Of Great Interest

The WSJ reports that retail spending over Thanksgiving weekend dropped for the first time in at least seven years. So much for the hype.

The more important action was in Bitcoin which went from a high of $1242 to $840 in just two days -- a 32% drop. It you want to see how markets can really move without near-constant hand holding by the central banks, look no further.

At some point, this will happen in the equity markets as central banks are forced to step aside or get run over during a natural correction.

Meanwhile the New Yorker ran a story about the excesses of the current art market entitled Dealer's Hand which contained the quote: "This is an industry in its golden age." Just like Private Equity in 2006, right before the crash.

The socionomic irony is that total art sales, as reported by the Mei Moses Art Index, remain down year-over-year.

The S&P remains down in a manner of speaking, having sold off in the final minutes of Friday's early close. Getting below 1803.98 will create a textbook five waves down from the top, a bearish sign. Above 1811.50 without first making a new low would negate this set up.

The VIX was suddenly taking great interest of this action Friday and the during early minutes of this morning's trade. This may soon be of great interest to a great many others. VIX 15 calls expiring January would be especially interesting. Five waves down would suggest a possible trend change with a stop at 1813.55.