Dartline™ … Closing Thoughts.

March 12, 2010, 4:00 pm EST — Closing Thoughts … The Standard & Poor’s 500 index closed down 0.25 to 1149.99, as consumer confidence gave investors little new insight into the economy, even though the report was merely a “bag of noise” since it polls a small handful of idiots who subject themselves to three hours of tapping “yes” or “no” on computers screen for no money. The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for March fell to 72.5 from 73.6 in late February. Apparently one idiot lost a job this month? … Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.3 percent last month. Analysts had expected sales to drop, while only Dateline’s data factored in the Super Bowl, which took place early in the month. … Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.3 percent, and France’s CAC-40 slipped less than 0.1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.8 percent. … The U.S. S&P 500 Index index is on a two week winning streak, dropped a quarter of 1 point to 1,149.99, a level that translates into a 1% gain on the week. … The dollar registered a gain against rivals Friday after stronger U. S. economic data triggered bets that the Federal Reserve will toughen monetary policy sooner than anticipated. The greenback led to intraday high against the yen, trading close to the Y91 level, and pared overnight losses against the euro after U. S. retail sales in February unexpectedly climbed. Indeed, positive data may sets the stage for more policy normalization to hike interest rate said most of the pundits. Not going to happen when the commercial data to date was total bullshit; real unemployment closer to 16 percent than 10 percent, and only the rich making money. The carry trade is alive and well, and the only factor keeping stocks up and going higher, decides the positive spin from the financial media and the other kind. The only solution — play the noise like its real. Remember: Less bad is the new good.