**
The past few days, to which some readers of this living document can attest, have seen the author make a significant discovery of a vibrant, uplifting neighborhood just down the life-blood Milwaukee Avenue from more usual haunts. These new environs are Wicker Park / Ukrainian Village. And what an emphatic improvement on my hitherto-frequented portions of the city: Jefferson Park, Portage Park and Six Corners! This near-northwest side district boasts independent, cutesy coffee shops (if one knows where to peek); young, purposeful people on the sidewalks; sushi spots and legacy Polish bars in unlikely side-by-side existence (this area used to be the primo Polish 'hood). I could go on, and should, yet it's a topic for another day.
In sum, I've energized my routine during the last few days by repeatedly returning to this oasis of existential salvation; and upon this fortunate scapegoat and the associated investments of time, the most precious resource of all, I project the blame of my missing Monday report. Yes, such is my story!
**
Monday's markets, in any event, witnessed soaring equities trade in the United States and its geographic precursors into the new trading week. A bit of keyboard tickling about these foreign locales and their trading: It's interesting to note that the forex markets, some of which I recently started tracking closely -- (even though I can't trade them at present, currencies' pronounced correlation of late with equities merits keeping a close eye on them and, in particular, upon the 500-pound gorilla of the group: EUR/USD trade) -- are only closed for some 48 hours a week: in roughly New York City time, no trade occurs only between late Friday afternoon and Sunday evening, when Monday morning trade in Tokyo commences. I mention this because, by Monday evening, nearly 24 hours of continuous trade has already elapsed on the world's interconnected, virtual marketplace -- a calming consideration to the trader primarily obsessed with the P/L of the local stomping ground, i.e. Wall Street, only. (I raise a guilty hand.)
Sentiment on Monday was buoyed by a bullish retail sales report released in the pre-market and, in the all-important technical analysis sphere, by the S&P500's durable break above 1100 -- prior attempts in the last few sessions were all short-lived -- and the Nasdaq's flirting with 2200. The last hour of trade, however, brought a sharp, though not menacingly deep, correction catalyzed by the caustic comments of noted banking industry analyst Meredith Whitney, which were carried by that quintessential soapbox of market-makers, CNBC. Ms. Whitney, in her infinite wisdom, -- she did, after all, delphically prophesy the banking industry's existential crisis as early as October 2007 -- proclaimed on Monday that she's currently more bearish on banking than at any time in the last year. Why? I haven't seen any reasoning behind her brash, hyperbolic pronouncement but, then again, missed the CNBC special. (I had seen a teaser and incorrectly assumed the forthcoming would be with the less-exciting Meg Whitman, the eBay founder).
The post-Whitney selling pressure, in any event, did not hurt indices by much more than a half percent, although the bite from the (hitherto soaring) value of my QQQQ calls was nonetheless felt. Whitney, 2; your fearless author, 0. Yes, I was already burned by Meredith once this summer, when my ownership of Goldman Sachs (GS) calls coincided with one of her trademark uber-bearish publications.
Charts shall have to wait for the next installment. In the meantime, a few brush strokes of Ms. Whitney (did I mention she's surely one of Wall Street's most attractive analysts?) --
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