It’s no coincidence that Barack Obama has made the decision to forge an all out effort at directing attention to paint our financial institutions as “the source of all that is evil” in the United States. Obama has lost healthcare by losing Massachusetts and it is becoming increasingly obvious that his administration desperately needs something else to make them pertinent .. and they need it quick. So attacking the “evil doers” is ideal. This is all about getting the people back on his side and since most Americans aren’t particularly fond of banks or credit card companies, they seem an appropriate, if not ideal, scape goat. “Banks are easy targets for a demagogue.”

Is Obama ready to die on this? He foolishly (in my opinion) now has Democrats scrambling for a new issue and focus and this one should serve to provide Democrats a position to make them look like the good guys, (you know fighting for the little man). At the same time it forces the foolish Republicans to take the opposite side and try to defend Wall Street. Combine this with The recent Supreme Court ruling regarding political “Free Speech” and the role of corporate money and ….well, it sets the tone for another round of “wealth envy,” and likely the true motive to play in the coming November elections. But is it worth the fight? What things bad could happen?

The era of push button markets has me on the defensive as my income is derived from executing option trades for customers. Computers do not provide all of the safe guards of using an experienced professional. Additionally, the desire for funds to receive one price, (so its easier to allocate), is troublesome for me as one price becomes more important than a better price on a partial. That concept is foriegn and doesn’t sit well with me. Sorry, but it makes me sad. I always try to fill orders at the best possible price and some size orders in our smaller markets cannot always accomodate the large volume demanded…… 

Looking forward to assisting, Jurgens

they never move in straight lines. They overshoot in one direction and then overshoot on the way back. Best of all, just at the moment when they are most stretched in one direction…..that’s when “investors” feel the strongest desire to join the crowd.

Yes, some enjoy receiving faster fills, or cancelation confirmations, but if you have a good floor broker and open communication you should also receive the benefit of better fills on occassion. electronic fills don’t work an order, filling it better than your bid as frequently.

I recently received instructions to buy a straddle at a limit price and managed to fill the first portion far better. When reporting the partcial fill to the customer, (a fund), they said they were violated and should have been filled on the whole order at their limit. I insisted I was not finished filling the order, and that I was simply reporting the portion that I filled at the much better level, yet the customer wanted they entire fill since the price traded was below their bid……They even said that had they placed the order electronically they would have been filled……I tried to explain that I was filling the order signifcantly better, but they didn’t care. Seems they were more interested in convenience rather than the better price……Welcome to the world of electronic trading….

I don’t know if you caught it, but Congress passed their annual raises. This is scheduled to be accomplished without receiving attentio grabing headlines, so they do it in the middle of the night as we head into a weekend. Wouldn’t it be sweet to vote iyourself a pay increase? 

Congress avoids public awareness of their pay increases so they can prevent receiving the anger of the voters. They know that the public has been angered over the pay packages that many of those businesses receiving TARP are paying their upper management, but why is nobody angry about the pay increase for Congress.? Probably because its done during the cover of darkness……

BTW, If there is no inflation in the system, as stated by the government, (re. COLA and Social Security this year), why is the Congress getting a raise?  Shouldn’t they be set to the same standards that they are trying to set for others?  

While we are at that, why aren’t our dear elected officials paid for their performance?  The country is in deficit, therefore they should certainly not get a raise. Perhaps they should pay for the right to be in Congress.

Many traders in the financial community are paid a fixed salary, and then paid a bonus  based upon their performance.  Our elected officials have run our country into the ground and nobody is squawking about it. 

Well, I say, “Throw the bums out!” 

The fox is watching the hen house; which is a formula for disaster.  We, the citizens of the USA, are suffering like serfs. Our elected officials treat themselves as if they are a ruling class! It is time for a change,.

I would welcome a change that would have our elected officials live as we do, on social security and retirement, they shouldn’t have a seperate plan. Congressional representatives should be compelled to live with the same health insurance system that they’re trying to force upon us. If we do that, then Congress will fix the system.  We are just perpetuating bad behavior by not forcing Congress to live as we have to live.

And that’s my rant, now back to football….Jurgens

The dollar moves up, commodities go down. The dollar weakens, commodity prices move up. This inverse relationship is obvious as items priced in dollars become more attractive when the dollar softens. But it is concerning when the relationship dictates price movement to the degree that it seems to these days.

Remember when the dollar was strong? Some commodities still managed to rally back then, because they did it on their own merits. Can markets focus upon their own fundamentals, or are they subject to following the flow of investor money as it chases the dollar?

Returned from a week away in Martha’s Vineyard with my family. Always a plus to get away especially on the Vineyard, my favorite place.

Like the look of coffee. Think KCZ has a good shot at 134 this week and yet with Novy (X) serial option expry due Friday, mkt needs to prove itself able to leave 130 level.  I think it can and will and we may see a go at 138-140, but only if we can close KCZ above 134.

The economy scares me. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls decreased by 263,000 in September. That kind of news, combined with the way politicians (who cannot be trusted) want to legislate our way out of it, make me nervous. 

Anyway, here’s a link to a graph worth a look. http://www.chartoftheday.com/20091002.htm#

It’s stuff like this that has me concerned….Man are we in a heap of trouble.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/FDIC-could-seek-bailout-from-apf-3266069115.html?x=0&.v=9

Keep this in mind as politicians talk of recovery….

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1212013/Revealed-The-ghost-fleet-recession.html

Option trading doesn’t lend itself (yet) to any of the existing electronic trading platforms. Market makers continue to find it to their benefit to gather each day in the trading ring as a central focus for providing quotations for those seeking to do business in options. The majority of sizable transactions involve structured deals with futures, or against a series of other options, in ratios, etc… to obtain delta neutrality, or fit their particular needs.

However, it is growing increasingly obvious that the smaller boutique markets, which include most of the soft markets, will be moving towards an over-the-counter style of trading.  Whether because of expenses of maintaining staff, and booths and such, or because volumes and fees continue to drop, or pehaps a combination of the two, more and more brkerage and trading opperations are leaving what’s left of the trading floor.