Charles Hugh Smith – We all know the global economy is slowing, so why would stocks soar from here? The basic answer was articulated by Chris Martenson: because this game is for all the marbles.

If the Powers That Be let markets melt down from here, where’s the bottom? Where’s the plan to bail out all the pension plans, banks, insurers, etc. that will be crippled by a full-blown market meltdown?

It would be a lot cheaper and less painful to prop up stocks at these levels (a 10% decline) rather than let them fall off a cliff to a 40% decline.

Many people dispute the idea that central planners can prop up the stock market once sellers panic. This is a worthy discussion, and the general point of disagreement is planners’ ability to counter big-volume selling.

In other words, it may be possible to elevate markets in low-volume settings, but once selling picks up, planners lack the tools to stem the tide.

On the other side of the debate are those who wonder if the panic declines are as engineered as the lofting-ever-higher uptrend. What If The “Crash” Is as Rigged as Everything Else? (August 26, 2015) Continue reading →