STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday 4 February (#1)

[ozymandius]

Wednesday February 4, 2004

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 355
REICH-WING RUBBERSTAMP-Congress = DAY...
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 3 YEARS, 54 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2 YEARS, 106 DAYS
WHERE ARE SADDAM'S WMD? - DAY 318
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 802
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 17
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 2
Other Arrests of Execs = 53

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




AT THE CLOSING BELL ON February 3, 2004

Dow... 10,505.18 +6.00 (+0.06%)
Nasdaq... 2,066.21 +3.06 (+0.15%)
S&P 500... 1,136.03 +0.77 (+0.07%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.10% -0.05 (-1.23%)
Gold future... 399.90 +0.60 (+0.15%)

DOW..........................NASDAQ.......................S&P

||


GOLD, EURO, YEN and Dollars


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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. This week seems appropriate for a WrapUp by Ike Iossif.

Given that the market has shown very little movement. In Mr. Iossif's terms - it looks like the market has met resistance.

"Summary for Trading Week Ending 01-30-2004"

Last week's action resulted in a rather mixed picture, which in my view calls for a "neutral" bias this week. First of all, NASDAQ did close below 2105, which was negative, but the SP didn't close below 1122, which was positive. The McClellan Oscillators got to oversold territory, which means a bounce should be imminent--a positive--but the rest of the indicators didn't come even close to the bottom of their ranges. This means there could be additional downside risk in the markets--a negative.

Based upon the current levels of most of our indicators, I estimate any additional downside risk to be approximately 2%-3% for NASDAQ and 2.2%-4.2% for the SP. All in all, we ought to be prepared for either a bullish or a bearish action next week and perhaps a dose of both!

<cut - past the charts>

There is one additional point that I would like to make for whatever is worth. Notice that despite last week's decline, the total assets in the Rydex Bear Index Funds didn't increase. In other words, speculators didn't believe that the decline would amount to anything and they were more interested in buying the dip than selling short. Usually, when a decline generates no fear and instead generates enthusiasm in anticipation of entering long positions, the enthusiasm is short-lived.

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

[ozymandius]

2. Nolte Notes - for tea leaves fans

The January Effect or Super Bowl?

I do it in the name of research – the beer and chips are needed to slake the thirst and hunger that comes from such difficult work. The winner of the Super Bowl is supposed to predict the market the remainder of the year, Carolina good, New England bad. A couple of other predictors have already weighed in, the first day, week and month of the year finished higher, foretelling another good year on Wall Street. So a betting man, with this information in advance of the big game, would certainly plunk down some serious money on Carolina – confirming what is already known about stocks the remainder of the year. Unfortunately, the favored Patriots were winners, reversing the January effect and forcing the market lower by yearend. Let’s just see which market indicator is stronger, the January effect or Super Bowl predictor. If the Fed were voting, they likely were supporting the Patriots, judging by their grammatical change on interest rates last week. Investors will have to wait another month or two to see when they will act on raising rates. The market took notice, falling on the week, and reversing a very positive opening of the week. While February is likely to finish lower, it may only be the first step in a corrective process that extends to spring before we get serious about taking cover.

Save for the first week of January, the market has essentially gone sideways, and up less than 2% for the month. While nothing to sneeze at, the market action of the past week is beginning to show a market ripe for a bit of a rest. We would be surprised if the market begins a freefall from here, as the market internals have been very strong and have hinted more at a "normal" correction than a prolonged decline. While we believe the market will struggle to make much more in gains over the next couple of months, it is too early to write off the current "bull in a bear" market. There is a bit of divergence between markets currently, as the OTC market has been correcting a bit longer and harder than the S&P500. The market has been overbought for months, and we are finally seeing some of the first indications of a break in the strength. Based on our indicators, we expect that February will not be a positive month, maybe unwinding much of what was gained during January, setting the market up for another rally attempt during March/April before we would expect something greater than a correction to occur. The comments from the Fed will be something to keep an eye on as economic reports in February unfold. First up will be the heavyweight unemployment report on Friday. Any surprise from this report will move the market quickly in either direction, either marking a near term end to the correction or extending into something a bit deeper.

more...

[Frodo]

3. Futures down a fair bit.

Something is going on (I was going to say "up") this morning. Foreign markets down significantly.

Oh... and good morning!

[ozymandius]

4. Good morning Frodo and everyone!

:donut: :donut: :donut: :donut: :donut: :donut:

Britain is raising interest rates over consumer debt concerns and high real estate prices. German labor market has taken a hit. Spain's unemployment numbers are shockingly high.

Here's a European stocks story posted at Yahoo:

Cyclicals Lead European Stocks Lower

LONDON (Reuters) - European blue-chips were lower at midsession Wednesday, weighed down for a second day by autos and chemical firms while investors worried over a lack of revenue growth in recent results, including at France Telecom.

Europe's fourth-quarter results have largely met or beaten expectations so far but a lack of convincing top-line improvement for some companies has held back stocks, after they powered to 17-month highs in the first few weeks of the year. "It's a market that has clearly been overbought in some sectors, and in the wake of good results here and in the U.S., people have been taking some profits," said Florian van Laar, fund manager at Eureffect asset management in Amsterdam.

more...

[ozymandius]

5. Mortgage Requests Fell Last Week

Mortgage Requests Fell Last Week

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. applications for home loans fell last week amid a slight rise in mortgage rates, but lending remained vibrant, according to an industry survey of mortgage bankers released on Wednesday.

<cut>

"It (mortgage application activity) has increased in the last several weeks because rates have come down in the last several weeks. But, it is not anywhere near last year's record level," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial on Tuesday before the data was reported.

<cut>

According to Freddie Mac, the No. 2 U.S. housing agency, rates for the most commonly used home loan, 30-year mortgages, have lingered below the psychologically important 6 percent since Dec. 12, 2003.

more...

[JNelson6563]

6. Mornin' all--

My but futures look dreadful! Could be a blood-letting. Has the reckoning begun already? I find it hard to believe they won't stave it off till after the election in Nov. Looks like the dollar isn't faring well either.

Lots of scandals a brewin' for the BFEE gang and the new budget is not being well received by anyone so we'll see how that plays in.

I predict a flight to quality today.

Julie

[54anickel]

7. Good Morning to all.

Seems to be quite a bit of speculation regarding the G7 guest, China in the news today. Perhaps they will steal the show? Will they widen the band, switch to a basket or do nothing until they finish getting their own house in order?

http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2004/02/04/rtr1241113.html

[Skip Intro]

8. wow, dropping like a rock

nasdaq down 25, dow down 42, in three minutes.

wtf?

[54anickel]

9. Europe's recovery robust,jobs not following-surveys

Sounds familiar.

http://www.forbes.com/home_europe/newswire/2004/02/04/rtr1241212.html

European economic recovery is firmly under way, but the millions out of work may have to wait before firms take on more staff, surveys of the key services sector suggested on Wednesday.

Business activity is steaming ahead in both the euro zone and Britain, but companies are hesitant about increasing capacity, the Reuters-sponsored polls showed.

A parallel U.S. survey due at 1500 GMT should flesh out the global picture before Bank of England and European Central Bank interest rate decisions on Thursday and a weekend meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrialised countries.

more...

[Frodo]

10. That's interesting. What does it say about changing fundamentals.

They've certainly followed very different polices than the Bush team has. Yet they are getting very similar results.

Maybe there really is a shift in how much of this process works (outside of fiscal policy)?

[54anickel]

11. Citibank Launches Credit Card for Chinese

http://www.in-forum.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D80GGHVO1

snip>
China began developing a credit card system with the 1986 debut of the Great Wall card. According to industry estimates, about 570 million bank cards have been issued, but almost all are debit cards that draw money directly from consumers' bank accounts.

Plans to develop a consumer credit market on the mainland face serious hurdles - chief among them the lack of a national bank clearing system and a paucity of credit records. Local banks are already being burned by delinquent home and auto loans.

But Prince said Citigroup did not view the fast expansion of China's credit market as a "bubble" similar to South Korea's woes with runaway personal credit card debt. Citibank's risk management policies should prevent similar problems here, he said.

At this stage, Citibank is providing technological and managerial advice on the card to Pudong Development Bank. In return, it gets its brand name into stores nationwide.

The Citibank-Shanghai Pudong Development Bank cards can be used anywhere inside and outside China that accepts Visa cards.

Citigroup holds a 4.6 percent share in Pudong Development Bank, China's ninth largest commercial bank, an arrangement intended as a platform for expansion here.

[54anickel]

12. 11:15 numbers - pardon my sloppy post, don't normally post the

numbers, but I'll give it a shot.

Dow 10,492.15 -13.03 (-0.12%)
Nasdaq 2,034.50 -31.71 (-1.53%)
S&P 500 1,130.77 -5.26 (-0.46%)
10-Yr Bond 4.147% +0.047
NYSE Volume 519,851,000
Nasdaq Volume 805,636,000

[54anickel]

13. A couple of articles relating to China

Fasten your seat belt for investing in China
http://www.jsonline.com/bym/invest/jan04/203915.asp
For all its maddening volatility, no one can deny that U.S. equities were the most profitable major asset class of the 20th century.

An investment in the average American stock in January 1900 would have appreciated 244-fold over the next 100 years, a period that included 18 bear markets, 21 recessions, one depression, two world wars and two stock market crashes.

Anyone seeking a reason to stop obsessing over the unpredictable daily gyrations on Wall Street need only look at those long-term results.

Over the course of the so-called American century, U.S. gross domestic product grew from $18 billion to $10 trillion. Yet, despite spectacular gains in productivity since the mid-1990s, the sheer size of the U.S. economic machine suggests that growth over the next 100 years will be less robust, even under a best-case scenario.

Of course, ground floor opportunities like that presented by the still-agrarian U.S. economy at the dawn of the industrial age don't come along often. But investors willing to take some short-term risks in exchange for potentially similar long-term rewards might find a comparable story unfolding half a world away, in the teeming cities and ancient farms of mainland China.

No guts, no glory

Investing in China requires nerves of steel and a long time frame.

more...


China launches crackdown on bank network
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1073281502444

Chinese authorities have launched their biggest crackdown for a decade on a network of underground banks, closing down funds that handled hundreds of millions of renminbi in an attempt to combat laundering and inflows of "hot money".


The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (Safe), a body that manages China's $403bn (€324m, £221.7m) in foreign exchange reserves, said yesterday that a police investigation into money laundering had led to the arrest of 79 suspects in the eastern provinces of Guangdong, Heilongjiang, Zhejiang and Fujian.

The crackdown, which also resulted in the recovery of Rmb18m ($2m, €1.75m, £1.2m) and frozen bank assets worth Rmb70m, was aimed at reasserting control over capital flows and eradicating irregular transactions that allow in "hot money".

Such speculative inflows, which may have totalled $50bn last year, have become one of the central bank's biggest headaches. The inflows not only boost money supply and stimulate excessive credit growth but add to foreign exchange reserves, providing ammunition for those who argue that China's renminbi should be revalued.

more...

[UpInArms]

14. daily dollar watch

http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=NYBOT_DXY0

Last trade 86.90 Change +0.11 (+0.13%)

related article

http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/02/04/rtr1241768.html

Expectations fade for G7 accord on dollar

LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Financial markets are becoming increasingly doubtful that the Group of Seven industrial powers can agree on how to tackle dollar weakness and the latest comments of policymakers give little indication any such accord is likely.

A Reuters poll of currency strategists showed few expect the group's finance ministers and central bankers to say anything that will stop the euro and yen appreciating after their meeting in Flordia this weekend.

The poll, conducted this week, showed 39 out of 46 strategists thought the dollar would weaken if the G7 stuck to the statement it issued after its summit in Dubai last September, when it urged flexibility in exchange rates.

<snip>

But the U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Tuesday that the dollar's exchange rates were "best set in open, competitive markets," fuelling speculation that he will not support any G7 communique that questions the speed of euro and yen appreciation.

<snip>

Currency strategists questioned in the Reuters poll expected the United States to find little common ground with its partners at the G7 talks.

"The dollar is consolidating but likely to resume its broader downtrend," said Daniel Katzive at UBS in Stamford, Connecticut.

...more...

Looks like more of the same - BoJ intervention making a choppy zigzag of readings.

Sorry I am so late to the party :D

Have a Great Day Marketeers!

[emc]

15. expected

What did you expect---Jan is over and its a known fact that Jan is almost always an up month---now the reality is sinking in---
I for one saw this coming several weeks ago---just didn't think it would be this soon-----No one who invests including the investment houses are taking this administration and its projections seriously---
Too many scandals, too many lies and big deficits----car sales are down, ---in my estimation, we are in for a correction---there might be one more bounce, but then its down hill for awhile until the news starts to look better and who knows when that will happen---Nothing is getting settled in Iraq and there has to be some settlement there and in Israel---

YOUR TAKE

[54anickel]

18. Dollar climbs, lifted by upbeat U.S. data

http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/02/04/rtr1241759.html

NEW YORK, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The dollar rose moderately against major currencies on Wednesday, following release of firmer-than-expected U.S. economic data that reinforced expectations of a stronger U.S. recovery this year.

A stronger economy implies attractiveness of U.S. assets like stocks, therefore enhancing the allure of holding dollars.

But the greenback's gains were tempered by a slight drop in the employment index component of the U.S. Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing survey. The employment index slipped to 53.4 in January from 54 in December.

snip>
Analysts say expectations of an interest rate increase should boost the dollar given that dollar is out of favor in currency markets in part because official U.S. rates are lower than rates elsewhere.

"Any positive number in the U.S. economy raises the expectations that we are going to see a Fed hike sooner rather than later, and that gives us the basis for dollar optimism," said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics in New York.

But the upbeat U.S. data was balanced by equally robust numbers out of the euro zone, limiting the dollar's gains. The Reuters Eurozone Business Activity Index rose to 57.3 from 56.6 in December, adding evidence that business activity in the region's services sector picked up speed, although it remained below a three-year high of 57.5 in November.

FOCUS STILL ON G7

The market's focus is still on the Group of Seven finance minister's meeting in Florida on Feb. 6-7.

more...

[JNelson6563]

16. 1:46 update, a bit grim

Dow 10,495.85 -9.33 (-0.09%)
Nasdaq 2,032.77 -33.44 (-1.62%)
S&P 500 1,130.45 -5.58 (-0.49%)
10-Yr Bond 4.134% +0.034

Butt-ugly day for Nasdaq. Ouch.

Julie

[54anickel]

17. Saving is so "old fashioned" completely out of vogue and a drag

on this "New World Order". Alas, I am a dinosaur. Thanks to rapier for this link.

http://www.prudentbear.com/internationalperspective.asp

snip>
The dirty little secret about the American economy today (that no central banker dare acknowledge publicly) is that there is no anti-inflation constituency left within the United States. There cannot be, given the preposterously high levels of debt, which makes the only socially acceptable policy response at this stage a deliberate policy of debt confiscating inflation. The ongoing weakness of the dollar over the past 2 years stems from the growing realisation that the United States cannot continue to be the source of global demand indefinitely, so long as its economic imbalances—from budget and trade deficits to record levels of private debt—remain firmly entrenched. Given the comparatively poor America social welfare safety net (in contrast to its Euroland counterparts), and its continued high levels of immigration, the political economy imperatives of the United States invariably push monetary and financial officials in the direction of growth, employment and higher inflation. There is no savings constituency to speak of any longer which might oppose this policy (at least in an electoral sense).

This position stands in marked contrast to the nations of the euro bloc, which helps to explain the ECB’s apparent obstinacy in refusing to cut rates further. In Euroland, there remains widespread opposition to liberalised immigration, despite adverse demographic trends in Western Europe and the increased social welfare burdens of an ageing population. Just last week, Sweden announced that it was going to take a tougher approach toward workers from the new European Union member states because it was worried about the impact on its generous welfare system. The announcement follows recent decisions in neighbouring Denmark and in the Netherlands to keep in place some restrictions on migrant workers from Poland and most of the other nine states joining the EU on May 1st of this year. There has also been widespread populist backlash throughout the continent against a perceived rising tide of illegal immigration and “bogus” asylum seekers.

The consequence of this reluctance to accept young newcomers into Western Europe is an ageing electorate, which has a natural predisposition to save. Consider the contrast: over the course of the 1990s, the US household saving rate fell from a peak of 8.7 per cent of disposable income to a low of 2.3 per cent in 2001, before rising very modestly to an estimate of 4.6 per cent last year. In the UK, it fell from 11.4 per cent to 4.3 per cent in 2000, before rising to 5.5 per cent last year. But French and German household savings rates hardly changed: they remained above 10 per cent in virtually every year. And savers are, in a general sense, deflation beneficiaries.

In contrast to the US, therefore, an ageing household sector with relative high savings rates in the core Euroland countries biases policy making toward greater anti-inflationary measures, which in turn has reinforced the ECB’s legislated mandate of price stability.

snip>
From a currency perspective, therefore, these divergent political imperatives imply that the dollar’s recent recovery against the euro is likely to prove ephemeral.


What about Asia? The informed consensus response to the Bank of Japan’s announcement of its unprecedented dollar support operations was as follows:


“The dollar didn't manage to strengthen this month against the yen despite the amount of dollars the Bank of Japan bought,” Harriett Richmond, who manages $50 billion as head of currency management at J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset Management in London, said in a televised interview with Bloomberg News. “It was an extremely large number and this is unsustainable.”

Ms Richmond seems to forget that in a fiat currency system, any such constraint faced by a central bank is ultimately illusory. The BoJ is the monopoly supplier of yen. As long as private agents are willing to accept yen credits to their bank accounts, there is little besides pure accounting formalities between MoF and the BoJ that prevents the BoJ from creating and selling all the yen it desires in foreign exchange markets. There is simply no limit to the BoJ's ability to create its own fiat currency and sell it. Therefore, to state BoJ sales of yen are "extremely large" and "unsustainable" is to ignore the very nature of virtually unlimited money creation available not only to the BoJ, but to any central bank running a fiat currency.

more..

[KoKo]

22. From reading this it's clear that the "social net" in European Countries

allows folks to save more and also the article points out that there is an incentive for the goverments to keep inflation low so as not to disrupt the savings of their elderly who have the most to lose with inflation.

Reading the article brought to mind how unstable and insecure we've all become since the 80's when Reagan started going after the unions and started privatization. For those who are old enough to remember, corporations and services were much more stable and one didn't always live with the uncertainty about jobs and health care and 401-k's and whether your phone plan was the best one or you could make more money by switching. The breaking up of monopolies allowed much growth but led to alot of merging and acquisition activities and much of the instability of what we see today. We are all run ragged with the uncertainties of banks merging, insurance companies changing or dropping coverage for basic health care needs and the worries of having enough to live on in our old age if the market crashes or Social Security is gutted.

I would like to have more security without having to constantly shop to keep the GDP of the US going.

[llmart]

28. 54aNickel

I read this thread every day but don't post often however, I just wanted to let you know that this 54-year old and her husband are habitual savers and if that makes us dinosaurs, then so be it. But you and I will be laughing "all the way to the bank" when the economy dives and we don't lose our shirts!

[54anickel]

30. Thank you llmart, and welcome to DU.

Avoiding the Casino may not be the "hip" thing to do, and I do not avoid it entirely (hard to with the 401K options available these days). I do try to stay in my comfort zone.

Welcome again :hi:

And here's to Dinosaurs :toast:

[llmart]

33. Thanks!

and I don't avoid the "casino" completely either because of our 401K, but I don't put all my eggs in one basket either, so the ole' passbook savings/CD/money market accounts aren't completely ignored.

[hatrack]

19. Posing the question as a wretched financial novice . . .

WTF with NASDAQ today? Any bad news in particular?

[54anickel]

20. Doesn't take much these days. Cisco and Ciena are being blamed

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/biz/content/business/ap_story.html/WallStreet/AP.V7835.AP-Wall-Street.html

snip>
The fact that the tech-heavy Nasdaq is drooping because of Cisco's less-than-stellar forecast underscores that ``a lot of good news is priced in, and any sort of disappointment can affect prices disproportionately,'' said Brian Pears, head equity trader at Victory Capital Management in Cleveland.

snip>
Cisco Systems Inc. dropped $1.61, or 6.1 percent, to $24.80, although its earnings beat Wall Street's expectations. Industry observers had watched the results for signs that businesses were investing more in tech, but the networking equipment company indicated any rebound in spending remains uncertain.

Another significant decliner on the Nasdaq was Ciena Corp., which plummeted $1.21, or 17 percent, to $6.08, after the telecommunications equipment maker warned investors that its first-quarter revenues were likely to fall short of forecasts. The company blamed the shortfall on the timing of a single order.

[UpInArms]

21. here's the briefing blather

2:30PM: In the midst of a spike in volume, the major averages have weakened in a noticeable fashion, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipping to new session lows and the Dow sliding toward its worst levels of the day... The pullback is being attributed to sell stops being taken out as S&P 500 futures selling by Smith Barney has put pressure on the market... Additional selling pressure has been incited by the Nasdaq's decline below its 50-day exponential moving averages at 2029... Currently, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are lower by -0.4%, -0.9%, and -2.2%, respectively...

[54anickel]

23. Now that's completely different than what the pundits put out.

:evilgrin:

[54anickel]

24. Couple of articles on Snows visit with Congress

http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/02/04/rtr1242138.html
WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Wednesday the low level of market-set interest rates show markets are confident the United States will reduce its large budget deficit.

"The fact that we have 40-year low interest rates is compelling evidence that the markets trust our ability to work through these deficits," Snow told the House of Representatives' Budget Committee.

a bit more...


http://www.forbes.com/markets/newswire/2004/02/04/rtr1242076.html
WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow on Wednesday repeated the Bush's administration view that the U.S. budget deficit was "manageable," as he again called on Congress to make the Bush tax cuts permanent.

In a second day of testimony on the president's fiscal 2005 budget proposal, which was released on Monday, Snow told the House of Representatives' Budget Committee failure to make the tax reductions permanent would harm the economy.

"The ability of American families and businesses to make financial decisions with confidence determine the future of our economy," he said in testimony prepared for delivery before the panel. "And without permanent relief, incentives upon which they can count, we risk losing the momentum of the recovery and growth that we have experienced in recent months."

[54anickel]

25. Treasury to Auction $56 Billion in Notes

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/7873178.htm
snip>
The department's consideration of selling new securities comes as the government's finances worsen. This year's budget deficit is expected to total a record $521 billion, even as the economic recovery is in full stride.

Treasury has ramped up borrowing to finance the daily operations of the government, including meeting interest payments on the national debt, which is closing in on $7 trillion.

Against this backdrop, the government is looking into whether there is a need for additional inflation-indexed securities, beyond the current inflation-indexed, 10-year note now sold.

snip>
With the economy expected to pick up momentum this year, the government may have a bit more time than previously thought before it bumps into the statutory debt limit now set at $7.4 trillion. "We indicated that was likely to last us somewhere between April `04 to October `04. At this point now, I could narrow that forecast to say between June `04 and October `04," Roseboro said. He said the government may have a better estimate in May after tax receipts have been analyzed.

[UpInArms]

26. Now THAT really pisses me off!

Treasury has ramped up borrowing to finance the daily operations of the government, including meeting interest payments on the national debt, which is closing in on $7 trillion.

We are borrowing the money to pay the interest on our debt - whilst the idiot-in-chief goes blithely about his plundering of the world.

:nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke::nuke:

[54anickel]

27. Wow, I finally got a razz out of a Marketeer.

:evilgrin:

[UpInArms]

29. final numbers

Dow 10,471.04 -34.14 (-0.32%)
Nasdaq 2,014.05 -52.16 (-2.52%)
S&P 500 1,126.42 -9.61 (-0.85%)
10-Yr Bond 4.124% +0.024



The estimated population of the United States is 293,209,368
so each citizen's share of this debt is $23,866.31.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $1.69 billion per day since September 30, 2003!

[54anickel]

31. Hey UIA, Let's go shopping!

:evilgrin:

[UpInArms]

32. sure thing -

do you think Skinner would loan us his credit card? :evilgrin: