U.S. equities continue to shrug off worrisome global economics and the doomsday prognostications. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are now all above psychological resistance levels of 13,000, 1400, and 3,000, respectively. Even Europe and China have seen a sustained bounce in equities. But everyone is wondering, how long can this continue given the dicey global economic situation?

Last week, neither Fed Chairmen Bernanke nor European Central Bank (ECB) President Draghi committed their respective organizations to a specific solution to the economic woes of the U.S. or Europe. President Draghi’s firm statement last week that “the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the Euro” lacked substance. Yet, that statement sent the S&P 500 roaring up +3.56% over July 26 and 27.

Bulls have refused to let the market break down. Last week, the ECB’s Mario Draghi came to the rescue by pledging to do “whatever it takes” to support the euro, which launched a big rally to close the week. Still, investors have been eagerly anticipating an announcement of something more concrete, like some bold new action from the central banks, i.e., more global liquidity.

Well, perhaps not literally, but it is high time that the Central Banks started following up on their statements with action. How many times have we heard “We will do whatever it takes to…” or “We have a number of choices to make regarding getting the economy going ….”  Can we please do one or two of those things?   Right now, getting Europe back on track is mandatory to avoid a catastrophic dismantlement of the euro.  And with withering domestic economic numbers, it is time for more action and less talk from our Fed Chairman.

ConvergEx Group Announces Winners of Jaywalk Independent Research Provider Performance Awards for First Quarter 2012

New York, July 11, 2012 – ConvergEx Group, a leading technology company, today announced the results of its Jaywalk Independent Research Provider Performance Awards for the first quarter of 2012. This program seeks to recognize Jaywalk’s Independent Research Providers (IRPs) for their exceptional research recommendations.

Markets attempted to rebound on Wednesday after two days of fear and loathing, but extreme weakness in Apple (AAPL) held back the Nasdaq and S&P 500 while the Dow was able to finish positive. Whether this is just a dead cat bounce remains to be seen. Without a doubt, this week has changed the technical picture from bullish to iffy.

Markets have been signaling a willingness to look past the deluge of troubling news and move higher. This is bullish behavior. On Tuesday, market psychology displayed its positivity as initial weakness on bad news was quickly reversed. Rather than demanding that the Fed initiate a QE3, investors seem to be happier with indications from the Fed that the economy might be able to muddle along without it.

JP Morgan (JPM) managed to not only finesse their loss in Q2 from the London Whale trade to slightly less than $5 billion but also save the S&P 500 from its seventh consecutive day of losses. But the smell from the Barclay-led LIBOR fiasco is spreading across the ocean and renewing concern about regulatory actions against major U.S. banks and hence the growth of the economy as well. 

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 rallied hard in the last 20 minutes to finish right near the flat line, but it still closed with a fractional loss, which makes it the fifth straight loss since last week’s Independence Day patriotic rally. It is now testing technical support at a level of prior-resistance-turned-support.

Its earnings season again!  Q2 results began today with a so-so report from Alcoa (AA), but they will end the week with much awaited reports from JP Morgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC).  To be fair, the market began the week on the tail end of a trio of bad stories, a not-so-dynamic duo of emerging stories from the banking sector, and a single focus on the upcoming election.