What Exactly IS the Fed’s Inflation Mandate? 100% Inflation?

The Nasdaq, In Addition To Manipulated, Is Also Compromised

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/05/2011 00:11 -0500

Over the years we have not spared our praise for the Nasdaq: the one exchange to first legalize frontrunning aka Flash Trading, to actively promote churning via HFT erection-inducing liquidity rebates in stocks and options, to create novel and ingenious ways to skirt Rule 611, and, most recently, to overtake the NYSE as host for greatest number of fraudulent Chinese reverse-mergers, the Nasdaq has never kept a secret that it cares far more about its clients than the investing public. Yet little did we know that in addition to pervasive manipulation we can also add thorough security breach and compromise to the exchange's list of transgressions. According to the WSJ, "Hackers have repeatedly penetrated the computer network of the company that runs the Nasdaq Stock Market during the past year, and federal investigators are trying to identify the perpetrators and their purpose, according to people familiar with the matter." Now it is sadly ironic that the world's "electronic exchange" (whatever that means in a world devoid of any carbon-based traders) is the one that would succumb to an outside incursion. What, however, is punishable by even the most mentally retarded, transvestite midget porn-obsessed SEC minion, is that US investors have to learn that practically any stock transaction in the recent past may have been frontrun by illegal means (as opposed to just legal ones that are available to any one with a few Mahwah collocated Cisco machines), through a newspaper. \

Long Bonds Break To The Downside

Posted: Feb 05 2011     By: Dan Norcini      Post Edited: February 5, 2011 at 12:52 am
Filed under: Trader Dan Norcini

Dear CIGAs,
The big development in today’s market session was the breakdown in the long bond. As you can see from the chart below bonds have been carving out a 5 week old sideways trading pattern bounded by approximately 122 on the topside and 119 on the downside. All sharp sell offs down to the latter level had met with buying that brought them back up to the top of the range where sellers once again surfaced. This impasse continued for more than a month with buyers looking to the Fed’s entrance into the market during its timed purchases of longer dated Treasuries in association with its QE2 program. Sellers were looking at surging commodity prices and other signs of upticks in manufacturing activity and retails sales numbers which suggested that the constant pump priming was producing some impact on the overall sluggish economy.
A thing to bear in mind from a technical aspect is that the longer a market runs in a sideways pattern, the more significant the breakout tends to be when once it occurs, no matter whether that be to the upside or to the downside. In the case of the bonds, the breakdown was to the downside. I should also note that volume on the sharp move lower was very heavy, always a good sign that the move is legitimate.
Follow through early next week will be important to see that this was not a one day wonder and that it is indeed the beginning of a major trending move.
If it is, what is so remarkable is that it is occurring in the face of total planned Treasury purchases of some $600 billion as announced by the Fed back in November. The entire purpose of that program has been to move long term rates lower and help with the dismal housing market and real estate sector which needs the low rates to boost  demand so as to mop up the huge overhang of houses and properties hanging over this sector of the economy. With today’s breakdown of the 5 year on out to the long end, interest rates are headed in a direction completely opposite than what the Fed has been intending!

Click chart to enlarge in PDF format with commentary from Trader Dan Norcini