It’s not a pretty sight out there today. Stocks are down 1.2% today but off their lows somewhat. Europe is down as well, though not at as much. Asian markets are up, and are just about the only major class up today. Bonds, oil, precious metals and other commodities are down.
Figure on the market will being down each day until we get a bipartisan agreement on the debt ceiling. I heard one Congressman today on CNBC (didn’t catch his name) who said the Aug 2 date is probably the right deadline but it could conceivably be as late as Aug 15 when the US has an interest payment due.
When a deal does happen, you can count on a great day for just about everything – stocks, bonds, commodities and the US dollar. Gold and silver should drop a good bit.
Of course there is still the proposed ratings downgrade of US Treasury debt in the next couple months. I put the chances for that at 2 out of 3, and before the next election at 90%.