC this morning that someone in government circles either in Congress or the Obama administration placed a Friday PM option trade for $1.55 per share on a stock that announced a merger Monday morning and now has a derivative value of $55.00 per position. Nice profit and likely completely legal since the law does not punish government officials for such trading. Yeah no skin off my back but again that could have been a position I took and now I would be screwed if I had the other end of that trade. Legal yes, but makes one think the whole system is rigged.
Barnhardt Capital, a commodity brokerage operation, closed their offices this weekend after over two decades in business noting that with all the lawlessness and lack of prosecution from the administration they simply could not in good faith continue to trade their clients accounts. They are sending the assets in their clients accounts back to them. Friends it is getting bad when a COMMODITY brokerage believes things have gotten to risky to trade.
Another new item of note this morning illustrates why people are fed up with this government. Jacksonville the home of Camp Lejeune is in full boom mode due to the 15000 or so new Marines that were assigned to the area during the recent base realignment. That is a good thing for the businesses and employees there. However this morning there is the news that the Pentagon has decided to drop the number of Marines about 16000 nationwide and 7000 of that total are coming out of Camp Lejeune. The news story notes that many of the homes, new businesses, and restaurants have already built or in process of building for the new influx. Around 3000 new apartments are built or in planning mode of which now about half will never see a renter. Most people would just shrug that news off, but if you have spent your saved capital and resources to build for the new Marines and now find the government saying sorry we changed our minds making your investments worthless how would you feel?
Obama is morally and fiscally clueless to an extent that now Chris Matthews sees him as not having a plan for the future as he opined on TV this weekend. Either Chris is ready to bring forth a new book or he is off the reservation.
Even the supposed Super Committee could not agree on the smallest of budget reductions.
Europe remains in the tank and no one seems to care the least about the fact they have lived above their income for so long. Just keep the goodies coming and lets all blame the person who is doing the lending that they no longer want to lend to people that do not want to work and give to the permanent lazy anymore. The US is only a few years from this situation.
Don't even get me started on the total and complete cluelessness of the media.
So here I sit ready to trade and frankly again wondering "why try?" The market seems to get more rigged daily and political leadership in Europe and the US is non existent. Media coverage is in the tank. I for the first time in my life actually looked in person at a beach home this weekend to just get away from all this silliness and quit trading. Maybe my interior mind is telling me just give it up since it is hopeless. Reminds me of the asteroid movie where a father and his daughter wait beside the eastern seaboard ocean by their house awaiting the sure to come tidal wave knowing of certain death yet pleased to know it does not matter anymore. Maybe it is time for me to go await the tidal wave of insolvency that is coming our way.
No comments:
Post a Comment