STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday January 9

[ozymandius]

Tuesday January 9, 2007

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 741 LONG DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2205 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1910 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1871
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 7
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54


U.S. FUTURES & MARKETS INDICATORS
NASDAQ FUTURES-----------------------------S&P FUTURES




AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON January 8, 2007

Dow... 12,423.49 +25.48 (+0.21%)
Nasdaq... 2,438.20 +3.95 (+0.16%)
S&P 500... 1,412.84 +3.13 (+0.22%)
Gold future... 609.40 +2.50 (+0.41%)
30-Year Bond 4.74% -0.00 (-0.06%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.66% +0.01 (+0.30%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver


PIEHOLE ALERT

Heads Up!
Preliminary info on appearances by Bush & Co. throughout the country. Details & links are added as they become available so check back. And if you know more, are organizing something, or would like to, contact [e-mail]

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Market WrapUp

BASE METAL BOGIE MAN
BY ROB KIRBY

I’ve taken particular note of how the prices of most of the base metals have been “HAMMERED” lately. In fact, I’ve been shaking my head by the number of “experts” being trotted out on CNBC and ROB TV making the claim that copper inventories have now got a supply overhang and how they’ve even got people believing there might be a commodity price implosion due to these “ballooning inventories” – e.g. see Clive Maund.

To his credit, Mr. Maund’s short term prognostication – that being for metals prices to decline – is very accurate.

-cut-

The reality is that in addition to the U.S. housing market “slowing” – the Chinese have also (strategically timed their purchases, perhaps?) remained ‘out of the market’ - temporarily. So, despite all the dire predictions of ballooning inventories and commodity price implosions – if one stops and considers that base metals are essential requirements for the build out of INFRASTRUCTURE in Asia – the odds of continued price weakness appear somewhat mitigated unless the fundamental picture in Asia changes.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm

[54anickel]

13. Tee-hee-hee, Maund the BMBM!!! Yep, that's a fitting name for him.

This is the 2nd or 3rd time since I've been following metals that he has called for the end of the metals bull. I'm sure he'll get it right one of these times. His works might be useful for the short-term day trader types, though I'm not sure about his timing in that regard.

Kirby brings out some dang good points on the PTB protecting the buck though...

So if you put back the inroads of inflation by dividing the present price of $2.64 by five, we see that the present price of copper in 1970 dollars is about 53 cents. This is not expensive, except in the opinion of the Federal Reserve which is trying to hide the fact that the buying power of the Federal Reserve Note is collapsing. In 1999, the price of copper was 80 cents. If we go back to that level, , there won't be a copper mine left standing in the world.

The fact that every commodity has recently been hit, whether it is scarce or not, oversold or not, or already cheap (like oil) suggests we are entering a period of extreme dollar instability when the Monetary Interests will be relentless in their programmed selling of real assets to maintain the illusion that paper assets are the superior hold......

snip>

Price movements in everything from the Dollar to base and precious metals experienced severe gyrations as a result – setting up charts that technically oriented fund managers religiously follow for sharp sell-offs or in the case of the Dollar - rallies.

The reality is this; the powers that be can create any graph pattern they want with the short term application of derivatives. Now stop and consider why J.P. Morgan Chase really has a derivatives book now totaling more than 63 TRILLION in notional value – with growth in the latest quarter of 5.5 Trillion alone.

Folks, that’s a Derivatives Book in one bank – with a market cap of 165 billion – of over 63 TRILLION, or 5 x the size of the entire GDP of the U.S.A.!!! Amazingly, or perhaps not, this unregulated obscenity has the blessing of the Federal Reserve, hmmmm?



JMHO, but the Fed and PTB have got to be exchanging high fives right about now. They had everyone and their brother betting against the buck - that made a lot of loose hands that are easy to shake out. The timing is near perfect as the annual "Yenetics" players start to kick in. Could make for an interesting end to March. :evilgrin:

[ozymandius]

2. Oil prices fall to $55 a barrel

LONDON - Oil prices fell to trade around $55 a barrel Tuesday in a market expecting more mild weather and rising inventories in the United States.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery dropped 77 cents to $55.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. February Brent crude at London's ICE Futures exchange fell 67 cents to $54.95 a barrel.

The Nymex contract had fallen 22 cents to settle at $56.09 a barrel Monday on record high January winter temperatures in the U.S. Northeast. The volatile session saw crude rise as high as $57.72 on reports that OPEC oil ministers are considering another cut in output, and worries that a dispute between Russia and Belarus could result in energy shortages in parts of Europe.

Nigeria's oil minister Edmund Daukoru discouraged talk of any immediate action to support prices by OPEC, which recently resolved to cut output by 1.7 million barrels per day.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

[ozymandius]

3. Belarus, Russia seek to end oil dispute

MOSCOW - Russia and Belarus sought Tuesday to resolve a damaging trade battle that has led Moscow to halt oil supplies to several EU nations via Belarus, causing fresh alarm in Western Europe over its reliance on Russian energy.

A delegation led by Vice-Premier Andrei Kobyakov flew to Moscow on Tuesday to find a solution to the halt of the transit of oil through Belarus, which has affected Ukraine, Germany, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Russia on Monday stopped pumping oil to Europe via the Druzhba, or Friendship, pipeline that crosses Belarus, accusing its neighbor of siphoning off oil.

The two former Soviet nations are locked in a dispute over a Russian decision to impose hefty duties on oil exports to Belarus. Once close allies, relations have grown increasingly tense amid impatience in Moscow at subsidizing the economy of Belarus' isolated regime through cheap energy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070109/ap_on_bi_ge/russia_belarus_oil_2

[54anickel]

39. GE To Buy Oil Industry Firm For $1.9 Billion

http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=2aac6900-5d2f-4e83-8de6-d2e79ce63f3e

New Haven — General Electric Co. hopes to tap into growing global demand for energy by buying oil services company Vetco Gray from a group of private equity funds in a $1.9 billion deal announced Monday.

GE expects demand for energy to increase by another 50 percent by 2025, mostly driven by emerging economies.

“We just don't see it abating anywhere,” said GE spokesman Peter O'Toole.

Vetco Gray provides drilling and production equipment for oil and gas fields. Its owners include the private equity funds Candover Partners Ltd., 3i Group PLC & JP Morgan Partners LLC.

more...

[54anickel]

40. Forest Oil to buy Houston energy firm

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/other_business/article/0,2777,DRMN_23916_5266129,00.html

Oil and gas producer Forest Oil Corp. moved Monday to expand in the booming Rockies and Texas regions, announcing a $1.5 billion cash-and-stock deal to buy Houston Exploration Co.
The latest deal kick-starts this year's consolidation frenzy in the expanding oil and gas sector, which has seen hundreds of billions of dollars in mergers and acquisitions in past years.

In 2006, the energy sector nationwide saw a record $689.4 billion in acquisitions. The transactions last year were 42 percent higher than the year earlier. Unlike most previous deals in which Denver lost headquarters, the latest deal bolsters Forest Oil's reputation as one of the city's few remaining local energy companies.

Forest Oil will pay $52.47 a share for Houston Exploration, which is 7.8 percent more than Houston Exploration's Friday closing price of $48.69 on the New York Stock Exchange.

"I think it's a tremendous offer given the natural gas market has declined substantially since last summer," said Barry Rosenstein, founder and managing partner of -Jana Partners, a private investment firm that holds about 14.7 percent of Houston Exploration's outstanding shares. "This places the assets in far superior management hands."

more...

[Roland99]

74. Hmm....dumping plastics and buying up oil. Yet no one moves to further alt. energy.

Stuck on stupid.

[54anickel]

41. What’s Behind the Crash in Crude Oil?

http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1168362120.php

snip>

Quite often, markets seem designed to fool most people most of the time. Global economic growth and oil demand growth are usually linked, so given expectations for global GDP growth of 4.4% in 2007, it’s logical to expect global demand for crude oil to increase by at least 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) this year. However, that would fall short of 1.8 million bpd of new oil supplies that OPEC expects to come on stream from Angola, Brazil, Canada, Kazakhstan, and Russia this year.

Non-OPEC oil output rose to 51.7 million barrels in the fourth quarter, or 3% higher than a year earlier. OPEC-10 said it would address the net increase in global oil supply in 2007, by lowering its oil output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 26.3 million bpd in November, and then lower oil output again in February by an additional 500,000 bpd to 25.8 mil bpd. “OPEC’s reduction of 500,000 bpd has been scheduled to come into effect during the winter demand period, while addressing looming market imbalances for 2007,” the cartel said on December 14th.

On January 5th, US crude oil prices had already plunged 10% over three days and touched a low of $55 per barrel, on news available to insiders, but not yet known by the public at large. OPEC was cheating on its pledge to cut its oil production to 26.3 million bpd in December. Instead, the cartel pumped 27 million bpd or 700,000 bpd above it’s agreed upon quotas.

Ironically, the two biggest cheaters in OPEC were the two most vociferous price hawks, Iran and Venezuela. After pledging to cut its oil output by 176,000 bpd in December, Tehran left its oil output unchanged at 3.83 million bpd, while Caracas actually increased its oil output by 20,000 bpd last month, after pledging to reduce output by 138,000 bpd. Riyadh cheated by 80,000 bpd last month. It’s hard to believe OPEC will meet its pledge to cut oil output by 500,000 bpd in February, when the December agreements have not been fully kept.

However, the sudden plunge in crude oil prices to $55 per barrel, was all the more puzzling, when one considers that US commercial oil stocks had fallen from 341.1 million barrels on November 17th, to as low as 319.7 million barrel last week. The sharp drop in US oil supplies suggested that OPEC was honoring its pledge to cut output 4.3% in November, and to defend US oil prices at $60 per barrel.

While the media focused on the balmy weather to explain the sudden 10% plunge of crude oil to as low as $55 /barrel on January 5th, what initially triggered the drop was a surprise move by Saudi Arabia to slash the price of Arabian Light, its finest blend, by $1.75 /barrel to a $7.50 /barrel discount to West Texas Sweet, for its US customers, the deepest discount in 10-months.

Saudi Arabia also cut the price of Arab Light to Asian buyers by a more modest 10 cents and to European buyers by 20 cents from January. About half of the Saudi kingdom’s 7 million bpd of crude exports move to Asia. But why did Riyadh to decide to tip the delicate balance between fear and greed in the oil markets to the bearish camp, by slashing its US oil price by $1.75 /barrel on Jan 2nd?

snip>

The latest plunge in crude oil, perhaps inspired by Saudi Arabia, is likely to put a squeeze on Iran’s budget surplus, which could turn into a deficit if oil prices fall towards $45 per barrel. To finance the government’s subsidies, Iran’s central bank increased the broad money supply by 36% in 2006, sending inflation soaring to 14.6% in September. Tehran cannot afford to cutback on oil production and reduce its oil income, without cutting back on subsidies and risk riots in the streets.

much more...

[54anickel]

42. Chavez Urged by U.S. to Compensate American Companies (Update1)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=a9IbEOFV0Gqk&refer=latin_america

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration urged Venezuela to compensate U.S. companies that would be affected by President Hugo Chavez's plan to transfer the country's utilities to state ownership, a White House spokesman said.

Chavez said yesterday he plans to nationalize the country's largest phone company and utilities, gain greater control over the oil industry and seek authority to make laws by executive order. His comments sent Venezuelan stocks and bonds tumbling.

The U.S. has ``seen the results of nationalization in other places, and in general these types of actions do not produce economic benefits as expected,'' White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. ``If any U.S. companies are affected, we expect them to be promptly and fairly compensated.''

Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips, Chevron Corp. and Total SA may lose their shares in the four heavy oil ventures if Chavez's plan is approved by Venezuela's congress. New York- based Verizon Communications Inc. has a stake in the country's telephone network.

more...

[54anickel]

69. Oil producer hedging could signal market peak

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2007-01-09T141108Z_01_SP235245_RTRUKOC_0_US-OIL-PRODUCERS-HEDGING.xml&WTmodLoc=EntNewsPeople_R3_reutersEdge-1

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Market talk of forward hedging by oil producers has unexpectedly unnerved traders this week, highlighting a growing fear that prices may have peaked.

Analysts say the fact that long-term oil contracts -- those most likely to be sold by producers to lock in prices -- have managed to keep reasonable pace with sharper moves at the front end of the curve is evidence that oil firms are selling forward production in an effort to lock in $60 a barrel revenues.

If that trend takes hold, it may be a sign that producers think oil's five-year rally has run out of steam, sentiment that will be music to the ears of consuming nations but worrying for OPEC producers relying on petrodollar revenues.

It would also mark a significant change from the past four years, dominated by heavy buying interest in long-dated futures by oil consumers like airlines who feared that oil's unrelenting rally would do untold damage to their bottom lines.

Market rumors that part of oil's near 10 percent slide so far this year is due to hedging have yet to be confirmed, but that has not stopped traders from wringing their hands.

more...


Speculators keep oil prices afloat
Investors still think oil is a hot commodity, which may explain why crude hasn't fallen far despite brimming supplies, warm weather and a cooling economy.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/09/markets/oil_prices/

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Temperatures and inventories are high, while economic growth and global tensions, relatively speaking, are low. But although oil prices have fallen in the last few days, they still remain historically high at over $50 a barrel. Why haven't crude prices fallen further?

Many analysts agree this is due in large part to the amount of speculative investment money pouring into the market over the last two years.

"There is no fundamental reason for ," Stephen Schork, publisher of the industry newsletter the Schork Report said of oil prices in the $55-$65 range. "This is a market that is trading on speculation."

"In our view, with the current supply demand environment, the price ought to be $35 to $40 a barrel," said Mark Gilman, an oil and gas analyst with the Benchmark Co., a New York-based investment firm.

Gilman said geopolitical tensions may add another $5 to the cost of crude, but to "chalk up the rest to money flows."

It's difficult to say just how much investment interest is bidding up the price of crude oil, but some experts said it's substantial.

more...

[ozymandius]

4. U.S. economy moving upward, W-U-H-B-P-H quoted as saying

U.S. economy moving upward, Greenspan (washed-up-has-been-partisan-hack) quoted as saying

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is, overall, moving upward and showing signs of accelerating again, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Japanese Finance Minister Koji Omi, a Japanese Finance Ministry official said on Monday.

Omi, who is meeting top economic officials in Washington, met with Greenspan on Monday afternoon to discuss the U.S. and Japanese economies.

U.S. economic growth slowed in the latter half of 2006, and many Fed officials expect growth to be near or slightly below trend before picking up later this year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070109/bs_nm/usa_economy_greenspan_dc_1

[ozymandius]

5. A Slower Economy, So Lower Inflation

The Great Inflation Scare of 2006 is over. Most measures of price increases were pretty tame by year-end after spiking last spring and summer because of rising oil prices, rents and prices for many services.

Consumer inflation should weaken this year as a slower economy dampens demand, making it harder for businesses to raise prices.

-cut-

Fed policymakers think inflation is still too high and worry that economic growth may rebound early in the year, allowing inflation to hover where it is. They made clear at their last meeting, in December, that they would consider raising interest rates if inflation proves stubborn.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/06/AR2007010600105.html

What's wrong with this picture?

[54anickel]

14. Set up for a rate increase to prop the buck later this spring? Just a guess.

[burf]

11. As Monty Python used to say:

"Now for something entirely different".

01/08/07 "Information Clearing House" --- - The American people appear to be oblivious to the economic hurricane which is expected to touchdown in late 2007. That’s when $1 trillion in ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) will “reset” triggering a massive increase in foreclosures and plunging the country into a deep recession. If energy costs continue to rise at the same time or if the dollar loses more ground, we may be rooting around in the backyard garden-plot looking for passed-over spuds and radishes.

The crisis is entirely the work of Fed Chairman, Alan Greenspan, whose “cheap money” policy caused a speculative frenzy in the real estate market which sent home prices through the stratosphere. In fact, the bubble originated in 2001 when Greenspan lowered interest rates to a meager 1% and ignited a refinancing boom as well as a sudden up-tick in home sales. Now, after 17 straight interest rate increases, the bubble is quickly losing steam and the effects are being felt from sea to shining sea. Rest assured, the sudden downturn in the housing market is just the first gust from an impending tornado. By the end of 2007, America’s match-stick economy will look like the rubble strewn landscape of New Orleans 9th Ward.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article16104.htm

Mr Whitney and several others seem to have a different view of things.

[54anickel]

21. Credit Quality Dips; Slowdown Ahead?

A negative outlook by a number of credit professionals may signal a sluggish '07.

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/8506318/c_8509431?f=home_todayinfinance

A credit-management outsourcing company has seen a sharp decline in credit quality for unsecured trade creditors during the past two months. According to Pam Krank, president of Credit Department Inc., the cash flows of small and midsize commodities firms weakened significantly in November and December, and the firms are having a harder time getting credit.

Krank's experience mirrors the monthly Credit Managers Index, which fell for the fifth consecutive month in December, suggesting the economy is slowing, according to The National Association of Credit Management. NACM reported earlier this month that its index is at its lowest level since April 2003.

The results of the NACM data are another early indicator that 2007 will see a further slowdown of the U.S. economy and an increase in failures by small and midsize businesses, according to Dan North, chief economist with Euler Hermes ACI, a trade credit insurance provider. "Business failures have been at a historically low level in the past year, and that's bound to deteriorate over the next year," he told CFO.com. North bases his negative prediction on weak GDP growth for two consecutive quarters, the inverted Treasury yield curve, and the fall of median house prices during the past four months — a trend that looks to continue.

It was also a trend noted by credit managers in the latest NACM monthly survey. One manager described the residential housing sector as "almost at a standstill"; another reported an increase in customers who "cannot pay." The survey asks credit managers to rate favorable and unfavorable factors in their business cycle — unfavorable factors include rejections of credit applications, dollar collections, and amount of credit extended.

Credit Department, which grants credit lines of between $5,000 and $5 million based on a company's cash flow, has also seen an increase in such "unfavorable" activity. In the past year, the credit-management company has stepped up its evaluation of bank renewal rates — failure to renew is often an early signal that a business's credit quality is hurting — and has rejected twice as many credit applicants as it did just one year earlier. Krank has also observed that increasing numbers of vendors are delaying their payments.

Considering the recent negative activity, Krank anticipates a flurry of loan defaults in the next 18 months. Standard & Poor's recently forecast that 2007 will be a transition year that will see a decline in credit quality, but Krank suggests that conditions may be even more dire, noting that many of her clients have low gross margins and are showing a renewed skittishness toward doling out credit. "We'll see it before other businesses out there that don't have such stringent requirements or that don't monitor that credit risk until it's past due and it's too late," she told CFO.com.

more...

[AnneD]

77. What's the current price of lumber.....

and how big of a stake will we need to drive through Greenspan's heart. The man has got to be an immortal.:evilfrown:

[ozymandius]

6. Sprint to cut 5,000 jobs; Stock plunges

RESTON, Va. - Sprint Nextel Corp. reported Monday that its cell phone business suffered a net loss of 300,000 monthly subscribers in the fourth quarter and that the struggling wireless company will cut 5,000 jobs.

The company's stock plunged more than 8 percent after the financial update, which included a 2007 outlook shy of many Wall Street forecasts.

Sprint said it expects its 2006 results to be in line with its previous guidance, with full-year revenue of $41 billion to $41.5 billion and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization of $12.6 billion to $12.9 billion. On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial are forecasting 2006 earnings of $1.26 per share on sales of $41.53 billion.

-cut-

The planned job cuts, most of them expected in the first quarter, will reduce the size of Sprint's work force to just below 60,000 positions. The cuts are expected to be applied across the company's operations.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/breaking_news/16412856.htm

[AnneD]

78. With all these new jobs the Bush Admin is creating....

they should have no trouble replacing their jobs. Too bad all these new jobs are on paper:(

[ozymandius]

7. Private equity warms to financial services

Private equity firms invested in a record number of financial services companies in 2006, defying a once widely-held opinion that the sector was off limits to buyout groups.

Private equity invested in 96 financial services deals last year, with a value of $30.5bn, according to a study by Freeman & Co, the US-based investment bank that specialises in advice on financial services deals. Freeman's study followed deal activity from 76 private equity firms globally.

In 2005 the same group of private equity firms invested in 81 deals, though the value of those deals was $38bn. Both volume and total investment were up sharply since 2004 when private equity invested $14bn in 67 transactions.

-cut-

Some of the bigger private equity deals in financial services in 2006 included the acquisition of Gartmore, the UK asset manager, by Hellman & Friedman for $950m and JC Flowers' purchase of a stake in HSH Nordbank, the German bank, for $1.6bn. In the US, a private equity consortium led by Cerberus Capital pulled off the deal of the year with its purchase of GMAC, the financial services arm of General Motors, in a deal worth $4.7bn.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20070109/bs_ft/fto010920070634490134

[ozymandius]

8. Hats off to 54anickel and MATTMAN for doing so much work yesterday.

:toast:

Thank you very much for keeping this thread so entertaining and informative. Speaking for myself: I am very grateful. Such hard work needs to be acknowledged.

:thumbsup:

...and good morning :donut: ...

See you later today folks!

Ozy :hi:

[NC_Nurse]

9. I second that.

And agree completely with AnneD on healthcare. What a complete clusterf*ck it's become.
I just moved to a testing area so I could be less stressed out than on procedures or acute care.
As soon as I can afford to get out, I will. I've got several relatives on the brink of needing my services
and that's where I'll be when the time comes. You have to have an advocate these days or you are taking
your chances in a BIG WAY at any healthcare facility.
I just wonder how long it will take for people to wake up to this?

[AnneD]

71. Morning Marketeers.....

:donut: and lurkers. Or should I say :beer: afternoon. Anytime I post in the afternoon, you know it has been a crazy day. Yes NC, I really worry about where health care is going.

The union (me and other school nurses) are going to take an issue up with the board at consultation next month. Seems like they want us to start giving flu shots to staff. I am an inner city School Nurse with 12 hours of work crammed into 8 (it's suppose to be like a teacher's schedule 7.5 with an hour of planning time :eyes:) Now I arrange for some one to come in and give flu shot all the time, but they seem to forget that we personally would be held liable if something happens (the hot potato theory of fault). Many Nurses have not given shots for a while and we have no back up should the person have an allergic reaction. Needless to say-I see my license passing before my eyes. This is about as smart as having us train an assigned lay person to give insulin shots to our diabetic student. I'm not making it up. I'll train them because I have to, but I won't certify them because it is my license and this is defiantly uncharted waters- and I don't intend to be the legal test case. As it stands now the TEA code and our own handbook forbids us from giving injections to staff. Besides, how would I feel if I gave a shot to a co-worker that injured or killed them. I really am tired of non Nursing folks telling me what my job is and how to do it. I don't see the RN beside their name. If they think they know my job, then they are welcome to do it. If it does pass, I'll be calling it quits as a School Nurse. It would be the last straw. Sorry for the Nurse :rant: but in the words of Popeye, "I've had all I can stand, I can't stands no more."

Happy hunting and look out for the bears.

[54anickel]

12. Thanks Ozy and NC_Nurse. I've been doing some research for a

paper these last few days, so I've been home and at the computer more than I'd been lately. I'm afraid I'll soon be back to sporadic posting later this week. :hi:

[citizen snips]

49. no problem

but I am unable to post business news in the morning.

[AnneD]

79. Mattman...

:hi: Thanks for the juicy posts. Some days are busier than others, so we all keep the eyes and ears open and post when we can. It really is a labour of love. Welcome.

[citizen snips]

81. I am trying to learn new things myself

so hopefully it is a win-win for us all.

[AnneD]

83. It is truly amazing...

the depth and breadth of knowledge on this thread. I have learned so much that I can stand toe to toe with most professionals. My financial adviser listens when I talk.

[texpatriot2004]

10. K & R nm

[54anickel]

15. Quick peek at the buck

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DX&v=s

Last trade 84.74 Change +0.17 (+0.20%)

Settle Time 15:00 Open 84.54

Previous Close 84.57 High 84.77

Low 84.43 2007-01-09 10:25:08, 30 min delay

52wk High 91.16 52wk High Date 2006-03-10

52wk Low 82.24 52wk Low Date 2006-12-05

[54anickel]

24. Daily FX volume could top $3 trillion this year

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2007-01-08T134105Z_01_L04423204_RTRUKOC_0_US-MARKETS-CURRENCIES-VOLUME.xml&from=business

LONDON (Reuters) - Average daily volume in the global foreign exchanges could rise above a much-hyped $3 trillion this year, more than 50 percent up from three years ago and dwarfing volumes in other financial markets.

Phenomenal growth in volumes has been driven by hedge funds, central banks and other investors, adding to liquidity provided by traditional players such as interbank dealers.

snip>

On an average trading day in 2006, less than $90 billion traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

snip>

2006 - A BIPOLAR YEAR

Jonathan Butterfield, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Communication at foreign exchange settlement bank CLS, said 2006 had proved to be a "bipolar" year for the FX market.

He noted a huge spike in volumes in May as emerging markets wobbled. A tranquil summer and autumn followed before volume surged again in December as the dollar fell to multi-year lows against the euro and sterling.

snip>

AT WHAT PRICE?

But industry watchers caution that the rollercoaster year for foreign exchange markets in 2006 may have made it harder for foreign exchange participants to make money, and this could have a negative impact on volumes.

Currency markets have been notable at times for low volatility, while short-term players generally thrive on the trading opportunities offered by high volatility.

more...

[54anickel]

35. Central banks eye asset as well as FX shift

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2007-01-09T142800Z_01_L0945935_RTRUKOC_0_US-MARKETS-RESERVES-DIVERSIFICATION.xml&from=business

LONDON (Reuters) - Central banks around the world are looking to invest more of their $4.75 trillion foreign exchange reserves in equities at the expense of bonds, but the implications for currencies are far from clear.

The issue of reserve diversification re-emerged late last year as the dollar fell against major currencies, hitting multi-year lows against the euro and sterling.

The International Monetary Fund also published its latest snapshot of global reserves at the end of December.

Of the $4.75 trillion total, the currency composition of $3.151 trillion is known. And of that, $2.07 trillion is in U.S. dollar-denominated assets.

Central banks are starting to behave more like yield-hungry, market-savvy institutional investors and many are setting aside chunks of their reserves for specific investment vehicles.

snip>

CHINA WATCHING

Jim O'Neill, chief global economist at Goldman Sachs, agrees that "the clearest implications" of central banks seeking higher returns on their ballooning stash of reserves is "good news for equities and risky assets at the expense of more liquid ones."

But he reckons the dollar could suffer as a result.

Although the implications for currencies aren't clear, "presumably it's not great for the dollar, as most of these (liquid) assets are in dollars," O'Neill said.

more...

[54anickel]

16. 10:30 update

Dow 12,443.36 19.87 (0.16%)
Nasdaq 2,442.56 4.36 (0.18%)
S&P 500 1,413.72 0.88 (0.06%)
10-yr Bond 4.66% 0.00
30-yr Bond 4.75% 0.01
NYSE Volume 680,085,000
Nasdaq Volume 409,028,000

10:30 am : The indices are bouncing off session lows, but modest gains still offer little conviction on the part of buyers. After briefly slipping into the red, turnarounds in Financials and Health Care are lending some support. Technology's ability to pace this morning's gains, without any leadership from semiconductors, is even more noteworthy. Consumer Discretionary is also providing some leadership as retailers become more attractive at the expense of oil's 2.7% decline. ..RLX +0.7%. DJ30 +23.67 NASDAQ +5.78 SOX -0.1% SP500 +1.69 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1588/1105/330 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1635/1220/276 mln

10:00 am : After briefly dipping below the flat line, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq inch back into the green. Oil prices bouncing off their worst levels, now down 2.3% at $54.80/bbl, have helped the Energy sector (-0.9%) nearly halve its early declines. However, the lack of any upside momentum from Financials and Health Care, coupled with paltry 0.1% gains in Technology and Industrials, leaves the door open for sellers to keep chipping away at recent gains. DJ30 +14.70 NASDAQ +2.32 SP500 +0.12 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1358/1164/168 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1252/1454/118 mln

09:40 am : As expected, stocks open on an upbeat note as investors embrace another sell-off in oil prices. After breaking through a key area of support at $55/bbl, crude for February is down 3% at $54.40/bbl amid everything from warm weather easing supply concerns to a continued reduction of speculative excess. While oil at 18-month lows bodes wells for consumers and corporate profitability for some sectors, it is worth noting that early market gains are modest at best since an ensuing sell-off in the large profit engine that is the Energy sector (-1.6%) removes some notable leadership.DJ30 +17.16 NASDAQ +3.11 SP500 +0.68 XOI -1.7% NASDAQ Vol 80 mln NYSE Vol 46 mln

09:15 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +2.8.

09:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +3.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.8. A positive bias continues to hold in the futures trade, which should translate into a higher open for the indices. Tumbling oil prices remain the primary source of early support for investors. However, with BP plc (BP) saying Q4 production and profitability fell from a year earlier, further deterioration in oil also serves as a reminder that earnings estimates for the engine behind double-digit profit growth for the S&P 500 for so many quarters (Energy) will likely be revised lower. Thus, the subsequent loss of leadership throughout the Energy sector today may act as somewhat of an offset and minimize blue-chip gains.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +3.8. Still shaping up to be a positive start for stocks as both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures continue to trade above fair value. With economic reports of late curbing enthusiasm about the possibility of an interest rate cut early this year, the absence of any potentially troubling data this morning is offering investors an added sense of relief already buoyed by the sell-off in oil. Crude for February is now down 3.6% and close to breaking through $54/bbl.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.9. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +4.0. Early indications suggest yesterday's modest buying efforts may carry over into this morning's open. Oil prices plunging more than 3% and falling below a key support level of $55/bbl is the most noticeable reason behind the positive disposition. Reports that Dow component General Electric (GE) may garner as much as $10 bln for its plastics unit and mounting anticipation to see what new products Apple Computer (AAPL) introduces at the MacWorld Expo today are providing additional sources of support.

(edit to add 10:30 blather)

[54anickel]

17. Wall Street Pushes Higher As Oil Slide Overshadows Earnings Jitters

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/wall_street.html?.v=12

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks rose modestly in early trading Tuesday as another dive in crude oil prices helped investors overlook Sprint Nextel Corp.'s warning that its fourth-quarter results will come in below expectations.

Wall Street has lost some of its recent ebullience in recent weeks as earnings season approaches; the reporting season has its unofficial start Tuesday after the closing bell when Alcoa Inc. will post results. Investors have been monitoring profit warnings to gauge how hundreds of companies might fare as they report through the course of the month.

cut n paste from further down>

...Alcoa, the world's biggest aluminum producer, was seen as a litmus test for the health of U.S. manufacturing since its products are used by broad spectrum of companies.


Sprint Nextel said it expect 2007 profit and revenue to come in below analysts' projections, and that it would cut staff to help save costs. The telecommunications company joined about a half-dozen others that warned about quarterly and annual results on Monday.

However, supporting stocks was the continued slide in oil prices as warm weather in the U.S. Northeast weakened demand for fuel. A barrel of light sweet crude broke through $54 a barrel in early trading, while heating oil and gasoline also declined.

snip>

The slide in oil prices have added support to some stocks, especially sectors like transports and retailers who stand to benefit from lower gasoline prices. However, Wall Street's gains were limited in part by a decline in oil sector stocks on concerns lower prices will slice into profit.

more...

[54anickel]

76. Alcoa Announces Highest Income and Revenue in Company's History

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070109/20070109006162.html?.v=1

snip>

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcoa (NYSE:AA - News) today announced the best full year results in the company's 118-year history. Annual income from continuing operations was $2.2 billion, or $2.47 per diluted share for 2006. After excluding the impact of previously announced restructuring and impairment charges, income from continuing operations was $2.5 billion, or $2.90, a 75 percent increase from 2005. Driven by higher metal prices and strong demand for aluminum in the aerospace, commercial transportation and commercial building markets, revenues for 2006 increased 19 percent to a record $30.4 billion.

"This year, top and bottom-line performance has been the best in our company's history," said Alain Belda, Alcoa Chairman and CEO. "Revenues and income from continuing operations achieved record levels.

"Our management team took full advantage of the opportunities the market offered, driving revenue, mitigating costs, bringing new products and innovation to the market, expanding our global footprint and growing our customer base," said Belda. "We did this while continuing to invest in modernizing our existing plants and building new operations that will enable us to deliver strong results for years to come. We are delivering results now and investing in our future.

"As we enter 2007, market fundamentals remain strong. We will generate more than enough cash this year to fund our capital investment programs. We will continue to deliver strong results, invest in our future, and keep a strong balance sheet," said Belda. "And, we continue to manage our investment decisions and portfolio actions on the basis of contribution to profitable growth."

more...


Alcoa's Fourth-Quarter Net Gains 60% as Aluminum Prices Gain
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a4pAWoMGINnQ&refer=home

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Alcoa Inc., the world's biggest aluminum maker, said profit gained 60 percent in the fourth quarter as metal prices gained.

Net income rose to $359 million, or 41 cents a share, from $224 million, or 26 cents, a year earlier, New York-based Alcoa said today in a statement. Sales gained 20 percent to $7.84 billion. Profit excluding items was 74 cents a share, topping analysts' estimates.

Alcoa got $2,766 a metric ton for aluminum, up 27 percent. Earnings were reduced by $386 million in costs to cut jobs and close plants. Chief Executive Officer Alain Belda is trimming expenses after the stock trailed benchmark U.S. indexes and the shares of Alcan Inc., the second-largest aluminum producer.

``If you are in a commodity product like Alcoa where you have relatively little control over selling costs, the only thing you can really work on is expenses,'' Charles Bradford, an analyst at Soleil Securities in New York, said before results were announced. ``The big program is to build new smelters in places with lower costs.''

more...

[54anickel]

18. Incredulity Redux! (Gulp!!! Hope they know what they're doin')

http://www.prudentbear.com/articles/show/126

Surveying the past year and reading the unanimity of positive economic and market opinion on the coming year over the typical year-end publication of such leaves this correspondent, yet again, in the synonym for the above, Disbelief again. This is not to say that the prognostications of these learned and astute analysts will be incorrect as, our disbelief last year simply increased our humility in attempting analysis or outlook in these areas as Belief was the place to be. It may well be Belief the winner again in the coming year. In the particular area we concentrate on, financial institution credit, 2006 saw recent record lows in losses, delinquencies and RESERVES. Any aberrations were usually dismissed in the Conference call with either the “One-off” explanation or the more elegant “We remain comfortable with the normalization of credit costs.” In general, financial institutions also showed record profits, particularly those not hobbled by commercial banking regulatory requirements, i.e. the Investment Banks.

The other subject worthy of comment was the extension of these beneficent trends globally. Naturally, records were set in virtually every type of Financial activity as GLOBAL LIQUIDITY washed in globe-circling tsunami fashion. Another defining moment of incredulity was the “over-subscription” of an already expanded IPO for the Chinese Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. brought public. The bank raised a little less than $22 Billion but demand for subscriptions exceeded $500 Billion! The bank had been re-capitalized prior to the offering but I will posit that a Chinese bank is more of a “black box” than our Investment banks. Hedge funds and private equity plays. They are loaded with loans to the privatized industries on a forced basis and analysis of such portfolios would require membership in the Regime inner circles and still might not be possible. To think outside buyers have a clue is clueless.
Hedge funds managed to add close to $100 Billion more to a total of some $1.44 Trillion in a year where their allure was superceded by “Private Equity” funds and they under-performed generally both the indices and the far less costly fund industry they compete with.

The world of private equity looks to have raised more than $300 billion and, according to one publication, is now sitting on some $750 billion to create the next United Health or some such buyout. Expect the over $50 Billion deal shortly. In the world of equities, geographers finally got some respect. If you could find a market Wall St. would pour unlimited amounts into it. The only failures were the little bitty Arab markets that attracted and then exterminated their local investor populations. When Venezuela , Indonesia and the Philippines top the WSJ list as best performing markets, we have truly re-entered the world of “hold your nose” investing! Although the yield on the U.S. 10 yr. Treasury rose some 30 bps during 2006, margins above this universal baseline for every other kind of debt stayed low or near record low in virtually every instance. This led to a banner year in debt issuance in virtually every category.

In his yearend wrap-up of the Credit Bubble Bulletin on the prudentbear website, Doug Noland will provide more records on every type of financial transaction than the reader can digest. Bill Bonner on the Daily Reckoning site on January 4 also humorously mocks the mainstream media on their endless recitation of the Financial Transaction Boom or as the writer will outline in opinion below, the Bubble that the year proved to be and therefore will not further burden this recitation with more statistical evidence of the LIQUIDITY/FEE/ISSUANCE/SALE/MERGE/DERIVATIZE MANIA OF 2006!

snip>

Before getting into the main theme of this missive, it might be illustrative to take a look at the balance sheet of the Economist-acknowledged SMARTEST INVESTMENT BANK IN THE UNIVERSE, otherwise known as Goldman Sachs. As previously mentioned, there are reams of analyses of their quite phenomenal income statement for the year. The balance sheet ONLY grew 13% in the year. It used to be what was called a “broker” and those folks didn’t need much in the way of a balance sheet as intermediaries pretty much settle up, but now it is an INVESTMENT BANK CHAMPION. This means one enormous amount of liabilities. Unlike most banks, there are virtually no dependable, “core” type of liabilities or balances. One can peruse all the plentiful verbiage within the 10Q on how these “Liabilities” net with the “Liabilities” of other entities reducing the balance sheet risk but this old war horse doesn’t give 100% credence to netting as there is a counter-party on the other side.

The verbiage also assures us of the probity, strength etc of all these counter-parties and I think REFCO. Oh, wasn’t it this Champion of the Investment Bank community that raised ¾ of a billion for these folks shortly before they collapsed? Another “counter-party” of an investment bank was Amaranth but that story of counter-party risk is yet to be told as it was scooped up into Morgan Stanley

more...

[54anickel]

19. Consumer credit up by $12.33 billion

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-briefs9.4jan09,1,2888140.story?coll=la-headlines-business

U.S. consumer credit rose $12.33 billion in November as Americans loaded up on credit card debt. Closed-end loans for items such as cars, education and vacations recovered from an October decline, the Federal Reserve reported.

Consumer credit increased by a 6.2% annual rate to $2.39 trillion in November, contrasted with a revised decline of 0.6%, or $1.25 billion, in October.

Late credit card payments rose for a third straight quarter, the American Bankers Assn. said in a separate report. Late payments grew to 4.57% in the third quarter of 2006 from 4.41% in the previous quarter.

[54anickel]

20. Power Shift (Roach - free trader pissin' his pants over Dem win)

http://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/archive/2007/20070108-Mon.html

Do not underestimate the significance of the political shift that has just taken place in the US Congress. Not only have the Democrats taken back control of both houses of the US legislature for the first time since 1993, but this is also the first instance in over half a century when they have recaptured both the Senate and the House of Representatives simultaneously. The potential impacts on the economy and financial markets should not be minimized.

This shift in political power is occurring at a unique juncture in the US economic cycle. The profits share of national income currently stands at a 50-year high of 12.4% (see accompanying figure). At the same time, the portion going to labor compensation is just 56.3% -- the lowest a newly elected Congress has faced since 1965. In other words, the Democrats are assuming power at a point in time when the returns to capital are at historical highs and the rewards to labor are at more than 40-year lows. This underscores the most profound economic implication of all: Just as the pendulum of political power has swung to the left in the United States, I think there is a very good chance that the pendulum of economic power could swing from capital back to labor in the years ahead.

Don’t look to the modern history of the American political cycle in attempting to discern the outcome. The shift in congressional control that has just occurred -- with the Democrats retaking the leadership of both houses of Congress simultaneously -- last occurred back in 1955. In the 25 years that followed, the Democrats maintained control of both the House and the Senate. It wasn’t until the election of 1980 -- Ronald Reagan’s first term -- when the Senate went Republican for the first time since 1953. And it wasn’t until the election of 1994 -- a stunning mid-term defeat for Bill Clinton -- when the House of Representatives went Republican for the first time since 1953. Long the resident party in power insofar as Congressional control was concerned, it has been fully 54 years since the Democrats did what they did last November. By simultaneously seizing control of both houses of the US legislature -- albeit with the narrowest of possible margins in the Senate -- modern-day Democrats find themselves essentially in uncharted waters.

That’s not to say politics haven’t mattered in shaping recent economic cycles in the US. In looking at the past 40 years, the tug-of-war between capital and labor does appear to have been influenced by the party affiliation of the President. Three of the most recent upsurges in the labor share of US national income occurred in Democratic Administrations: LBJ’s Great Society Program was key in pushing up the labor share in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Similarly, there was a significant increase in the compensation share of national income in the final years of the Carter Administration in the late 1970s. And the last time there was a meaningful gain in the labor share was in the late 1990s during the second Clinton term -- albeit in that case, the increase stopped well short of that which occurred in the Johnson and Carter Administrations.

In this context, a White House that remains in Republican control appears to argue against a shift from capital to labor. But it should be pointed out that in none of those earlier instances of Democratic leadership was the ascendancy of labor instantaneous -- typically there were lags of around 2-3 years. Moreover, at no point in those earlier political cycles had the pendulum swung as far in a pro-capital direction as is the case at present. In the end, it may well be that a weakened Bush presidency is in no position to stand in the way of forceful pro-labor initiatives from the new Democratically-controlled Congress.

more...

[54anickel]

37. The End of Labor (Roach again)

http://www.morganstanley.com/views/gef/archive/2006/20060109-Mon.html

America’s once mighty job machine is struggling as never before. The combination of subpar job creation and real wage stagnation puts extraordinary pressure on the income-generating capacity of the world’s most aggressive consumer. Of course, you’d never know that from the spin that followed the release of the latest monthly labor market surveys of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. From Washington to Wall Street, the verdict was nearly unanimous -- all is fine on the US labor market front. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The overall pace of job creation in December (108,000) was half that expected by the market consensus (200,000). Consolation for this miss was taken from a big upward revision to the original job count in November (from 215,000 to 305,000). As if that’s all that mattered. Never mind that the two largest contributors to this upward revision were temporary hiring agencies and the so-called leisure industry (mainly restaurants); the basic point is that the underlying hiring trend is decidedly on the wane. You can’t tell that by fixating on the vigor of average gains in November and December -- they were hugely distorted by a post-Katrina rebound effect. The four-month average, which covers the storm-related disruption -- which held employment growth to a mere 21,000 in September and October -- and its subsequent rebound, was a mere 114,000. That’s the only accurate way to measure the underlying trend in job growth during this storm-distorted period, and it represents a decided shortfall from the more robust pace of job creation that had prevailed over the preceding 18 months (197,000 per month).

But context is key in understanding that subpar job creation is now the norm in America. The US economy has just completed the 49th month of an expansion that began in November 2001. At this juncture in the four long cycles of the past -- the ones that began in 1961, 1976, 1982, and 1991 -- job growth was cruising ahead by about 210,000 per month. Moreover, in those earlier cycles both the economy and labor market were considerably smaller than is the case today. Adjusting for the scale effect, the 210,000 cyclical norm from earlier cycles would translate into about 325,000 per month in today’s economy. On that basis, the latest four-month average of 114,000 on the hiring front looks all the more pathetic -- literally 35% of the pace that would be expected at this phase in a normal business cycle expansion. Of course, this has never been a normal business cycle expansion insofar as hiring has been concerned. For the first two years, it was the infamous “jobless recovery.” While the pace of hiring has picked up somewhat in the subsequent two years, growth has been chronically weak when compared with any expansion of the past 40 years. Had hiring followed the trajectory of the previous four expansions, our calculations suggest about 11 million more workers would have been added to nonfarm payrolls by now.

Unfortunately, for the American worker, this jobless recovery has also been “wageless” -- characterized by an extraordinary stagnation in real wages. This also shows up loud and clear in the just-released December employment report -- a 3.1% increase in average hourly earnings, which falls short of the 3.4% CPI-based reading of inflation over the 12 months ending in November. The apologists would tell you to strip out food and energy in measuring real wages, or argue that wages must be judged against the likely moderation in headline inflation that is bound to occur once the energy shock subsides. I’m not sure wage earners would buy that logic as they now write their checks for this winter’s home heating bills. Moreover, the private industry wage component of the Employment Cost Index -- long thought to be the most comprehensive measure of worker pay rates -- decelerated to just a 2.2% increase in the 12 months ended September 2005. Not only is that virtually identical to the underlying rate of core inflation -- thereby providing further validation to the stagnation of real wages -- but, as Dick Berner recently noted, it is the smallest annual increase in the 25-year history of this wage series (see his 6 January 2005 dispatch, “Will the Real Wage Measure Please Stand Up”).

snip>

These aggregate numbers mask well-known disparities in the income distribution by obscuring the increasingly important distinction between high- and low-quality jobs. The politicians have been quick to boast of the creation of 2 million jobs by the Great American Labor Machine in 2005 (actually 1.779 million on a December 2005 over December 2004 basis). What they didn’t tell you was that fully 43% of that hiring was concentrated at the low end of the job spectrum -- industries like employment agencies, restaurants, and healthcare and social assistance. Moreover, another 24% of the hiring over the last 12 months was accounted for by financial services and the bubble-driven construction and real estate industry -- not exactly America’s more stable sources of job creation. Beneath the surface, the disconnect between jobs and the quality of economic growth is every bit as profound as it is at the aggregate level.

more...

[54anickel]

22. Mortgage Applications Up as Home Buyers See a Break in Rates

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/business/09home.html?_r=2&ref=business&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

snip>

The recent decline in rates has been relatively small, and there is still concern that the slump will worsen in the spring when more homes come on the market. But the low rates, real estate and mortgage brokers say, have still provided a significant boost to their business, which had dropped significantly from 2005, the best year for home sales in history.

Lower rates get “them off the fence,” said Tom Carlson, an agent at Pacific Union GMAC Real Estate in San Francisco. “There’s a sense of urgency that mortgage rates probably will rise.”

The national average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is now 6.04 percent, after peaking at 6.8 percent in late June, according to Bankrate. (These rates are averages for what consumers can expect to pay nationally for conventional home loans.)

Mortgage applications, while they are some distance from their peak during the housing boom a year ago, surged 30 percent in early December from their summer lows as buyers took advantage of falling prices and low rates to buy homes before the holidays.

snip>

For their cheaper home loans, the Quaronis and other home buyers can thank bond investors, including Asian central banks and hedge funds, who have been lending billions of dollars to the federal government. Mortgage rates are closely tied to the yield on the 10-year Treasury note. After a bout of inflation worries pushed it above 5 percent last summer, the yield on the 10-year note fell to as low as 4.424 percent last month amid hopes that the Federal Reserve would need to cut interest rates this year.

snip>

In an odd twist, the interests of the housing market are aligned, at least for the time being, with a slow-growing economy that keeps inflation at bay, encourages investors to lend and allows the Fed to start cutting interest rates this year.

snip>

By contrast, strong growth, which is typically considered good for housing, could send inflation higher and prompt the Fed to raise interest rates, spooking bond investors and driving up mortgage interest rates. Another threat would be any move by big foreign investors like the central banks of Japan and China to reduce their purchases of United States Treasury securities.

more...

[AnneD]

80. Now what is better...

an overpriced house with a low interest loan, or a devalued house with a higher interest rate. :dilemma:

[54anickel]

23. Hedge-Fund Borrowing Examined by Fed, SEC, European Regulators

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aMFZqx2S1aWg&refer=us

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. and European regulators, turning a spotlight on one of Wall Street's most profitable businesses, are conducting a joint probe into whether banks and securities firms set strict enough limits on loans to hedge funds.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Financial Services Authority in London met last month with some of the biggest lenders to the hedge-fund industry, seeking information on how they decide the amount of collateral required, SEC Commissioner Annette Nazareth said in an interview in Washington. Swiss and German authorities were also involved.

``The purpose of the meetings was to discuss margin practices,'' Nazareth, 50, said. ``It was a fact-finding effort.''

Any move to raise margins as a result of the probe may crimp the $8 billion a year in fees that securities firms collect providing hedge funds with prime-brokerage services such as lending and clearing trades. Bear Stearns Cos., one of the three largest prime brokers, generates at least 30 percent of its profit catering to hedge funds, according estimates by Brad Hintz, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in New York.

Hedge funds, which use margin loans to add leverage and increase the size of their trading bets, would have a harder time making money.

snip>

Goldman Meeting

The meetings last month included New York-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch & Co., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc.; UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group, both based in Zurich; and Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank AG, according to a person helping to direct the examinations. All of the firms declined to comment.

The person, who declined to be named because of the confidential nature of the discussions, said the regulators are concerned that there has been a decline in lending standards because hedge funds are such lucrative customers. The agencies plan to meet in the next couple of weeks to decide what to do with the information, the person said.

more...

[54anickel]

25. Boom time for gadget giants, but where is profit?

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2007-01-08T164806Z_01_KNE860351_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-ELECTRONICS-SHOW-PROFIT-DC.XML&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=BizArt-C1-ArticlePage3

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Business for consumer electronics makers hasn't looked this good in two decades, with revenue rising well over 10 percent in major world markets, yet gadget makers are still turning in meager profits.

Consumer electronics producers, gathered at the sector's top trade show this week, the Consumer Electronics Show, rarely talk about their bottom line -- a sore point in the industry that is often blamed on ferocious competition.

Sales of U.S. consumer electronics rose 13 percent in 2006 to $145 billion, the Consumer Electronics Association said, while Western Europeans spent 18 percent more on consumer electronics in the first half of 2006 according to GfK, a market research group.

But operating profit margins at many major vendors remain below savings interest rates, despite soaring demand for flat TVs, mobile phones, music players, navigation systems and other gadgets.

Profit margins as a percentage of full-year revenue at Sony (6758.T: Quote, NEWS , Research), Samsung (005930.KS: Quote, Profile , Research), Panasonic, Sharp (6753.T: Quote, NEWS , Research), Philips (PHG.AS: Quote, Profile , Research) and LG Electronics (066570.KS: Quote, Profile , Research) have not been above 6 percent for the last few years, according to data compiled from company earnings releases by Reuters.

The average profit margins those six companies derive from consumer electronics products hovered around 2 percent over the three to 10 years for which data is available.

snip>

"For the time being, nobody makes a reasonable margin. However, when only a few players survive, they can have a reasonable profit. I believe several players will disappear," he said, adding he hopes the shake-out will happen within the next three to five years.

more...

[54anickel]

26. Citigroup sees $370 mln loss in Japan finance unit (Bwahahaha)

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2007-01-09T081913Z_01_N08395210_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-CITIGROUP-JAPAN-DC.XML&from=business

WASHINGTON/TOKYO (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc. (C.N: Quote, Profile , Research) will close most of its Japanese consumer finance branches and take a $370 million fourth-quarter loss in that unit, hit by law changes that will cut the maximum interest rates on loans.

The largest U.S. bank will take a $40 million fourth-quarter charge, including costs, to close 270 out of 320 branches and 100 of 800 automated loan machines.

Citigroup will also increase reserves by $375 million as Japanese personal-loan firms also now face a flood of demands to repay interest charges deemed illegal by courts.

snip>

Amid a public and political backlash against the industry, changes in Japanese law have cut the maximum allowable interest charge on loans to 15 to 20 percent, depending on the type of loan, from the current 29.2 percent.

The industry has also been battered by a Supreme Court ruling which said charges on loans with rates set between 20 and 29 percent, a gray zone between two conflicting usury laws, were illegal. That ruling has forced the beefing up of reserves, plunging lenders deep in the red.

snip>

"GE could do the same thing as Citigroup, though its home loan and other retail finance business is now growing. Although it could turn around and decide to buy one of the big 3 firms -- that is possible. In any case, it will have to restructure," said Iimura.

Citigroup Chief Executive Charles Prince has been under pressure from many investors and analysts to lower Citigroup's expenses, and increase revenue faster than costs.

more...

[54anickel]

27. Taser unveils latest stun gun

New consumer model is cheaper, puts user in charge of completing background check

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0109biz-taser0109.html

Taser International Inc. on Monday began taking online orders for its sleek new consumer stun gun that the company hopes will bolster its sales, which are driven mainly by its products for law enforcement agencies.

The Scottsdale-based stun-gun manufacturer unveiled its Taser C2 model Monday at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The show, which runs through Thursday, is where technology companies big and small showcase a new world of gadgets, software and tech services.

Taser chose the venue, filled with fanfare, celebrities and high-tech superstars, to launch the device, which is small enough to fit in a purse and comes in black, silver, blue and pink.

snip>

In addition to costing significantly less than previous consumer models - the X26C costs about $1,000 - the C2 is equipped with a proprietary technology called SureCheck. The stun guns are inactive until a user completes a background check either online or by calling a phone number.

How long before someone cracks THAT code? :eyes:

more...

[54anickel]

28. 12:17 check-in

Dow 12,387.84 35.65 (0.29%)
Nasdaq 2,433.06 5.14 (0.21%)
S&P 500 1,407.72 5.12 (0.36%)
10-yr Bond 4.66% 0.00
30-yr Bond 4.74% 0.00
NYSE Volume 1,413,230,000
Nasdaq Volume 950,874,000

12:00 pm : Stocks are hovering near session lows midday as a sell-off in oil removing notable leadership in the profit engine that is Energy overshadows the commodity's diminishing inflationary characteristics.

After breaking through a key area of support at $55/bbl, tumbling oil prices have been the market's main focus this morning. Crude for February delivery is down 2.8% near $54.40/bbl amid everything from warm weather easing supply concerns and Goldman Sachs lower its 2007 forecasts to a continued reduction of speculative excess and growing skepticism about OPEC production cuts.

However, with BP plc (BP 62.18 -2.11) saying Q4 production and profitability fell from a year earlier, oil prices now down 11% on the year also serve as a reminder that earnings estimates for the Energy sector (-1.7%) -- the engine behind double-digit profit growth for the S&P 500 for so many quarters -- will likely be revised lower. Thus, the subsequent loss of leadership in everything from explorers to refiners is weighing on sentiment.

With earnings season officially kicking off after the bell with Alcoa's (AA 28.30 -0.18) Q4 report, a handful of warnings is also reminding investors that profit forecasts may still be overly optimistic.

Sprint Nextel (S 17.62 -2.02) is the biggest name under the earnings microscope this morning. The wireless giant is tumbling 10% after guiding FY06 revenues below analyst forecasts, prompting multiple analyst downgrades and more consolidation in last year's best performing sector, Telecom (-1.3%). Meanwhile, Celgene (CELG 54.10 -3.20) warning that 2007 profit and sales targets will miss expectations is weighing on Biotech and, in turn, is offsetting some of the defensive characteristics of the Health Care sector.

Technology is among the only bright spots, but it is clinging to the smallest of gains that can largely be attributed to a 2.6% surge in Apple Computer (AAPL 87.70 +2.23). The stock continues to climb amid growing enthusiasm about new products expected to be introduced this afternoon in a keynote speech by CEO Steve Jobs at the MacWorld Expo. BTK -0.6% DJ30 -46.46 NASDAQ -6.70 R2K -0.8% SP400 -0.3% SP500 -6.12 XOI -2.3% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1791/1110/806 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1809/1249/662 mln

11:30 am : A renewed wave of selling interest within the last 15 minutes spikes the major averages to their worst levels of the morning. Fortunately for the bulls, losses are minimal and much of the pullback can be attributed to further deterioration in the Energy sector (-1.7%) in sympathy with the sell-off in oil prices, which is bullish for stocks overall. Dow component Exxon Mobil (XOM 71.86 -0.78), which is also the most heavily weighted constituent on the S&P 500, is retracing session lows (-1.1%) and acting as one of the broader market's biggest constraints.DJ30 -25.08 NASDAQ -2.73 SP500 -3.48 XOI -2.1% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1607/1244/660 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1519/1487/546 mln

11:00 am : More of the same for stocks as the Nasdaq continues to outpace its blue-chip counterparts to the upside. Plummeting oil prices continue to be the main focal point, providing a floor of support for growth stocks but minimizing gains on the Dow and S&P 500 since so many influential constituents are tied to Energy. Of the more than 30 components that make up the Energy sector (-1.3%), none of which are listed on the Nasdaq, all of them are under pressure this morning as oil prices trading at session lows just above $54/bbl diminish the sector's earnings potential. Oil is down nearly 3.0% today but down 11% just five trading sessions into the New Year. DJ30 +20.22 NASDAQ +8.70 SOX +0.6% SP500 +1.47 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1445/1349/514 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1436/1507/426 mln

10:30 am : The indices are bouncing off session lows, but modest gains still offer little conviction on the part of buyers. After briefly slipping into the red, turnarounds in Financials and Health Care are lending some support. Technology's ability to pace this morning's gains, without any leadership from semiconductors, is even more noteworthy. Apple Computer (AAPL 86.73 +1.26) is surging 1.5% to intraday highs ahead of a keynote speech by CEO Steve Jobs at the MacWorld Expo. Consumer Discretionary is also providing some leadership as retailers become more attractive at the expense of oil's 2.7% decline. ..RLX +0.7%.DJ30 +23.67 NASDAQ +5.78 SOX -0.1% SP500 +1.69 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1588/1105/330 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1635/1220/276 mln

[54anickel]

29. Beverage research tied to corporate dollars

Conflict of interest seen when industry finances studies (No shit?) :eyes:

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/01/09/beverage_research_tied_to_corporate_dollars/

Scientific research on soft drinks, juices, and milk was four to eight times more likely to yield health results favorable to companies if it was sponsored by the food industry than research with no corporate ties, a study released last night found. The report suggests that nutrition research, like drug research, may be tainted by special-interest dollars.

Scientists from Children's Hospital Boston evaluated 111 beverage studies published between Jan. 1, 1999, and Dec. 31, 2003, and found that industry paid for some or all of a majority of the research, a finding that surprised even Dr. David Ludwig, a veteran nutrition researcher who presided over the Children's study. The Boston scientists, whose findings appear in the online journal PLoS Medicine, emphasized that they're not accusing individual researchers of scientific skullduggery, but also acknowledged that they don't have a definitive explanation for their results.

The ethics of scientific research has been a hot topic in classrooms and laboratories during the past few years, stoked by revelations that some studies of blockbuster painkillers ignored findings that would have made the medication look bad. And previous scientific reviews have shown that drug studies supported by pharmaceutical companies are more prone to side with industry than studies sponsored by government or universities.

This expanding body of research made Ludwig and his colleagues curious about the impact of corporate dollars on nutrition science.

"Conflicts of interest in pharmaceutical research could affect millions of people taking medicines," said Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children's. "Conflicts of interest in nutrition research could affect the health of everyone because we all eat."

more...

[54anickel]

30. Home Depot tightens CEO pay rules, two more execs exit

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2007/01/08/0108bizdepot.html

Less than a week after the sudden exit of its controversial top executive, Home Depot said it has tightened its requirements for CEO compensation.

The board of the Atlanta-based retailer amended the company's bylaws to require approval from two-thirds of its independent directors regarding any pay granted to the chief executive, according to a regulatory filing on Monday. Previously, the board required a majority vote.

The move comes as Home Depot determines the pay package for new Chairman and CEO Frank Blake, who took the helm last week in the wake of Bob Nardelli's sudden resignation. More changes are expected as Blake settles into the top spot.

The constant criticism over Nardelli's pay package reached new highs last week when Nardelli left with $210 million in severance and other benefits.

Home Depot said in a statement Monday that it changed its compensation approval requirements "based on input from shareholders."

snip>

Also, Home Depot's management shake-up continued Monday, with two senior executives leaving the Atlanta-based retailer and two others taking on expanded duties.

Harvey Seegers, president of Home Depot Direct, the company's online-catalog division, and John Campi, senior vice president of global sourcing and vendor management, have resigned, according to an internal memo.

more...

[AnneD]

82. About damn time...

all the shareholder profits are being funneled away into CEO pay.:mad:

[54anickel]

31. Taiwan authorities renew call for calm after taking over failing bank

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070108/bs_afp/taiwanbanking_070108085749

TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan authorities renewed a call for calm among depositors after the government took over a bank faced with a run on funds and insisted there was no risk to the financial system as a whole.

"The government guarantees that the rights and benefits of all of the bank's depositors will be fully protected in a timely and appropriate manner after the government takeover. There is no need for depositors to worry," Finance Minister Ho Chih-chin told reporters.

The government took over The Chinese Bank on Saturday following panic runs all over the island after two financially-stricken units of the Rebar group announced Friday they had filed bankruptcy reorganisation applications with the Taipei District Court.

"I have faith in Taiwan's financial system which is sound enough to take on the bank's difficulties. It is unlikely for Taiwan to suffer a systematic financial crisis," Ho said.

An official from the Financial Supervisory Commission said the government has at least 100 billion dollars (3.05 billion US) in funds available, including 40 billion dollars from the financial restructuring fund, to meet withdrawls by the bank's depositors.

On Sunday, eight local banks also took over Great Chinese Bills Finance Corporation, another financially troubled unit of the Rebar group.

more...

[jsamuel]

32. Oil Stocks in massive sell-off, down 12% since start of 2007

These people are saying, "I can't figure out why oil keeps dropping." Well it's because oil has been OVERVALUED for the past 3 years. Just before that it was at a 25 year low at $25 a barrel. A few months ago I warned people here at DU to sell their oil stock and was greeted with some who did and some who were very skeptical. Anyway, oil is in a free-fall. Sure, it is a "nightmare" for oil traders, but it is great for the American consumer. I like to think that my Prius and other hybrids are helping this, but there is no data on that.

http://eresearch.fidelity.com/eresearch/markets_sectors/analysis/story.jhtml?storyid=NEWS.CBSMW.FCAF870D34074B0E8805.62BCDC524784&provider=CBSMW&product=CBS/TOPS&category=latestmktcommentary

Oil sell-off: The usual excuses don't quite apply this time

Prices down over 10% since the year's start
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude futures have fallen more than 10% since the start of the year, but have prices weakened for all the right reasons?

...

"I can find very little reason for a big movement in oil prices," said Charles Perry, chairman of energy-consulting firm Perry Management.

...

And "no one seems to pay any attention to OPEC, and probably rightly so. OPEC can't ever seem to get it all together," he said.

...

Overall, the decline in crude prices is really a "nightmare sell-off," said Kevin Kerr, editor of Global Resources Trader, a newsletter service of MarketWatch, the publisher of this report.

...

http://eresearch.fidelity.com/eresearch/markets_sectors/analysis/story.jhtml?storyid=NEWS.CBSMW.748248EECD59423DADB5.86D9D04690BA&provider=CBSMW&product=ROR/257&category=headline

Oil breaks key support level, tumbles $2

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil plunged more than $2 a barrel on Tuesday to its lowest level in a year-and-a-half as mild winter weather in top consumer the United States pushed prices through a crucial technical support level.

Oil is down nearly 12 percent since the start of the year.

"We are seeing unfettered selling, any and all supportive factors are being ignored," said Fimat in a research note.
By 1518 GMT, U.S. crude fell $1.62 to $54.47 a barrel, after tumbling more than $2 earlier in the session. Brent crude traded down $1.28 at $54.32.

Both international benchmarks were at their lowest since June 2005.

...

[54anickel]

33. Gold futures climb as much as $3 an ounce

Earlier fall on strong dollar, weak oil gives way to a bounce higher Huh? Wasn't gold tracking oil trends?

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/gold-futures-bounce-off-earlier/story.aspx?guid=%7BB38E9C3B%2D714F%2D4406%2D8A7F%2DD612D5B27A00%7D&dist=news

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures climbed as much as $3 an ounce Tuesday morning, bouncing off earlier weakness suffered from a firmer dollar and a steep decline in crude-oil prices.

snip>

The gold market took a hammering last week, primarily on U.S. fund selling, which appeared after the Asian and European hours of business on Friday," said Julian Phillips, an analyst at GoldForecaster.com.

"But in Asian and European hours the gold price started to bob back like a cork released under water," he said in e-mailed commentary.

"Demand from physical and investment sources will continue to do this while the funds are following the dollar and oil prices," he said, adding: "watch out for a change of direction by the funds."

"But a winter without cold and a dollar facing diversification and a massive persistent trade deficit point to a dollar trending lower, and OPEC holding prices up," he said, referring to the group of some of the world's key oil producers, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

snip>

Meanwhile, the dollar clawed its way higher Tuesday, gaining 0.6% against the yen as the Japan markets reopened after a holiday.

more...

[54anickel]

34. China Can Do Better Than Swap Dollars for Oil

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_mukherjee&sid=aUlwiGZ0NULA

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Ever since China's foreign-exchange reserves surpassed the $1 trillion mark in November, there has been a flurry of proposals on alternative ``uses'' for the swelling kitty.

China doesn't need to keep all its money invested in hard- currency debt issued by foreign governments. Why should the authorities be satisfied with a less than 5 percent return on 10- year U.S. Treasuries when they could earn more by shifting some of the money to high-yield investments?

Better still, why not spend some of the cash on stockpiling resources that will be needed in ever-increasing quantities to keep the world's factory churning out everything from toys and electronics to clothes and automobiles in the years to come?

It's a view that is gaining ground within China.

snip>

On Dec. 27, Xinhua, the state-run news agency, cited Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan as saying that a part of the country's foreign-currency war chest will be used to buy mineral resources such as coal, iron and oil.

Expect a Backlash

Such a strategy might provide hawks in Washington with just the ammunition they need in getting the U.S. Treasury to label China as a currency ``manipulator.''

Remember the outrage in the U.S. Congress when Cnooc Ltd. tried to acquire Unocal Corp. in 2005? Some of the most stinging criticism of the failed bid was on account of the $7 billion in dirt-cheap loans that Cnooc's state-owned parent, China National Offshore Oil Corp., was giving it to clinch the deal.

snip>

There are, however, other areas of the Chinese financial system that require attention. Why not use surplus foreign- exchange reserves to create from scratch a modern, fully funded pension system for China, as Deepak Lal, an economist at the University of California at Los Angeles, has suggested?

more...

[54anickel]

36. White House to unveil Medicare overhaul

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/afe2efe2-9f5a-11db-9e2e-0000779e2340.html

The White House budget to be unveiled on February 5 will include plans to expand means-testing in Medicare, the government-sponsored health insurance programme for the elderly, the Financial Times has learned.

The greater use of means-testing, which would require richer Americans to make a bigger contribution, will be accompanied by other steps to increase efficiency and bear down on Medicare costs.

The proposed Medicare changes form part of the White House plan to meet President George W. Bush’s goal of eliminating the federal government deficit by 2012 while making his tax cuts permanent.

A senior administration official said the Medicare reforms set out in the budget would be “significant” though they would not add up to “unrealistic full-blown reform” of the programme.

He likened them to changes negotiated in 1997 as part of a bipartisan effort to balance the budget in five years.

The White House will also revise down its estimate of the underlying growth rate of Medicare costs, based on the lower than anticipated cost of the Medicare prescription drug benefit and new actuarial forecasts.

snip to paragraph that makes you go hmmmmm? :freak:

Some defence costs included in supplemental budgets for the Iraq war will be brought into the administration’s budget. But there will be no amount set aside for unforeseen military costs in 2012 and beyond.

[54anickel]

38. Attack on Iran could bring devastation to Arab world

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A351269

ALTHOUGH peering into the future is a hazardous business, it would not be rash to say that of all the potential man-made catastrophes that might afflict the world this coming year, for sheer destructiveness none would surpass a US or Israeli attack on Iran. Is such an attack probable or even possible? Regrettably, it is. In the current confrontation with Iran, the military option remains very much on the table. In both the US and Israel, the same military planners, political lobbyists and armchair strategists that pressed the US to attack Iraq are now urging it to strike Iran — and for much the same reasons. These reasons may be briefly summarised as the need to control the Middle East’s oil resources and deny them to potential rivals, such as China; the wish to demonstrate the US’s ability to project military power across the globe; and Israel’s determination to maintain its supremacy over any regional challenger, especially one as recklessly provocative as Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. An effective US or Israeli strike against Iran would have to destroy not only its nuclear facilities but also its ability to hit back — its entire military-industrial complex.

snip>

US President George Bush is due to make a statement on his Middle East strategy soon. All the indications are that he will reject the advice of the Iraq Study Group, led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton, to withdraw combat troops from Iraq, to engage Iran and Syria in a dialogue and to give priority to resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.


There is talk of sending more troops to Iraq, of tightening sanctions against Iran and Syria, of mobilising “moderate” Arab states against “extremists”, of arming the Fouad Siniora government in Lebanon against Hezbollah, and the Fatah forces of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas against the Hamas government.

In the Horn of Africa, the US is lending its tacit support to Ethiopia in its war against Somalia’s Union of Islamic Courts, in the name of the ill-conceived war on terror which creates more terrorists than it eliminates.

Instead of bringing peace to a deeply troubled region, US policies are feeding the flames of civil war in Iraq, exposing US troops to greater danger, forcing Iran and Syria to look to their defences, exacerbating conflicts in Lebanon and Palestine and opening a new front in Somalia, which risks destabilising much of east Africa.

more...

[54anickel]

43. Is CEO Pay Really Out of Whack?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16528378/

snip>

There are a few reasons why compensation packages can get out of whack:

- A clubhouse mentality. There's a bit too much chumminess on these boards. CEOs are often the ones who recruit directors, who in turn are expected to vote impartially on compensation. In Home Depot's case, Nardelli's buddy Kenneth Langone not only lured Nardelli to Home Depot but was instrumental in the pay deal. He also sat on the board of the New York Stock Exchange and was in the thick of the Grasso pay dispute. Interestingly, Grasso also served on the Home Depot board when Nardelli was brought -on board.
- Reliance upon consultants. By letting an independent third party determine what an appropriate compensation package is worth, boards of directors are given a shield to hide behind in case it blows up.
- Everyone else is getting it. For a company to be held in high regard by its peers, its executives need to be well-compensated, too. That's why most proxy statements discussing executive pay say they survey other companies in the field, and in order to "attract and retain" their executives, they have to pay them a commensurate amount. It's a nice self-serving attitude, but shareholders should not stand for it.

On the other end of the pay spectrum are executives like Steve Jobs at Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), who took just $1 a year in salary when he came back, although he did receive more than $74 million worth of restricted Apple shares. And Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A)(NYSE: BRK-B), despite his storied successes over the years, pays himself just $100,000 a year. Okay, being the second-richest person in the world probably helps him to accept a lower salary, but one suspects Buffett's humility wouldn't allow him to take any more regardless.

Not a worker's paradise
In comparison to some outlandish corporate pay packages, employee salary increases barely cover cost-of-living increases. Union workers are particularly under the gun to give up previously negotiated salary increases. While more highly compensated than the average non-union worker, these people aren't living in the lap of luxury either.

snip>

Do most shareholders read the financial statements put out by companies? Do they read the proxy statements mailed out every year detailing the pay practices of their companies? Do they vote their shares against directors who reward management for mediocre behavior? I would hazard a guess that the answer to those questions is a resounding no.

Uhhh, how many of those shares held are in mutual funds, funds of funds, index funds, and whatever else 401k contributors have been pooring their hard-earned bucks into. This friggen Ponzi scheme is nearly run on "auto-pilot". The ones at the controls are pretty much part of that good old boys network. :eyes:

[54anickel]

44. LSE, Defending Against Nasdaq, Posts 9.9% Profit Gain (Update4)

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aBT.TIR8m8ps&refer=uk

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- London Stock Exchange Plc, seeking to fend off a hostile takeover by Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., reported a 9.9 percent increase in third-quarter profit and forecast a ``strong performance'' in fiscal 2008.

Net income rose 9.9 percent to 31 million pounds ($60.2 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31 from 28.2 million pounds a year earlier, the London-based exchange said in a statement today. Revenue increased 11 percent to 89.9 million pounds.

The third-quarter results ``support the board's rejection of Nasdaq's offer, which significantly undervalues the business and the exchange's unique strategic position,'' LSE Chief Executive Officer Clara Furse said in the statement. ``Our strong growth prospects will continue to enhance the quality of our markets.''

LSE, Europe's biggest equity market, released its earnings about three weeks ahead of schedule and two days before Nasdaq's 1,243 pence-a-share bid expires. LSE has advised shareholders to reject Nasdaq's bid. The second-largest U.S. exchange urged LSE shareholders to accept the bid and said LSE shares will tumble if they reject the takeover.

Nasdaq may extend its offer beyond Jan. 11. It owns 28.75 percent of LSE and said its bid for LSE will be unconditional once it has secured more than 50 percent of the stock.

more...

[citizen snips]

45. Stocks Mixed in Mid-Afternoon Trading

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street fell in an erratic session Tuesday as investors weighed the impact of lower oil prices and remained wary about corporate earnings after Sprint Nextel Corp. issued a profit warning.

Investors lost some of their recent ebullience going into the earnings season, worried that 18 straight quarters of double-digit growth in Standard & Poor's 500 companies might be ending. The market was skittish after Sprint Nextel warned 2007 results will miss analyst projections and another half-dozen companies warned Monday that fourth-quarter results will come up short.

The market was awaiting results from Alcoa Inc. after the closing bell. Meanwhile, technology stocks popped after Apple Computer Inc. unveiled its long-anticipated iPhone.

Investors also wrestled with the positive and negative effects of a continued slide in oil prices. Warm weather in the Northeast has weakened demand for energy, and drove a barrel of oil to below $54 a barrel.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/wall_street.html?.v=36

[54anickel]

46. 2:23 numbers and yada

Dow 12,394.73 28.76 (0.23%)
Nasdaq 2,437.83 0.37 (0.02%)
S&P 500 1,409.73 3.11 (0.22%)
10-yr Bond 4.66% 0.00
30-yr Bond 4.74% 0.00
NYSE Volume 2,172,775,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,583,945,000

2:30 pm : Not much has changed since the last update as the major averages continue to vacillate in roughly the same ranges. The market's holding pattern has been further evidenced in the A/D line, as advancers and decliners on the NYSE remain evenly matched while declining issues on the Nasdaq hold a slim 16-to-13 advantage over advancing issues. A split ratio of up to down volumes on the Big Board and Composite further underscores the lack of conviction on either the bullish or bearish side of the aisle. DJ30 -19.03 NASDAQ +2.13 SP500 -1.80 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1630/1375/1.52 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1599/1583/1.15 bln

2:00 pm : The market continues to pare its losses, spearheaded by continued upward momentum in Technology. As evidenced by a recent turnaround on the Nasdaq, a 7.8% surge in one of the tech-heavy Composite's most influential names -- Apple Computer (AAPL 92.11 +6.65) -- is now having a more widespread impact on equities, especially tech stocks that many believe are still undervalued.DJ30 -19.60 NASDAQ +2.69 SP500 -1.32 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1784/1208/1.35 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1761/1418/1.05 bln

1:30 pm : The major averages are still on the defensive, but stocks are trading at improved levels. Oil prices briefly turning positive within the last 15 minutes has helped Energy recoup more of its intraday losses to now leave it ranking as today’s third worst performing sector (-0.5%). However, the fact that Financials now stands as today’s second worst performer (-0.6%) removes leadership from the most influential of all the sectors, which is stalling overall recovery efforts. DJ30 -29.92 NASDAQ -3.20 SP500 -3.36 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1916/1064/1.22 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1956/1203/960 mln

1:00 pm : After briefly spiking lower after CEO Steve Jobs said they would only be talking about the Mac today at the annual MacWorld Expo, Apple Computer (AAPL 87.60 +2.13) is back in positive territory and where it was trading midday (+2.5%) after introducing the much anticipated iPod phone. Be that as it may, oil prices trading at their best levels, but the Energy sector still trading sharply lower (-0.8%), are acting as larger offsets Apple's relatively company-specific announcement.DJ30 -45.98 NASDAQ -10.61 SP500 -5.52 XOI -1.4% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1958/1008/1.10 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2021/1128/864 mln

12:30 pm : The major averages extend their reach to the downside as the afternoon session gets underway. Oil traders are paring their losses, leaving crude for February delivery down just 0.5% at $55.80/bbl. That is not only removing some of the relief tied to the commodity's adverse impact on consumption patterns, but the Energy sector failing to subsequently see more of a convincing recovery effort still leaves the sector down 1.3%. DJ30 -49.70 NASDAQ -12.71 SP500 -6.94 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1863/1067/952 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1967/1145/772 mln

[citizen snips]

47. Apple Unveils Cell Phone, Takes New Name

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday made the company's long-awaited jump into the mobile phone business, unveiling a gadget that's controlled by touch, plays music, surfs the Internet and runs the Macintosh computer operating system. He then renamed the company to just "Apple Inc." to reflect its increasing focus on consumer electronics.

Jobs also unveiled a TV set-top box that allows people to send video from their computers to their televisions.

The iPhone, which starts at $499, will "reinvent" the telecommunications sector and "leapfrog" past the current generation of hard-to-use smart phones, Jobs said.

"Every once in a while a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything," he said during his keynote address at the annual Macworld Conference and Expo. "It's very fortunate if you can work on just one of these in your career. ... Apple's been very fortunate in that it's introduced a few of these."

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/apple_macworld.html?.v=28

[citizen snips]

48. Oil Prices Fall Below $56 a Barrel

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices retreated modestly Tuesday, paring an earlier slide to 18-month lows on expectations of more mild weather and selling by large investment funds who had helped push prices to record levels last year.

Winter in the Northeast has been warmer than normal, which has curbed demand for heating fuels in the world's largest heating oil market. Market watchers expect to see larger U.S. petroleum inventories in this week's government report, as a result.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery dropped 40 cents to $55.69 a barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after dipping as low as $53.88 in earlier electronic trading. The front-month contract last fell that low in June 2005.

February Brent crude at London's ICE Futures exchange fell 35 cents to $55.25 a barrel.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/oil_prices.html?.v=20

[citizen snips]

50. Chips Snap: Ikanos Off, SanDisk Up

NEW YORK (AP) -- Chip stocks were a mixed bag in Tuesday's trading, pushing the Philadelphia Semiconductor Sector Index up 1 percent, or 4.88 points, to 472.62.

Graphics chip maker Nvidia Corp. slipped modestly after ThinkEquity analyst Eric Ross, who has a "Sell" rating on the stock, suggested the company may see an overall reduction in inventory.

"We have heard that Nvidia has slowed wafer starts at its foundry suppliers," Ross wrote in a note to investors. "This could just be a readjustment of inventories, but we have found that this is typically a reduction of overall product inventories."

Nvidia shares were down 44 cents at $33.48 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/sector_snap_semiconductors.html?.v=1

[54anickel]

51. Koreans bet on U.S. property

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0701090178jan09,0,2486637.story?coll=chi-business-hed

LOS ANGELES -- Choung Yang-suk just bought a condo in the city's Koreatown district, far from her home in South Korea, and plans to retire there in a few years to be near her two grown children.

Choung is among a growing number of Koreans scooping up real estate in the U.S. and elsewhere after the overseas investment cap in their country was lifted.

Koreans invested nearly $2 billion in U.S. residential property in 2006, up from $1.27 billion in 2005, when such investments were mostly limited to large Korean corporations, said Brian Shaffer of the International Real Estate Trade Organization.

Worldwide, Koreans could spend at least $4 billion on overseas homes in 2007 as a result of the changes made in May that allow individuals to make as much as $1 million in foreign investments, analysts said.

Many of the purchases are prompted by strength of the Korean won against foreign currencies and by economic and political stability offered in some other nations, analysts said.

Much of the money will likely be directed to U.S. cities with large Korean populations, including San Francisco, New York and Atlanta, to take advantage of lower home prices stemming from the weakening U.S. housing market.

more...

[citizen snips]

52. Sector Snap: Online Advertising

NEW YORK (AP) -- A report issued Tuesday predicts the online advertising market will more than quadruple over the next five years to reach $82 billion worldwide.

"Advances in targeting are driving increases in ad spending, as strong return on investments are made more evident by rising deployment of Web analytics," wrote Susquehanna analyst Marianne Wolk in a note to investors. She pointed to expected growth in geographic and demographic targeting practices in coming years.

"Marketers believe consumer satisfaction will increase if advertising helps them find the products they seek and is less intrusive," Wolk added.

Wolk called behavioral targeting, or showing ads based Web surfers' browsing history, "the next step in targeted advertising."

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/internet_sector_snap.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

53. Shares of AES Slide After Chavez Speech

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of global power producer AES Corp. lost ground Tuesday after Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he wants to nationalize the country's power industries.

AES owns 86 percent of Electricidad de Caracas, the Latin American country's largest privately owned electric utility.

Shares of Arlington, Va.-based AES retreated 91 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $20.11 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, having gone as low as $19.92 earlier in the session. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $16.10 to $23.85.

The Caracas Exchange suspended trading in EDC, after shares dropped more than 20 percent Monday following news of the Chavez plan. Venezuela's stock exchange itself lost 6 percent Tuesday.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/aes_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

54. Pepsi Reaches Deal With Nor-Cal Beverage

SOMERS, N.Y. (AP) -- Pepsi Bottling Group Inc. said Tuesday it will purchase California distribution and bottling rights to certain Cadbury Schweppes brands from Nor-Cal Beverage Co.
Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Under the deal, the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi beverages will tack on Dr. Pepper, Squirt and Hawaiian Punch to its beverage portfolio in Northern California. Nor-Cal is a major packer of chilled juices and hot-fill drinks with facilities in West Sacramento and Anaheim.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2007.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/pepsi_nor_cal_beverage_agreement.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

55. Kenneth Cole Shares Fall on Downgrade

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. fell Tuesday after an analyst downgraded the stock, saying a potential weakening of its handbag business could hurt the shoe and accessories maker.

In a client note on Tuesday, Cowen and Co. analyst Elizabeth Montgomery said a survey on handbag trends by Cowen and Co. showed that consumer "intent-to-purchase" rankings for Kenneth Cole's New York handbags remained constant, despite market-share gains and new product launches this year. Demand for Kenneth Cole's Reaction handbags declined.

Another factor for concern, Montgomery said, is Kenneth Cole's decision to reposition itself and bring its sportswear licenses in-house.

While the decision is good in the long term, Montgomery wrote, short term it poses a challenge.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/kenneth_cole_productions_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

56. Novell Shares Jump on Analyst Upgrade

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of software maker Novell Inc. got a boost in Tuesday's trading after an analyst said the company's fundamentals will improve.

J.M.P. Securities analyst Denny Fish Jr. upgraded the stock to "Market Outperform" from "Market Perform," and suggested current prices could make an attractive entry point on the stock.

"While the company had a difficult 2006, with its share price declining about 30 percent, we believe the time is now right to begin accumulating shares ahead of what we believe may be improving fundamentals," Fish Jr. wrote in a note to investors.

Shares of Novell, which have traded between $5.70 and $9.83 over the last year, were up 25 cents, or 4 percent, at $6.58 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq. The stock is down roughly 33 percent from the 52-week high set in February last year.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/novell_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

57. Business Events Scheduled for Wednesday

Major business events and economic events scheduled for Wednesday:

WASHINGTON -- Commerce Department reports on international trade for November, 8:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Senate Finance Committee hearing on raising the minimum wage.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Genentech Inc. releases fourth-quarter earnings.


http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/the_day_ahead.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

58. Goodyear: Contract to Save $610M

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. estimates it will save $610 million over three years because of a new three-year labor deal reached with the United Steelworkers. A breakdown of projected savings:

INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY: $300 million, including $60 million in overtime cuts and $90 million by paying new hires a lower starting wage and benefits package.

REDUCED CAPACITY: $75 million through cutting jobs, including closing unprofitable Tyler, Texas, plant that employs 1,100 people and reducing the number of tires made by about 21 million.

CUTTING RETIREE COSTS: $275 million by eliminating Goodyear's future obligation to health care for retired union workers by making a one-time $1 billion contribution to an independent Voluntary Employees' Beneficiary Association trust fund.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/goodyear_steelworkers_glance.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

59. Stocks cut losses; Apple rises

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks cut losses to trade little changed on Tuesday as energy shares improved as crude oil prices backed off their worst levels of the day and Apple Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - News) unveiled a hotly anticipated mobile phone, boosting optimism about the tech sector.

But with the quarterly reporting season at hand, a profit warning by Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S - News) sparked concern about the outlook for earnings gains. Dow component Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA - News) is scheduled to be the first Dow component to release results after the bell on Tuesday.

Apple unveiled a mobile phone with a touch-screen that combines features from its iPod music player, sending its shares higher and lending some support to the market.

The stock was the biggest positive influence on the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 index. Shares of Apple's U.S. cellular partner, AT&T's (NYSE:T - News) Cingular Wireless unit, also rose.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/070109/markets_stocks.html?.v=13

[citizen snips]

60. GM to Trim Sales to Rental Fleets

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. Vice Chairman and product czar Robert Lutz said Tuesday that the auto maker reduced its fleet sales to rental car firms by 100,000 vehicles last year and expects the same reduction in 2007 as the company looks to boost the resale value of its cars.

Lutz, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the North American International Auto Show, said GM's strategy of reducing less-profitable fleet sales and lowering incentives will further pressure its overall market share.

But he said the moves are necessary to reverse what he called "damaging" sales and marketing practices early in the decade. The idea is to remove "the last excuse" for consumers not buying an American car.

At last year's auto show, Detroit-based GM announced a new pricing and sales strategy to increase transaction prices and focus on retail sales. Lutz said GM was the only U.S. auto maker to reduce its incentives last year and the only one to see improved residual values.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/gm_rental_cars.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

61. Apparel Retailers Hope for Fresh Start

NEW YORK (AP) -- With a disappointing holiday season behind them, the nation's apparel merchants are regrouping and rethinking their strategies for 2007.

While stores blamed mild weather for depressing sales of winter wear, that wasn't the only factor in a discouraging performance for many retailers. Clearly, the merchandise wasn't appealing enough -- there were no must-have fashions -- and retailers are now looking for ways to turn around.

"This is a time for review for a lot of companies," said Dana Telsey, CEO of Telsey Advisory Group, an independent research firm.

Talbots Inc., for example, said it will be reducing inventory and cutting the number of new store openings this year. Gap Inc., which has long languished despite a series of fashion makeovers, has reportedly hired investment banking firm Goldman Sachs & Co. to review strategic options, including putting the company up for sale.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/apfn_market_spotlight_apparel.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

62. Leap Wireless Shares Fall on Sprint Plan

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Leap Wireless International Inc. sank Tuesday after Sprint Nextel Corp. said it will combat deteriorating cell phone subscriptions with a plan that may muscle into Leap's business.

Late Monday, Sprint Nextel said its cell phone business is losing customers. One of the Reston, Va.-based telecommunications company's remedies will be a trial launch of unlimited local service through the Boost Mobile brand for a monthly payment.

Investors in afternoon trading Tuesday examined what harm this could have on Leap Wireless. The San Diego-based company provides cell phone service to 2 million customers in 21 states. One of Leap Wireless' products is a cell phone plan allowing customers to make unlimited local calls for $35 per month.

Shares of Leap Wireless fell $3.46, or 5.7 percent, to $57.81 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have traded in a range of $34.54 and $62.36 in the past year.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/leap_wireless_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

63. Wall Street Tumbles on Oil Decline

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street fell in an erratic session Tuesday as investors, uneasy about approaching earnings reports, debated whether the drop in oil prices would eventually bring stocks down as well.

Investors had already lost some of their recent ebullience going into the earnings season, worried that 18 straight quarters of double-digit growth in Standard & Poor's 500 companies might be ending. The market was skittish after Sprint Nextel Inc. warned that its 2007 results will miss analyst projections, and after another half-dozen companies warned Monday that fourth-quarter results will come up short.

But investors also wrestled with the positive and negative effects of a continued slide in oil prices. Warm weather in the Northeast has weakened demand for energy, and drove a barrel of oil to below $54 a barrel.

Not only did this bring shares of major oil and gasoline companies to two-month lows, but caused institutional investors like hedge funds to unwind positions, analysts said. Some big investors might be taking cash off the table on concern demand for crude might not re-emerge in the near term.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/wall_street.html?.v=37

[citizen snips]

64. Guess Shares Move Higher on Upgrade

NEW YORK (AP) -- A WR Hambrecht + Co. analyst lifted her rating on clothing retailer Guess Inc. Tuesday, citing strong domestic performance and pointing to potential from a recently announced acquisition.

Guess on Monday said its European subsidiary acquired 75 percent of the equity interest of Focus Europe S.r.l., which manufactures the Guess by Marciano contemporary clothing line. The company also bought the leases and assets of four Guess by Marciano retail stores in Italy.

Shares added $1.57, or 2.3 percent, to $68.85 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, after earlier in the day hitting a new 52-week high of $69.64. The stock previously traveled in a 52-week range of $33.95 to $67.95.

Analyst Melissa Otto in a client note lifted her rating on Guess to "Buy" from "Hold" and set a $75 target price. She cited anticipated boosts from the acquisition of the clothing line, coupled with strong domestic retail sales.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/guess_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

65. Grain, Soybeans Move Lower

CHICAGO (AP) -- Grain and soybean futures declined Tuesday on the Chicago Board of Trade.
Wheat for March delivery fell 11 cents to $4.53 a bushel; March corn fell 9 cents to $3.54 1/2 a bushel; March oats fell 8 1/2 cents to $2.52 1/4 a bushel; March soybeans fell 12 3/4 cents to $6.64 1/2 a bushel.

Beef and pork futures finished lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

February live cattle fell .95 cent to 92.30 cents a pound; March feeder cattle fell .80 cent to 97.05 cents a pound; February lean hogs fell .55 cent to 59.75 cents a pound; February pork bellies fell .30 cent to 88.40 cents a pound.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/board_of_trade.html?.v=3

[citizen snips]

66. Nymex Volume Hit Record in 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- Nymex Holdings Inc., the parent of the New York Mercantile Exchange Inc., an exchange hosting trading of options and futures contracts, said Tuesday trading volume hit a record in 2006.

The exchange said investors traded 276.2 million contracts in 2006. That broke the previous record of 204.6 million contracts the year before.

Nymex, which is the biggest exchange for contracts tied to the value of oil and precious metals, said trading in crude oil contracts helped spur trading. Nymex facilitated trade of 71.1 million crude oil futures contracts in 2006, compared with 60 million in 2005.

Shares of Nymex Holdings Inc. rose $1.65 to $117.65 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/nymex_holdings_volume.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

67. Freddie Mac Increases Its Stock Offer

MCLEAN, Va. (AP) -- Mortgage financier Freddie Mac on Tuesday said it increased its preferred stock offer to $1.1 billion from $500 million.

Freddie Mac plans to offer the fixed-rate, non-cumulative perpetual preferred stock to investors at $25 per share.

Goldman Sachs Group and J.P. Morgan Securities will jointly underwrite the offer.

The federally chartered company also said it intends to redeem all 12 million shares of the 6.14 percent non-cumulative preferred stock it issued in June 1997. Freddie Mac said it will pay $50.36 per share, which includes the $50 redemption price plus 36 cents in dividends accrued through the redemption date on Feb. 12, 2007.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/freddie_mac_stock_offer.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

68. Dollar Rises Against Euro and Yen

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- The dollar rose against the euro and yen Tuesday, as speculation about an interest rate cut in the U.S. dissipated.

The euro dropped below $1.30 for the first time since late Nov. 24. In afternoon New York trading, the euro bought $1.2999, down from $1.3019, down from $1.30 late Monday in New York.

The decline came after Federal Reserve Bank Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said Monday that the U.S. economy was poised for moderate growth in 2007 along with lower inflation. But Kohn said there was no guarantee that core inflation would continue to ease, a comment analysts took to mean that the Fed was in no hurry to trim interest rates.

In Europe, the European Central Bank is unlikely to lift its key rate of 3.5 percent when it meets Thursday. Most analysts predict such a move in February or March.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/dollar.html?.v=2

[citizen snips]

70. H&R Block Sees 10-20 Pct Growth

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- H&R Block Inc. on Tuesday predicted annual profits will grow between 10 percent and 20 percent over the next three years as the company expands services to its traditional tax customers and improves margins in other business segments.

Meeting in New York with industry analysts, company executives also said the company is seeing heavy interest in the potential sale of its mortgage lending arm and should be better prepared for this year's tax season than they were last year, when technology problems and heavy competition chased an estimated 250,000 customers elsewhere.

"When the wave hits, the wave hits and we are on the verge of that wave hitting," said Mark Ernst, the company's chairman and chief executive, later adding: "We are in a good position to continue to grow the business."

For the key January-April tax season, H&R Block, the nation's largest tax preparer, is predicting a high single-digit increase in revenue and earnings over last year.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070109/h_r_block_tax_season.html?.v=1

[nolabels]

72. Shouldn't that be K & R

With all them posts you between you and 54anickle one would think there was inside information on some drastic stock movements. My guess is that some of market is taking back seat / wait and see approach to movement of * and the Congress. But really it's just kind of a guess :shrug:

[54anickel]

73. Nah, I haven't really posted more than my usual "quota" for a day at home.

Just haven't had many days at home lately. I tend to agree with you though, there was a lot of squaring up positions the last couple of weeks. Now it's just sit and wait on the sidelines for a bit. Except for oil and the buck - quite a bit of movement there. Oil - I got no idea. The buck - don't know other than Japan is coming off from a holiday.

[54anickel]

75. The close...cripes bonds were just flat lined all day.

Dow 12,416.60 6.89 (0.06%)
Nasdaq 2,443.83 5.63 (0.23%)
S&P 500 1,412.11 0.73 (0.05%)
10-yr Bond 4.66% 0.00
30-yr Bond 4.74% 0.00
NYSE Volume 2,947,604,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,213,160,000

4:20 pm : The major averages finished mixed Tuesday as investors weighed upbeat news from Apple and falling oil prices against renewed concerns that 13 straight quarters of double-digit profit growth for the S&P 500 may soon come to an end.

With earnings season officially kicking off tonight with the release of Alcoa's (AA 28.52 +0.04) Q4 report, and worries that profit forecasts may still be overly optimistic, the market exhibited a cautious tone from the opening bell to the close. In fact, the lack of conviction from both buyers and sellers was further underscored in today's market internals. Advancers on the NYSE held a slim 17-to-14 advantage over decliners while both advancing and declining issues on the Nasdaq remain evenly matched.

There was one advancer on the tech-heavy Composite, however, that garnered added attention today and was the biggest reason behind the Nasdaq's ability to hold onto a modest gain -- Apple Computer (AAPL 92.57 +7.10). The stock, which attracted buyers all morning amid growing enthusiasm surrounding new product introductions at the MacWorld Expo, soared 8.3% to close at a new all-time high. After introducing Apple TV and announcing a movie partnership with Paramount, Apple CEO Steve Jobs finally unveiled the long-awaited mobile phone -- the latest "everything portable, everything digital" initiative which further supports our Overweight rating on Technology.

Turning in an even better performance than Tech, though, was Consumer Discretionary. News Corp (NWS 22.82 +0.41), a recommended holding in the Briefing.com Active Portfolio, surged nearly 2.0% toward a new multi-year high. A slew of retailers becoming more attractive at the expense of oil's continued pullback provided additional sector support.

After breaking through a key area of support at $55/bbl in early trade, and being down as much as 3.3% at 18-month lows ($54.25/bbl), another down day for oil alleviating some of the commodity's potential to sustain inflation pressures provided some relief for consumers. Everything from fund liquidations amid continued reduction of speculative excess to growing skepticism about OPEC production cuts weighed on oil.

Unfortunately for the bulls, the subsequent loss of leadership from the profit engine that has been Energy for so many quarters served as a reminder that earnings estimates for the likes Integrated Oil and Refiners -- two of today's worst performing S&P indsutry groups -- will likely be revised lower.

Another one of last year's best performers succumbing to sector rotation amid earnings uncertainty was Telecom. Sprint Nextel (S 17.45 -2.19) tumbled 11% after guiding FY06 revenues below analyst forecasts, prompting multiple analyst downgrades. DJ30 -6.89 NASDAQ +5.63 NQ100 +0.5% SOX +0.7% SP500 -0.73 XOI -1.6% NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1562/1508/2.14 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1453/1777/1.70 bln

3:30 pm : The market is still trading with a tinge of caution going into the close as the blue-chip indices and Nasdaq continue to trade in opposing directions. Of the 17 Dow components weighing on the price-weighted index, United Technologies (UTX 62.27 -0.92) and Boeing (BA 88.02 -0.92) are among the biggest laggards with declines of more than 1.0%. A nearly 8% surge on Apple Computer (AAPL 92.10 +6.63), meanwhile, continues to be the biggest reason behind the Nasdaq'a ability to hold onto a modest gain. DJ30 -11.85 NASDAQ +5.65 SP500 -0.83 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1656/1414/1.79 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1640/1575/1.35 bln

3:00 pm : Range-bound trading persists for stocks as investors lack notable catalysts to push the major averages more convincingly in either direction. A session of choppy trading in crude oil futures has come to an end now that the NYMEX is closed for the day, lending some explanation as to why the indices are still vacillating around the flat line. Investors may also be showing some reserve ahead of Alcoa's (AA 28.77 +0.29) Q4 report after the bell, which will officially kick off an earnings season that is expected to mark the end of 13 straight quarters of double-digit profit growth for the S&P 500. DJ30 -16.58 NASDAQ +3.33 SP500 -1.37 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1720/1322/1.64 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1653/1547/1.25 bln

2:30 pm : Not much has changed since the last update as the major averages continue to vacillate in roughly the same ranges. The market's holding pattern has been further evidenced in the A/D line, as advancers and decliners on the NYSE remain evenly matched while declining issues on the Nasdaq hold a slim 16-to-13 advantage over advancing issues. A split ratio of up to down volumes on the Big Board and Composite further underscores the lack of conviction on either the bullish or bearish side of the aisle. DJ30 -19.03 NASDAQ +2.13 SP500 -1.80 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1630/1375/1.52 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1599/1583/1.15 bln