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.
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Appearing on the networks this morning, Christie, for the third day in a row, heaped praise on Obama’s handling of the storm. “The President has been outstanding in this,” he told the “Today” show. On “Morning Joe,” he said, “It’s been very good working with the President. He and his Administration have been coördinating with us. It’s been wonderful.” Speaking on CNN, Christie said that he had been mightily impressed by Obama’s accessibility throughout the crisis. “He gave me his number at the White House, told me to call him if I needed anything, and he absolutely means it.” Christie also pointed out that Obama didn’t once bring up politics in their conversations, and added, “If he’s not bringing it up, you can be sure that people in New Jersey are not worried about that, primarily if one of the guys running isn’t."
Thank God for Romney's support of FEMA ROTFLMAOAYFOOLS.
""DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Co posted a surprisingly strong profit on Wednesday and said it was targeting a return to break-even levels in its European operations by mid-decade after a loss of as much as $1.8 billion in that region this year.
Shares of the automaker rose more than 5 percent in early trading.
"We still have a lot of work to do, especially in Europe," GM Chief Financial Officer Dan Ammann said in a statement.
GM's third-quarter net income attributable to common shareholders fell to $1.48 billion, or 89 cents a share, from $1.74 billion, or $1.03 a share, a year earlier. On Tuesday, smaller U.S. rival Ford Motor Co reported a far higher-than-expected profit of $1.63 billion for the quarter.""
Thanks Romney for saving the auto industry, ROTFLMAOAYFOOLS
To funny as Chris Christie is being interviewed by fox. The question was asked would you allow Romney to tour NJ with you. Just before Christie could answer you could see just under Christie the announcement that Romney would be touring Sandy with Christie.
The funnyt part is Christe answered by saying
Here's the DEAL......This is a FINANCIAL/ INVESTING SITE and FORUM..
We all know the STORM was terrible and bad for millions along the East Coast and all the way to Michigan...Now heading North into Canada to rain and blow itself out...
No one is laughing about the despair or loss of life and the aftermath mess and loss of power..
We all feel bad for all that...Including Jim Cramer and the Street Staff..
So I recommend you get a grip or go to YOU TUBE and FACEBOOK to commesurate(sp) with people to talk and bitch about the storm..
My GRANDSON living in the City now for about 6 months (Brooklyn) is out helping clean up and helping people.....WTF are you doing...???
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