Juggling Dynamite

A financial transaction tax is a step in the direction of restoring some sanity back to capital markets. We must use every reasonable means to curtail the reckless, speculative transactions that have turned public markets into an unstable, casino like Ponzi-scheme.

“Trading in Italian stocks through the desks of major banks has dropped sharply amid a wider fall in volumes since Italy introduced a tax on financial transactions.

Data from Thomson Reuters suggest that banks – which have been some of the most outspoken critics of a so-called Tobin tax – have emerged as the biggest losers since a levy on equity and derivative transactions came into force in Italy at the beginning of the month.”

See: Tax blow to Italian stock trading

A look at how the recent rally in stocks is not supported by growth expectations for the world economy. Here is a direct link.

The discussion in this clip reveals the prevailing Perma-bull nonsense (nervously espoused by the head-in sand-host who may be worried that another bear market may well threaten his job as already dwindling market-news-viewers finally turn off).

Marc Faber, editor & publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, says you have to look at the details of the economic numbers because what is published doesn’t necessarily reflect reality. He also warns that the goal is not to own stocks when the consensus sees no reason for them to go down, but rather, when the consensus can see no reason for stocks to go up. Here is a direct link.