The whopping US rally that wasn't
If Wall Street hadn't been closed for Sandy, the market would have jumped on a bevy of positive developments.
What rotten luck we have. Tuesday was the one day when insurers, oil, banks and Italian bonds traded up in Europe -- and U.S. trading was closed? That's unbelievable.
First, the big reinsurers in Europe -- the ones that, in many cases, backstop our insurers -- all traded up as Sandy looked as though it would be manageable. This means, first, that they have the reserves and, second, that they can raise rates.
I'm also amazed at how well Deutsche Bank (DB) is doing. The investment-banking business is looking terrific, and the trading side of the ledger has been extraordinary, with only two down days this year. I always knew Deutsche was a great bank, but now it is truly ascendant.
At the same time, UBS (UBS) announced big cuts to its fixed-income desk. The bank is exiting the business, which means the long-awaited consolidation and shrinkage of the business are upon us. Analysts on the Deutsche Bank call were ecstatic about the move. U.S. international banks would be jumping, too.
Over in oil, BP (BP) not only released a terrific quarter last night but also boosted its dividend. This is the same BP that has had to fire-sale properties endlessly because of the Macondo disaster. It looks like the company's earnings power, despite its divestitures, remains more than intact.
Finally, there's the Italian bond market. Last year at this time, we saw Italian 10-year bonds trading at 7%. That move caused a major sell-off in the U.S. market -- the S&P 500 ($INX) lost 400 points on the day that the 7% line was crossed.
Now Italy is raising 10-year money below 5%. And it is real demand, in part because Italy is turning into a success story.
Any one of these might have, at one point, triggered a rally in the U.S. But all of these? Who knows how high the market would have climbed.
Just our luck.
Jim Cramer is a co-founder of TheStreet and contributes daily market commentary to the financial news network's sites. Follow his trades for Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer co-manages as a charitable trust and has no positions in stocks mentioned.
More from TheStreet.com
(Reuters) - Ally Financial Inc, the U.S. auto lender 74 percent owned by the U.S. government, on Wednesday said it has repaid $2.9 billion in debt issued under a financial-crisis-era program designed to bolster confidence in the banking system.
The debt, issued on Oct 30, 2009, came due on Tuesday. The lender plans to repay the remaining $4.5 billion in debt it issued under the program in December.
Look, folks, I am not in love with the banks either, after what they did to us, however, this entire
argument about (1) Obama getting us into debt, (2) the banks got 'free money' and (3) the government never made a profit are all BUNK! Give it a rest...
Send blood and donations to the Red Cross instead of posting today.
And send Cramer to shill for Fox News. No offense to Cramer, but
FOX could use an 'improvement'.
Good article from the MSN page....titled "Romney faces scrutiny on aid..."
"And so Mitt Romney found himself on the hot seat after superstorm Sandy battered the East Coast. Only last year, as Romney hewed to the right while battling for the GOP nomination, he appeared to suggest in a debate that the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be shuttered and its responsibilities left to the states.
"Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction," Romney said at a debate last year. "And if you can go even further, and send it back to the private sector, that's even better."
IT THEN GOES ON....
With Obama heavily involved in getting federal funds to those in trouble, the Romney campaign moved quickly to reassure the public it supports a strong program of storm relief.
"A Romney-Ryan administration will always ensure that disaster funding is there for those in need," said campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg. - WELL, WHICH IS IT?
NOW....... CAN YOU GUYS SPELL "FLIP FLOP".
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