The market finished slightly higher Friday. It was another very slow day, but the real “story” was the gangbuster first quarter results. That and of course the $632 million mega millions lottery jackpot. Despite the virtual impossibility of winning, buying a ticket for the big jackpots has become a part of our national psyche.

Anyways, the folks on financial TV are big on giving wrap-up shows. It allows them to show cool charts and info graphics so they make flashy presentations. So, we heard it loud and clear on all the networks Friday: the S&P 500 rallied nearly 12%, posting the best first quarter gains since 1998.

This is great news for bulls, mutual fund managers, and perhaps even President Obama, who will undoubtedly try to use this as a selling point in the upcoming election season. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been the best of times for traders looking for active markets. The VIX, a measure of the implied volatility of the S&P 500 traded at the CBOE, was down 33% in the first quarter.

So as we close the books on the first quarter and look ahead to the next three months, we can only speculate as to what the market holds. Will the slow upward grind continue? Will QE2 beget QE3?

I can’t be sure what the second quarter holds, but I can be pretty certain of one thing - Ben Bernanke and the Fed will continue to be wrong with their economic calls. So for my own 1st quarter wrap, I’m providing a link to my favorite collection of quotes from Helicopter Ben.

http://www.businessinsider.com/bernanke-quotes-2010-12#nov-21-2002-1#ixzz1qdGAKVBr

In case you don’t want to read the whole “wrap-up,” I’ll leave you with my favorite. Although it is from almost 10 years ago, it encapsulates the full breadth of the economic insanity that Ben has inflicted upon the world.

“The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at no cost."
Ben Bernanke, November 21, 2002.

Although Fraud Street continues to believe everything Benron says, John Q. Public does not, so he continues to buy lottery tickets. Moreover, with Helicopter-Ben at the helm of the printing press, Fraud Street continues to get free lottery tickets with guaranteed pay outs in the form of QE1, ZIRP, QE2, Twist, and the coming QE3.

Trade well and follow the trend, not the so-called “experts.”

Behold the age of infinite moral hazard! On April 2nd, 2009 CONgress forced FASB to suspend rule 157 in favor of deceitful accounting for the TBTF banksters.

larrylevin@tradingadvantage.com
Trading Advantage
(888) 755-3846

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