Presenting The "Rise Of The HFT Machine" - Visual Confirmation How SkyNet Broke The Stock Market On US Downgrade Day

Submitted by Tyler Durden: Zero Hedge has not been focusing much on the topic of our broken equity markets recently because if by now, following over three years of coverage, someone is not aware just how fragmented, manipulated and largely broken the market truly is, they never will. Yet every now and then it worth reminding readers who may have stumbled on this blog recently, just how bad things are in graphic format. Our friends at Nanex, who are by far the best forensic analysts of everything that is busted with the US stock market, have completed a masterpiece analysis showing the churning (packet traffic) in the various fragmented US market venues, from the NYSE to the Nasdaq to BATS and so forth, on a daily basis beginning in January 2007 and continuing through today. While the "rise of the HFT machine" over the past 5 years, following the adoption of Reg NMS, will hardly be a surprise to most, what is stunning is the first animated confirmation of the market terminally breaking on August 5, 2011, the day the US was downgraded, an observation that first was made right here on Zero Hedge. Which begs the question: what really happened in the stock market on August 5, 2011 when the US was downgraded to AA+, when everything literally broke, who is intervening constantly in the stock market, and why are they doing so via various HFT intermediary mechanisms?

Chart: Nanex

Note the insanity that begins on August 5, 2011: Source

US and Egypt clash over Americans accused of conspiracy

The honeymoon between the United States and the new post-Mubarak government in Egypt didn't last long. Only months after the US helped force the former president to step down, new rulers of Egypt are turning against the US.

The Egyptian government vows that they will bring 19 Americans to trial for allegedly influencing the violent revolutions after last year’s ousting of former President Hosni Mubarak with the aid of foreign funds.

Nearly 20 Americans have been named in an Egyptian investigation over how foreign pressure helped fund unrest by way of international pro-democracy groups. An English-language website out of Egypt published the names of 43 persons being charged on Monday, including 19 Americans.

No Justice No Peace - Dahlia Wasfi's Epic Speech

On March 19th, 2003, the United States and Great Britain led their second publicized military assault on Iraq.  Under the facade of liberation and democracy, U.S. troops seized the country, securing the oil fields, the Ministry of Oil, the Interior Ministry (CIA), and taking the lives of thousands of people.  Iraq's rich culture, history, and valuable assets were left vulnerable to stealth and destruction.  In the years since, the lack of security, jobs, electricity, and potable water have made life for Iraqis unbearable.  American troops are perceived by the indigenous population as occupiers--not liberators--for the Iraqi people are far better educated in U.S. history than Americans are themselves.  Our obligation to the people of Iraq, to the people of America, and to the rest of the world is the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of American troops and mercenaries from Iraq.  The United States MUST liberate Iraq from its own brutal hands.  This following is my attempt to explain why.-DSW

Bradley Manning for Nobel Peace Prize!

The name of Private Bradley Manning - a U.S. soldier accused of passing classified material to the whistle blowing website Wikileaks has consistently made it into the headlines, mostly in connection with his trial. But now his name is now on a different list - that of over 200 nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize. His nomination was put forward by the parliamentary group called "The Movement" in the Icelandic Parliament. One of its members Birgitta Yonsdottir says Manning deserves the nomination because it's not a crime to blogger-whistle on war-crimes. Source

JPM Buys Greece For $2?

Submitted by Tyler Durden: From Peter Tchir of TF Market Advisors

JPM Buys Greece For $2

While we wait for the antics in Greece to result in some announcement, I can’t help but think about how different the Greek situation is from when JPM bought Bear Stearns (shortly after the last time the Giants won the super bowl). The “weekend” deadline for Bear was neither artificial, nor self-imposed.  Without a deal, Bear would have failed that week as risk aversion hit an extreme.  Greece has until the March 20th payments, so all the deadlines we keep hearing about are mostly negotiating ploys.

The negotiators in Greece will have to approve whatever they decide, so they will need some time.  When Jamie Dimon said “done” on the Bear deal, it was done.  It also meant a very savvy investor had his people do the analysis and was comfortable with the deal (I’m sure the Fed backstop didn’t hurt).  But in Europe, almost none of the people involved in the negotiations have the authority to “pull the trigger”.  They have to go back to their respective parties or groups or special interests they represent and get the deals approved.  Even more bizarre, is how few of the people involved have financial experience, let alone investment experience.  They are largely politicians.  The Minister of Finance was the Minister of Defense less than a year ago.  The IIF team has limited experience in distressed debt.  The “technocrat” in charge has experience, but like many of the Troika members it is as an economist in a functioning economy – not the disaster that is Greece.

They all seem so scared that no deal is awful, that we will probably see a deal. Will there be one more petulant flight out of town before we get that agreement?  Possibly, but so far they all seem to believe that a deal is necessary to say the world.

What I find interesting, is that finally some Greek citizens and even minor politicians seem to be getting the joke that the “bailouts” aren’t for Greece, it is for the people that lent Greece money.

Apartheid and Lack of Medication in Gaza - The Real Deal

Palestinian protesters pelted the car taking United Nation's General Secretary Ban Ki-moon into Gaza with shoes sticks and stones, last week. The incident took place in Erez crossing which is the main entrance to the beleaguered strip from Israel.

There is a general perception that the siege of Gaza is over and that all necessary materials can pass freely. But only a few days ago the British charity Medical Aid to Palestinians had to urgently deliver medicine to Gaza after the health authorities there ran out of drugs due to the nazi style Israel imposed apartheid concentration camp.

ALBA member states voice support for Syrian government

An eight-nation bloc of Latin American and Caribbean countries has thrown its weight behind the Syrian government, condemning foreign efforts aimed at destabilising Syria. Source

Cocaine 'Vaccine' Uses Mutated Cholera Bacteria

Huge Plunge In Petroleum and Gasoline Usage

Inquiring minds are watching a plunge in Petroleum Distillates and Gasoline usage. Reader Tim Wallace writes hello Mish, as I have been telling you recently, there is some unprecedented data coming out in petroleum distillates, and they slap me in the face and tell me we have some very bad economic trends going on, totally out of line with such things as the hopium market - I mean stock market.

This past week I actually had to reformat my graphs as the drop off peak exceeded my bottom number for reporting off peak - a drop of ALMOST 4,000,000 BARRELS PER DAY off the peak usage in our past for this week of the year.

'No question of US backing for Russian opposition'

Saturday was a day for demonstrations in Russia. Over two hundred thousand people gathered across the country to voice their political views ahead of next month's presidential election. Two of the largest rallies took place in the capital with supporters and opponents of the current leadership braving the bitter cold to have their say. It was the third, and biggest, opposition gathering after the Parliamentary vote two months ago which protesters claimed was rigged. Now their main demand is for a fair presidential vote in March. Author and researcher F. William Engdahl says the West is funding the Russian opposition to minimise the country's influence on the world stage during a critical time. Source

Censoring The Decrease in Global Temperatures

India tells Britain: We don't want your aid or your WMD's

India’s Finance Minister has said that his country “does not require” British aid, describing it as “peanuts”.

By Andrew Gilligan

Pranab Mukherjee and other Indian ministers tried to terminate Britain’s aid to their booming country last year - but relented after the British begged them to keep taking the money, The Sunday Telegraph has revealed.

The disclosure will fuel the rising controversy over Britain’s aid to India.

The country is the world’s top recipient of British bilateral aid, even though its economy has been growing at up to 10 per cent a year and is projected to become bigger than Britain’s within a decade.

Last week India rejected the British-built Typhoon jet as preferred candidate for a £6.3 billion warplane deal, despite the Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, saying that Britain’s aid to Delhi was partly “about seeking to sell Typhoon.”

Gold is the Gut Reaction, Silver is the Smart Decision