BullBear52x wrote:I think most of us TA junkies agreed that we are really stretched here but that is not good enough reason to just jump in and short.
Did anyone say
JBTFD?
The government may now do anything it likes with the market (like they were absent before) but please allow me an editorial before as after all, I did read two bills to locate this fact.
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For those who do not know, America changed on Friday and the ability to effectively declare martial law was instituted and Presidential authority dispensed to agency heads, and I haven't even heard it covered. That is the truly frightening part as it shows how the media is not the watchdog it used to be and may even be a propaganda arm (CNBS: "This market looks just great...America is better than it ever was....unemployment is shrinking fast"). Nor is there a party in opposition, which is always nice, as everyone seems fine with the ability to enter homes if needed and confiscate items. If anyone thinks I'm exaggerating, please read the bill for yourself. That stockpiled food you might have for 90 days just might go to feed the police. It a simple thing to order now. Kinda like quartering soldiers. The use of gold, of course, would be banned as it would adversely affect the price the government "might" pay for goods.
What concerns me most about this is not any type of coup, but rather are things potentially so bad (Germans in the 1920s said economic collapse and inflation happened so fast they couldn't believe what they were seeing) that they are starting to structure agencies to act if needed? If Greece goes into anarchy then Spain is not far behind. Young people are pissed-off in Europe and they have nothing to lose. That a mix that evokes the name Vyacheslav Molotov, although the Finns named the petrol bomb as an insult when he claimed Russia was trying to liberate them...with bombing.
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Specifically (below) as it relates to traders, unlimited money can be used to put the stock market where the government wants it. This has really always existed under the National Security Act, but this made it quite plain from the parts I extracted.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-off ... eparedness
For Immediate Release
March 16, 2012
Executive Order -- National Defense Resources Preparedness
EXECUTIVE ORDER
NATIONAL DEFENSE RESOURCES PREPAREDNESS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the
laws of the United States of America, including the Defense Production
Act of 1950, as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2061 et seq.), and section 301
of title 3, United States Code, and as Commander in Chief of the Armed
Forces of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows:
PART I - PURPOSE, POLICY, AND IMPLEMENTATION
Section 101. Purpose. This order delegates authorities and addresses
national defense resource policies and programs under the Defense
Production Act of 1950, as amended (the "Act").
(*** Executive Order portion below provides for market related
intervention...there might be other ways to also interpret this Order
to intervene as needed/desired besides the National Security Act which
already allows intervention which would be via the Federal Reserve
and the Treasury ***)
(j) "National defense" means programs for military and energy
production or construction, military or critical infrastructure
assistance to any foreign nation, homeland security, stockpiling,
space, and any directly related activity. Such term includes
emergency preparedness activities conducted pursuant to title VI of
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act,
42 U.S.C. 5195 et seq., and critical infrastructure protection and
restoration.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The code stated below (Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act)
clears the way for it to be in the interest
of National Security to prop-up US banks and companies, as well foreign
and domestic ones, that could affect our markets
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42 USC § 5195c - Critical infrastructures protection(c) Policy of the
United States
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/5195c
It is the policy of the United States—
(1) that any physical or virtual disruption of the operation of the
critical infrastructures of the United States be rare, brief,
geographically limited in effect, manageable, and minimally
detrimental to the economy, human and government services, and
national security of the United States;
(2) that actions necessary to achieve the policy stated in paragraph
(1) be carried out in a public-private partnership involving corporate
and non-governmental organizations; and
(3) to have in place a comprehensive and effective program to ensure
the continuity of essential Federal Government functions under all
circumstances.
(e) Critical infrastructure defined
In this section, the term “critical infrastructure” means systems and
assets, whether physical or virtual, so vital to the United States
that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would
have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security,
national public health or safety, or any combination of those matters.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Below is widespread authority for the government to take any steps it
deems necessary. That means
ANY STEPS NECESSARY
NOTE the inclusion of THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK(s)
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NATIONAL DEFENSE RESOURCES PREPAREDNESS
PART III - EXPANSION OF PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY AND SUPPLY
Sec. 301. Loan Guarantees. (a) To reduce current or projected
shortfalls of resources, critical technology items, or materials
essential for the national defense, the head of each agency engaged in
procurement for the national defense, as defined in section 801(h) of
this order, is authorized pursuant to section 301 of the Act, 50
U.S.C. App. 2091, to guarantee loans by private institutions.
(b) Each guaranteeing agency is designated and authorized to: (1)
act as fiscal agent in the making of its own guarantee contracts and
in otherwise carrying out the purposes of section 301 of the Act; and
(2) contract with any Federal Reserve Bank to assist the agency in
serving as fiscal agent.
(c) Terms and conditions of guarantees under this authority shall be
determined in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The
guaranteeing agency is authorized, following such consultation, to
prescribe: (1) either specifically or by maximum limits or otherwise,
rates of interest, guarantee and commitment fees, and other charges
which may be made in connection with such guarantee contracts; and (2)
regulations governing the forms and procedures (which shall be uniform
to the extent practicable) to be utilized in connection therewith.
END
GLTA...we will need it!
P.S. I heard the allotment of cocoa went up for all of us (we are supposed to cheer now)
P.P.S. I do realize that some similar orders have been signed before. But I did believe those presidents, although misguided in many areas, were patriotic. But I have never witnessed financial crime like this, nor has Professor Black (S&L prosecutor) who has stated we are seeing the biggest financial crimes in history. I'll deal with Martial Law if it happens. My concern here is more about Federal Reserve powers and what I read to be a complete inability to regulate any measure they take from this point on. We could each own a share of Greece by the end of the week.