DJIA

open 10,020.09

close 10,269.47 up 254.75

day high 10,279.08

day low 10,020.09

today's volume 205,712,227

3mo avg. daily volume 203,737,671

DJTA

open 4,122.01

close 4,283.41 up 160.78

day high 4,295.16

day low 4,122.01

today's volume 19,080,103

3mo avg. daily volume 19,023,444

Was on vacation this weekend, and just too lazy to post numbers for yesterday, so here's a little catch-up.  Big moves down followed by bigger moves up (at least today that is).  Net/net is, we've gone no where.  Low volume and most of the up move today on both INDU's and TRAN's occured at open, or very close to it... my short term prediction, watch for us to start closing below the 10,000 mark consistently... and probably pretty soon... Friday?!?

Will the election have any play into the markets?  I don't know, but I do know the markets could have a lot of play into the elections, depending on what moves occur when.  As the boys and girls at Zero Hedge say, on a long enough timeline the survival rate of everyone drops to zero... No wonder the lead writer calls himself Tyler Durden (for those of you who had Fight Club in their DVD collection like I did).  Sovereign debt is doomed, perhaps the stock markets will be the bastion of safety, as everyone from the hedge-fund managers down to the general public flee failing "income" assets like muni's and seek the security and safety within private enterprise and free markets... or perhaps the political officials in their blood-lust drunken stupor regulate further free-market trade as their financial system fails?  If so, then yes, the markets could have a dramatic effect of the political events of this coming November... and even more so two Novembers hence.  Oh, and vice versa should also be the case, but unfortunately the pessimist in me believes this is a discussion over the heads of the average American.  I'm not saying the ostriches out there are dumb by nature, but it still seems by choice.

Forgive the ramblings as in the long run it all falls on the shoulders of the markets.  Control or not, markets do NOT lie... they are not capable of lying, at least on a long enough time line.  So, my question remains, does the Average person run to a free market when the public markets fail... or do the public markets step in and corral the private markets under their leadership, claiming the currency wouldn't have failed in the first place if it wasn't for the free markets intervening into a perfectly good control system... does the public buy this if it happens... or do our citizens follow on the heels of Asia and India and start stockpiling gold coins... as par for the course in America, a day late and a dollar short.


My play you ask?  Precious Metals and cash until the next (what seems inevitable) decrease in the equities... a rebound in the equities may coincide with the start of the greatest sovereign debt collapse in our countries history... followed by a Dow Theory ride between liquid gold and invested equity positions for a few years until interest rates reach early '80's levels... where I take a good portion of my assets and live off the 18% fixed R.O.R. for, say the next 30 years...  Assuming anything shy of Armageddon, I'd expect business and market cycles to continue as they always have... they just require a lot more patience than most of us can stomach.

Until next time