Yes, it to be expected that the next pres will take a hit as early as possible in the first term, that is one reason I have 2005 as a relatively dismal year in the equities market. As for the possibility of new highs, I just cannot disregard the historical evidence that extremes in sentiment readings as we have had in the March, May and the bottom we are now probing have resulted more often than not in 30% plus advances. Even in the middle of the bear market from 2000 to 2002, such extremes resulted in big bounces in late May 2000, April 2001 and late September 2001.
Expiry is in two weeks, and the way it looks right now by then they will want to get the QQQ back to $25 if all these puts bought here at $33 to $35 are to be made worthless.
It looks as if Putin and the Saudi are conspiring to unseat our President by doing what they can to bring a panic in the crude markets. If that is the case, I surely don't appreciate it. Of course, they will say we get involved in their politics, so why should they not get involved in ours (g). If that conspiracy theory has legs, they'd better starting opening the spigots now, since they may have achieved their goal, and if they continue, they risk plunging the world into another recession, they will suffer from such more than we do....
