Bring on the short sellers and the naked short sellers again.

However, the real crime is Dressed long buying. Dressed long buying is the traders reciprocal of Naked short selling. Market participants who were dressed long buyers were committing the crime of supporting Dick Fuld (suitable first name) and the collective bunch of brash / arrogant tossers at Lehman Bro.

If you were a dressed long buyer you gave Lehman the ammunition to leverage to extortionate levels. You rewarded the criminal activities of the liar loans (fabricated loans to individuals who had zero probability of paying) by supporting a corrupt management. You also funded the evenings out in strip clubs with fat ugly clients (one has to feel sorry for the strippers), fake business trips around the globe and $1,000 bottles of champaign.

For every seller, there is a buyer – including the naked shorts. The only thing that one can conclude is that the buyers were a bunch of fools. The employees of Lehman were paid in stock so they got what they deserved.

Lesson to be learned: Bonuses should be paid in the form of equity which only vests after 10 years.
take note FSA, SEC, regulators.

franklin is still a student, still learning the ways of being a Master Propagandist..

though, his teachers say he shows promise.

f411,

here’s a refresher:

SELF-EVIDENT TECHNIQUE

Appeal to Authority. Appeals to authority cite prominent figures to support a position idea, argument, or course of action.

Assertion. Assertions are positive statements presented as fact. They imply that what is stated is self-evident and needs no further proof. Assertions may or may not be true.

Bandwagon and Inevitable Victory. Bandwagon-and-inevitable-victory appeals attempt to persuade the target audience to take a course of action “everyone else is taking.” “Join the crowd.” This technique reinforces people’s natural desire to be on the winning side. This technique is used to convince the audience that a program is an expression of an irresistible mass movement and that it is in their interest to join. “Inevitable victory” invites those not already on the bandwagon to join those already on the road to certain victory. Those already, or partially, on the bandwagon are reassured that staying aboard is the best course of action.

Obtain Disapproval. This technique is used to get the audience to disapprove an action or idea by suggesting the idea is popular with groups hated, feared, or held in contempt by the target audience. Thus, if a group which supports a policy is led to believe that undesirable, subversive, or contemptible people also support it, the members of the group might decide to change their position.
http://www.constitution.org/col/propaganda_army.htm

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Propaganda_techniques

“I love it…if I sell a bridge I don’t own WITH NO INTENTION OF BUYING IT BACK, I’m a crook.

If I sell stock I don’t own, WITH THE OBLIGATION TO BUY IT BACK, BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT THE STOCK IS OVERVALUED, I’m doing the world a favor!”

Now it reflects reality.

Or just exhaustion, shock and awe?

I would say pause. SPX 780 is support, SPX 800 serves as resistance for the time being.
The 50DMA is up there above 820 somewhere, that would be the next level.
A serious pull-back would be into the SPX 750-760 area.

Given the Q1 “performance” issues, this rally may run another 2 weeks.
Who knows how far this Spring Fling can roll? I am not getting in the way yet.

Pause, or a pullback?

“This is the most manipulated market in US history”

I think that Hank Paulson did a better job of manipulating the markets than Geithner.