MERCATO LIBERO

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The unusual circumstances that led the U.S. market to rally powerfully in 2009 might be explained by secret government moves to buy stocks, according to Charles Biderman, the founder and chief executive of TrimTabs, a research firm that tracks liquidity flows in the market.

Trim Tabs è una società seria di ricerca americana, prima di esporsi in tali teorie....ha fatto le sue verifiche!

"We cannot identify the source of the new money that pushed stock prices up so far so fast," Biderman said in a statement Tuesday.
The source of approximately $600 billion net new cash necessary to lift the market's overall capitalization by $6 trillion last year could not be identified by TrimTabs, Biderman said. The money, he said, didn't come from traditional players such as companies, retail investors, foreign investors, hedge funds or pension funds.

TRIM TABS, PUR AFFERMANDO DI NON SAPERE DA DOVE SIANO ARRIVATI I 600 MILIARDI DI DOLLARI CHE HANNO PERMESSO AL MERCATO AMERICANO DI AUMENTARE LA CAPITALIZZAZIONE DI 6 TRILIONI DI DOLLARI, CONFERMA CHE TALI FLUSSI DI DENARO NON SONO ARRIVATI DAI CANALI TRADIZIONALI QUALI INVESTITORI RETAIL, FONDI COMUNI, FONDI PENSIONE, FONDI HEDGE ECC ECC

"We know that the U.S. government has spent hundreds of billions of dollars to support the auto industry, the housing market, and the banks and brokers. Why not support the stock market as well?"

The Federal Reserve or the Treasury, Biderman said, could have easily manipulated the stock market by purchasing $60 to $70 billion worth of futures of the S&P 500 Index on a monthly basis.

TRIM TABS SOSTIENE CHE LA FED STESSA (AIUTATA, AGGIUNGO IO DA GOLDMAN SACHS E CITIGROUP) POTREBBE AVER COMPRATO 60, 70 MILIADI DI DOLLARI DI FUTURES SULL'S&P 500 OGNI MESE.

Conspiracy theories on the rise?

The only logical explanation for the extent of the rally, he suggested, is secret buying by a government committee known colloquially as the Plunge Protection Team.

The PPT was established by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 after the 1987 stock crash to coordinate the government's response to market meltdowns. It consists of the Fed chairman, the Treasury secretary, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Biderman acknowledged that he had no direct evidence that the Fed and other agencies have intervened in the stock market. But he worried about what will happen to the market if the PPT has been buying and suddenly stops.

It's hard to believe that the Fed could keep such a conspiracy a secret for 20 years or more.

The Fed, of course, is a major player in the fixed-income markets, buying and selling billions in Treasurys, agency bonds and mortgage-backed securities. It's taken on hundreds of billions in assets from Bear Stearns, American International Group Inc. and many unnamed banks to which it's lent money. Presumably, all of those positions are duly reported by the central bank each week.

But the Fed has never said it is buying equities or equity futures. Doing so would likely violate the Federal Reserve's investment policies, and could violate federal law if not disclosed properly.

Aside from the legal issues, the PPT would have operational constraints. It's hard to believe that the Fed could keep such a conspiracy a secret for 20 years or more. An operation big enough to manipulate markets for months on end would be big enough to develop leaks.

With so much money at stake, anyone with direct knowledge of the conspiracy (such as a $30,000-a-year administrative aide) would be highly tempted to blow the whistle.

Yet Biderman's accusation of PPT market manipulation is another argument in favor of a complete public audit of the Fed's books. As any casual reader of this site's community boards knows, there is a widespread belief that the PPT does manipulate stock prices on a daily basis to enrich its pals and screw individual investors.

It would be useful to prove them wrong. And if they are right, the PPT should be put out of business.

LA TEORIA E' AFFASCINANTE MA POCO PROBABILE. TUTTAVIA UNA PIENO ACCESSO ALA CONTABILITA' DELLA FED E AL SUO OPERATO PERMETTEREBBE DI CHIARIRE L'INFONDATEZZA DELLA TEORIA.

PLUNGE PROTECTION TEAM: TEORIA DELLA COSPIRAZIONE O REALTA'???