What is the SEC up to?

The SEC is looking to tinker with the threshold for trading halts.

By reconfiguring the halts, they can try and gain a bit more control over the truly volatile market swings we've been seeing of late.

Here's the article:
www.bloomberg.com...

When my clients have asked for my take on the markets, I've been saying it's like they are dangling from a thread and any one thing could cut that thread, dropping them in a manner we haven't seen since 08. Is it possible the SEC sees that as well? Do they think that the inevitable Greek Default might crush the markets? Do they think that another debt ceiling issue here will trigger massive selling on the markets? Do they know something we don't?

Or are they merely seeing this current insane volatility as something that will be with us for a while and they are trying to decrease the wild swings in either direction?

Is The SEC Telling Us Something? Schapiro To Cut Global Circuit Breaker Thresholds By 33%

The proposals would revise the existing market-wide circuit breakers by:

1) Reducing the market decline percentage thresholds necessary to
trigger a circuit breaker from 10, 20, and 30 percent to 7, 13, and 20
percent from the prior day’s closing price.

2) Shortening the duration of the resulting trading halts that do not
close the market for the day from 30, 60, or 120 minutes to 15 minutes.

3) Simplifying the structure of the circuit breakers so that rather
than six there are only two relevant trigger time periods — those that
occur before 3:25 p.m. and those that occur on or after 3:25 p.m.

4) Using the broader S&P 500 Index as the pricing reference to
measure a market decline, rather than the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

5) Providing that the trigger thresholds are to be recalculated daily rather than quarterly.

The 3:25 is interesting. Thats when Obama lands in Denver. In 60 seconds! Panic!

wow, I didn't see that. I'm glad I'm on the same wave length as Tyler.

No wait, that can't be a good thing.

the 3:25 time is when you start to see mutual funds selling to raise cash for withdrawals and you start to see short positions getting taken out so, by the end of a bad day, the triggers can kick in to avoid an even worse day when all those shorts and mutual fund cash outs would, normally, impact the market.

the question is, if they are trying to avoid a downward spiral by halting sales, don't they realize that the short take out and the mutual fund sales will take place as soon as the markets reopen so, the cool down perioed will ocurr and then, when everyone is calmer, the markets will open with another big drop and more panic will ensue.

I'd noticed a mention and concern over the same in a related thread:
The case for things to come?

For me it seems a rather transparently-obvious anticipatory action ... especially given, as you mention, the near imminent default by Greece.

In the grand scheme of things it seems as though folks at the SEC think they just just keep putting their fingers in the dike and all will be well, so to speak.

But as we all know that'll only briefly stave off the inevitable tumbling down of the house of cards which are both the causative factor and creation of and by the same folks.

One thing's for certain, in my opinion, they sure are steppin' and a fetchin' like their boots were on fire and their asses are catchin'.

No mortal can tell even what the next second will bring, let alone the future.

The SEC measure is only the culimination of truths being brought to light to the masses, slowly awakening to realities that they have to confront, sooner or later. And SEC, being in the forefront of trying to be a few steps ahead of the masses, being PROACTIVE and not REACTIVE, is only implementing this rule, simply 'TO ENSURE', there is stability in the casino stock markets.

Need any further proofs of 'market manupilation', and not the 'free hand of capitalist markets' at work?

Originally posted by Crakeur
wow, I didn't see that. I'm glad I'm on the same wave length as Tyler.

No wait, that can't be a good thing.

the 3:25 time is when you start to see mutual funds selling to raise cash for withdrawals and you start to see short positions getting taken out so, by the end of a bad day, the triggers can kick in to avoid an even worse day when all those shorts and mutual fund cash outs would, normally, impact the market.

the question is, if they are trying to avoid a downward spiral by halting sales, don't they realize that the short take out and the mutual fund sales will take place as soon as the markets reopen so, the cool down perioed will ocurr and then, when everyone is calmer, the markets will open with another big drop and more panic will ensue.

Do realize that between 3.25pm to 9 am next day when the casino stock market exchange bell rings to start, MANY things can happen, to resolve, to calm, or to fool the masses to keep them asleep while daylight robbery is being conducted in the casino by the 'house;.

Originally posted by Crakeur
... don't they realize that the short take out and the mutual fund sales will take place as soon as the markets reopen so, the cool down perioed will ocurr and then, when everyone is calmer, the markets will open with another big drop and more panic will ensue.

exactly. as if those same short take outs and mutual fund sales will have a 'sleep on it' and perhaps not go so hard the following morning when the markets open.

like someone trying to figure out a way to stop an avalanche on Mt Everest

we'll halt it here @ 3:25 and in the morning @ 9 ... :shk:

reply to post by SeekerofTruth101


if I'm short a bunch of stocks and the markets tank, stocks might be automatically sold to cover my positions. Once the trigger is met, the stocks are automatically sold. The order goes out and, if the halt takes place before the sales go thru, they will be in a queue and, as soon as the markets reopen, the sales will be processed. All the calmer thinking and news spinning in the world won't convince the computers to hold off on those sales.

The mutual fund cash issue is also, I believe, computerized so that, in the event of a halt, those transactions will already be queued and ready to go.

I don't know if there's a means of reversing them once they've been queued. I would imagine, with the mutual funds, they might be able to reverse the transactions but they'd only do this if the folks who sold their holdings reverse their sales.

If they don't, the fund will still need to unload and raise cash as soon as the markets reopen.

As bad as a big drop is, halting it to allow people to rethink their actions and strategies, isn't necessarily a good thing. That same amount of time used to allow people to calm down will be used by others to freak out and panic.

For every half full guy, there's a half empty guy,.

Originally posted by Crakeur
reply to post by SeekerofTruth101

 

The mutual fund cash issue is also, I believe, computerized so that, in the event of a halt, those transactions will already be queued and ready to go.

I don't know if there's a means of reversing them once they've been queued. I would imagine, with the mutual funds, they might be able to reverse the transactions but they'd only do this if the folks who sold their holdings reverse their sales.

The SEC is only following an antiqudated system. We mankind are no longer living the days of 9 to 5 working hours or snail mail.

TODAY, with our technology, information is 24/7, speed of light, money is borderless, nor need rest days, off, etc, etc. Just as the power elites seek to do what they wish to do, so too an awakened mankind with the similar tools. This is the bigger picture.

And information will be king. Whomever holds the 'right' information, either if the info is conscionable or unconscionable, can determine the next second upon the casino stock market opening bell, to determine if he becomes a millionaire or a pauper.