As I write this, the Dow is down 170 points and the S&P 500 is down 23. The dollar is up 0.89 (a big move), and (here’s the surprising note in this symphony) gold is up $8.
The explanation being trotted out by the media for this big move is the fact that S&P (the rating company) downgraded Greece and Portugal’s debt.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks caved on Tuesday after Standard & Poor’s cut its rating on Greece. “If followed by Moody’s, Greek bonds will no longer be able to be used as collateral in borrowing from the European Central Bank,” said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
(Source)
I rather doubt this explanation.
Let me present some more information, and then let’s discuss this, because something has shifted. And our job is to figure out what and how serious it is.
Treasury Auctions
One of the more ‘convenient’ facets of this little run-down is that it is creating massive demand for Treasuries right at the beginning of a week that will see a massive $178 billion in Treasuries that need to be sold. I say convenient because there has been a troubling pattern in place for the past year or so, where Treasuries, for one reason or another, always seem to rise in price right before another massive increase in supply.
by sebastian8 
