As 4pm rolled around yesterday I was completely lost. I was surprised at Gold's breakdown as equities stayed flat, though as mentioned in the previous post Monday morning was the first time we saw some sort of disparity in their general correlation in weeks. It was also hard to get a feel for the market because both equities and bonds were trading higher, making it hard to see if it was a risk on or off type of environment. As the afternoon progressed, it became clear that Europe would be using the EFSF as its first line of insurance in the EU. Great... except for the fact that the details of it, initially released by The Guardian, were denied about an hour later. Last I investigated there was "back and forth" about the details. It is simply another example of how we cannot trust what we hear out of the EU, and the lack of concrete detail in any and everything they put out. Then, to top off this confusion, Apple comes out and announces for the first time in years that it missed quarterly earnings expectations. Death, taxes, and Apple beating street expectations right? I guess I'm down to two.

While we're on taxes, lets turn to Greece quickly, a place where people do not pay taxes. As I write I'm watching huge crowds in Greece protesting, and watching it turn violent. I was fascinated to see a year or so ago when the media was broadcasting Greek protests, that markets tended to become more volatile during the day as images of violence crossed our screens. Perhaps such imagery triggers a visceral reaction in us that can effect trading. So while we sit near the top of the new "top of the range" of 1230 on the S&P, be wary that in what might be an otherwise quiet market there is potential for some unexpected volatility.

When I got home last night I flipped through channels only to be delighted to see Romney and Perry going at each other as Anderson Cooper had to extend speaking time for candidates because they would not stop talking over each other. More thoughts to come on this later, but how do questions about the uninsured end up in yelling about illegal Mexican immigration... Yea yea, I know, we spend x number of dollars because the illegal immigrants are ruining our economy and it is taking money away from the Americans who really need it. And how could I ever elect Romney, who hired a lawn care service that hired an illegal worker as a contractor? You mean to tell me running Bain took up so much time that he didn't verify the papers of the people he allowed to cut the precious blades of grass that adorn his property? I guess I should give Romney some credit though. He managed to withstand attacks fairly gracefully (though you couldn't actually hear him given all the yelling in the background) from Rick Santorum, Jerry Seinfeld's disgruntled twin.