Rossputin.com

Following yesterday’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (“FOMC”), the financial headlines were about "Operation Twist", the risky and destined-to-fail Federal Reserve strategy of “extend(ing) the average maturity of its holdings of securities… more »

Yesterday, while we were "celebrating" Labor Day, European stocks crashed, with most major European averages losing more than 4% and German losing over 5%. This follows a 2.2% drop in the US on Friday following the disastrous August jobs report showing… more »

Half an hour after the market opening, the S&P 500 is down close to 5% and the Nasdaq down more than 5%. The yield on the 10-year note has fallen to 2%, the lowest in history that I am aware of. We're seeing a combination of fears, from European d… more »

If you think recent market plummets and bounces seem like an investor roller-coaster, just imagine how traders -- like me -- feel. To be frank, I've been on vacation and not trading through this incredible turmoil, a lucky thing indeed because I probab… more »

I haven't figured out why yet, but overnight there was a rally in every commodity that I watch.  Oil went from down $1 to up $1.50.  Gold went from flat to up $11.  Silver went from down 10 cents to up 55 cents.  Wheat and soybeans are also up. One new… more »

I'm glued to my computer monitor, as I was at this time last night, watching a live stream of Japanese news translated into English. Just before 9:30 PM my time (Mountain), the news announcer said there is a new earthquake warning for northeast Japan,… more »

On Tuesday, Standard and Poors (S&P) released its December 2010 Case-Schiller Index and report for home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas around the US.  The index fell 3.9% year-over-year, the biggest drop since December, 2009, with only San Di… more »

About an hour before the stock market opens on Tuesday (with Monday having been a holiday), the market looks set for a modestly sharp fall, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down about 82 points and S&P 500 futures down about 16, or about 1.… more »

Financial newsletter writer John Lothian penned this fantastic note about a week ago.  I've written similar things in the past, but Lothian's take is particularly good. Furthermore, this is a view which should be repeated often to the ignorant members o… more »

If there's anything even slightly surprising about how financial markets in the US are opening this Monday morning, it's how incredibly dull they are. Stock index futures are up slightly, indicating an opening between 0.25% and 0.5%  higher. Stock vola… more »