Jack the Pipper

S&P 500 divided by Gold…hmmm…it at least tells us the relative value of gold has risen dramatically compared to stocks, as we switched from the up with paper stock rally to the in with stuff commodities rally in 2000.

So in the last two and a half months – the last 75 days – the major currencies are little changed. I mean, these pairs move greater distances over the course of a single day, they’ve just been so noncommittal this summer that it almost frustrating.

If you’ve been watching the bonds, you likely know they have been in a tight embrace with the US stock market–stocks up in price, bond down in price (up in yield), and vice versa.

Ok – quick recap of yesterday … A bunch of noise out of UK hits the British pound hard … ECB Axel Weber warns of “Financial Crisis: Round 2” heading for Europe …

The old “risk aversion” is back so far this morning, as stocks get hit. And in lock‐step the US dollar, US Treasuries, and Japanese yen are bidding higher. Other losers are gold, oil, and the rest of the currency pack.

We didn’t publish CC yesterday, as it was a day of trying to get the head right. To do that, I usually re‐read some of my favorite books about trading. One I particularly like is Zen in the Markets, by Edward Toppel.

Interesting! The global economic news this morning sure doesn’t seem to bode well for “the recession is over” crowd.

Let’s reminisce on the credit crunch, shall we? Liquidity dried up; demand went missing; the global economy’s gears all but stopped turning; national and international regimes went into savior mode.

Though one non-farm payroll report doesn’t make a trend, especially given the number of job seekers leaving the scene entirely, many are declaring the recession is officially over thanks to Friday’s report.

Honestly, I’m getting tired of these monthly jobs reports out of the US. Sure, it’s good to know the minute-by-minute direction we’re traveling … but the onslaught of investor analysis and market volatility after the fact is enough to make me want to turn off the screens by 8:45 a.m. eastern.