Swimming Naked... lots of fun until the tide goes out

I saw this little gem in my morning reading.

"You can't tell who's swimming naked till the tide goes out."

As the markets erode, I think of a big tide going out.

It will be interesting to see who's swimming naked...

New Hurricane Prediction Algorithm

It appears that scientists have developed a breakthrough hurricane prediction algorithm.

I anticipate lots of gas traders paying top dollar for the new service.  It should be interesting.

Limited Capability and Expertise... Just What America Needs

When I started this blog, I promised myself that I would avoid political items.  This comes pretty close to breaking that promise, but I can't resist.

Questioned recently about BP's deepwater out-of-control well, Janet Napolitano made the most intelligent statement that any administration official or DC politician has made in a long while regarding anything.

She said that the government has "limited capability and expertise."

Now, if she and her fellow pols could just apply that phrase to everything they consider, America would be headed in the right direction.

Alas, we could only be so lucky...

Gold vs. Lead

The goldbugs are coming out in full force.  I've even heard a few particularly fervent bugs talk about the $5,000 level.

If gold goes that high, you'll probably have much greater need for lots of little pieces of lead.

A Couple of Gems from My Morning Perusals

"If you've ever seen a meth addict goose himself with his drug of choice to the point where his teeth literally fall out, you know how this story ends." - Market Ticker

"...Several of the largest French banks are now actively shorting the euro to take advantage of globalized moral hazard..." - Zerohedge

Why do I keep getting this mental image of that old pagan symbol of the serpent eating itself?

Maybe the Druids had central bankers, too...

Thursday's Wake...

Wake... now there's a word loaded with double meaning.

After much overthinking, I have two questions:
1) Would reinstating Glass-Steagall make a difference?
2) Would Thursday's market freefall have been averted if the uptick rule were still in place?

Nat Gas Picking Itself Up Off the Mat

On Thursday, it seemed the world threw pretty much everything at the markets.  Nat Gas didn't break.  Looks like further confirmation of a bottoming process in NG - a hard floor between $3.80 and $3.95...?