STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday 8 February

[UpInArms]

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday 8 February

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 1076 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 1875 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1575 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1536
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 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 - $554.80/oz.

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON February 6, 2006

Dow... 10,749.76 -48.51 (-0.45%)
Nasdaq... 2,244.96 -13.84 (-0.61%)
S&P 500... 1,254.78 -10.24 (-0.81%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.567 +0.22 (+0.48%)
30-Yr Bond... 4.656
Gold future... 574.30 +2.70 (+0.5%)





GOLD, EURO, YEN, Dollars and Loonie


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 [email protected]

For information on protests and other actions

(UIA - just filling in for Ozy!)

[UpInArms]

1. Today's WrapUp by Ike Iossif

<snipping weekly charts>

Summary

Last week (1-27-06) we said, "We got the bounce and it carried throughout the entire week. Going forward the question is whether last week's action was the start of a new leg to the upside, or was it just a retracement of the previous week's decline? We suspect it was the latter, and here are reasons for thinking that way:

1) Our short-term probability models are indicating that the odds are nearly even between a decline with a magnitude of 4.5% (-/+1%) and an advance of the same magnitude (see charts below). 2) The trend indicators indicate that the intermediate trend is neutral. 3) Two of the short-term models are on a buy signal, but the suggested exposure to the long side is only 5%.

At the start of intermediate term rallies usually we observe the following:

a) The short-term probability models indicate that the odds favoring higher prices over the next 10-15 trading days are 2.5:1 -at minimum. b) The trend indicators turn positive. c) All of the short-term models go on a buy signal, and they indicate a minimum of 20% exposure to the long side.

In other words, we are not seeing--at least not yet--the things that we ought to be seeing if the market was starting an intermediate term rally. Consequently, our conclusion based upon the current facts is this: there is a chance that the SP may rally to the 1295-1300 zone over the next 5-10 trading days, but if the underlying dynamics do not improve, the rally will fail at that level, and it will be followed by a decline back down to the 1240-1220 area.

Commentary for the Current Week

Last week we presented you with two possible scenarios for the next 5-10 trading days. In comparing the actual price action to the one forecasted by our probability models, it certainly looks that scenario #1 is unfolding. However, we want to caution that it would take a daily close below 2240 by NASDAQ, and a daily close below 1258 by the SP500, for confirmation. Unless we get confirmation, scenario #2 is still alive. Therefore, I urge both bulls and bears to exercise restraint. This is one of those times that experience can go a long way! Speaking about experience, I highly recommend that you examine the current market views of Mr. Alan Newman and Mr. Sherman McClellan.

http://www.financialsense.com/Market/daily/tuesday.htm

[EuroObserver]

2. Nikkei225 -2.68%: profligate profit-taking plumbs precipitous plughole

Nikkei loses nearly 450 points on Wall Street fall, yen's rise
(Kyodo) Tokyo stocks fell almost across the board Wednesday, with the key Nikkei average losing nearly 450 points, discouraged by overnight losses in the U.S. markets and the U.S. dollar's fall to the 117 yen level.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 448.31 points, or 2.68 percent, to 16,272.68, marking the biggest point loss since Jan. 18, when the Nikkei plunged 464.77 points in the wake of prosecutors' raid on Livedoor Co. for alleged securities law violations.

The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 42.08 points, or 2.46 percent, to 1,671.39.
...

Brokers said the Tokyo market was also weighed down by Morgan Stanley's recent recommendation that investors cut holdings in Japanese equities. The firm said in an equity research report that the Japanese stock market, along with emerging markets, is no longer undervalued but rather close to fair value given current fundamentals.

Losses widened in the afternoon due partly to technical trading linked to the fixing of special quotations for settling index options contracts Friday, brokers said.

Declining issues swamped advancing ones 1,520 to 126, with 25 shares ending unchanged.

Trading volume on the TSE's main section came to 2,219.35 million shares against Tuesday's 2,350.78 million shares.

The TSE's Second Section index lost 53.58 points, or 0.99 percent, to 5,359.67 on a volume of 239.76 million shares. In Osaka, the near-term March Nikkei 225 index futures contract dropped 430 points to 16,300.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

5. Yen rally takes wind out of dollar's sails

NEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The yen surged across the board on Tuesday amid market jitters before the Bank of Japan's policy meeting this week and a report that a large Japanese investor may shy away from dollars.

Currency traders cited these factors as reasons to cover large short positions in the low-yielding yen, which arrested the dollar's recent rise and pulled the greenback off from recent one-month highs against the euro and Swiss franc and seven-week peaks against the yen.

The sharp moves in the yen were mirrored in similar unwinding of positions in other asset classes, particularly commodities. Gold tumbled as much as $20 on the day, posting its biggest one-day fall <GCJ6> in nominal terms for over 12 years, while oil <CLc1> fell about 2.6 percent to below $64 a barrel.

"People who were short yen are a little bit nervous ahead of the BOJ policy meeting," said Brian Rose, currency strategist at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in New York. "There's some speculation that (bank) Governor (Toshihiko) Fukui might signal that they're going to start cutting their liquidity target," Rose said.

As part of its fight against deflation, the BOJ floods the market with excess liquidity. The BOJ has said the possibility that it will end that policy could grow during fiscal 2006-07, which starts in April. However, the bank is expected to leave its policy unchanged on Thursday. A beginning of liquidity withdrawal would be seen as the first step toward the BOJ eventually raising interest rates from near zero, analysts say. But even a BOJ move in April, if it materializes, is still a few months away.

"Short-term positions have been squared up a bit ... but now is not the time for a sustained yen rally," said Robert Sinche, head of global currency strategy at Bank of America in New York, noting the broad and likely related bout of profit taking by speculators Tuesday in currencies, metals and oil.
...

Also adding fuel to the yen-buying fire was a Bloomberg News report that Nippon Life, Japan's largest life insurer, said it sold U.S. Treasury bonds when the dollar was worth around 120 yen, and that it may buy more euro-denominated paper to reduce its exposure to the dollar. This sparked rumors that Nippon Life may not turn up at this week's $48 billion U.S. quarterly refunding auctions, some dealers said.

"The story is interesting in that it suggests the investment outflow from Japan to the U.S. is not totally insensitive to spot levels," wrote JP Morgan currency analysts in a note on Tuesday. "Concern that Japanese capital expatriation may weaken above 120 (dollar/yen) could be one possible explanation for the sharp bout of profit-taking in dollar/yen today."

...more...

[EuroObserver]

6. Yen holds most gains vs dollar as BOJ board meets

TOKYO, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The yen eased against the dollar on Wednesday but held most of its overnight gains as the start of a two-day Bank of Japan policy board meeting kept traders speculating over the end of bank's super-easy monetary policy.

Although few expect the bank to end the policy at this meeting, traders said investors had been buying the yen on the possibility that BOJ Governor Toshihiko Fukui could make upbeat comments about the economy after the board meeting ends on Thursday.

For its part, the dollar could also come under downward pressure before data due on Friday that may show a widening in the U.S. trade deficit, some traders said.

"We were expecting the yen to gain towards the end of the week, given that Fukui will speak tomorrow and with the U.S. trade data coming up on Friday," said Hideaki Furumaya, forex manager at Trust and Custody Bank. "It looks like the market is getting a bit of a head-start on these events."
...

U.S. trade data due on Friday is expected to show that the trade deficit widened to $65 billion in December, from $64.21 billion in November.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

7. Taiwan market dips 1.43% in "re-adjustment period"

TAIPEI, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Taiwan stocks fell 1.43 percent on Wednesday, with techs following a weak lead set by Wall Street, with dealers warning strong earnings were failing to interest investors.

"We can see from market action that when companies announce good grades and optimistic future earnings, it doesn't necessarily help the firm's stock price," said Bartis International Securities Vice President Alex Huang.

The benchmark TAIEX stock index <.TWII> fell 95.97 points to 6,624.11. The electronics sub-index <.TELI> dipped 1.59 percent.
...

Analysts forecast a downdraft to hit Taiwan's stock market, after the TAIEX hit a 21-month high of 6,797.20 points in January, due to rising competition in the tech sector.

"The market is going through a re-adjustment preiod," Huang said. "We are still observing, but it will most likely see a fall for the the next months."

...more...

[EuroObserver]

3. Europe: hard rain's going to fall

FTSE 100 set to open lower
LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 is set to fall on Wednesday, with BP, Shell and mining companies such as Rio Tinto leading the way after crude and metals prices fell overnight.

Financial bookmakers forecast the FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> will open between 12 and 15 points lower, adding to Tuesday's 26-point drop to 5,746.8.

Shares trading stripped of the right to the latest dividend, will account for some 8 points of the FTSE fall as heavyweights such as Royal Dutch and drugs giant AstraZeneca (AZN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) go ex-dividend.

...more...

Weak opening expected for Europe
European equity markets were set for a weak opening on Wednesday following overnight declines in Asia and the US after a $2 decline in the price of crude oil.

Spread betting companies in London were calling for the FTSE 100, German Dax and French CAC 40 to open between 12 and 30 points lower.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

4. Markets open in full retreat

Oil stocks fall after crude oil trades near four-week lows: Royal Dutch Shell down 2% at 1875p; BP down 1.4% at 639p 08:50 GMT
Swiss SMI down -0.49% at 7798.85 Zurich 09:44:34 CET
FTSE 250 down 1% at 9,151.5 in London 08:37 GMT
Miners open sharply lower after metal prices fall: Antofagasta down 4.9% at 1982p; BHP Billiton down 4.3% at 969p; Rio Tinto down 3.9% at 2754p 08:11 GMT
Xetra Dax 30 down 1% to 5617.95 in Frankfurt 08:09 GMT
CAC 40 opens down 0.9% at 4,889.33 in Paris 08:02 GMT
FTSE 100 opens down 1% at 5,691.5 in London 08:02 GMT


European opening markets fall -1% as miners, oils dive
LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Share markets around Europe dropped by around 1 percent at Wednesday's opening, hurt by big falls in mining shares as metals prices retreated. Weaker U.S. and Asian markets also weighed on stock prices.

By 0805 GMT the FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> was down 59.7 points or 1 percent to 5,687.1, while the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> fell 0.8 percent to 1,307.1. Germany's Dax <.GDAXI> dropped 1 percent to 5,611.3, while in France the CAC 40 <.FCHI> shed the same amount to 4,855.1.

Heavily weighted miners Antofagasta (ANTO.L: Quote, Profile, Research), BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) all lost between 4 and 5 percent as precious metals prices dropped on fund selling. Copper fell in Europe as investors closed out positions to finance losses sustained in precious metals.

Early corporate news disappointed some expectations. "The results from companies are mostly on the disappointing side. The fall in commodity markets is also giving a bit of a scare to the markets," said one trader.

...more...

FTSE falls as miners and oils retreat
(FT) London equities moved sharply lower in early trade on Wednesday as shares were hit by weakness in the heavyweight commodities sectors.

The decline in the FTSE 100 was led by mining stocks in early trade after metal prices fell in overnight trade in Asia, with gold posting its biggest loss in more than two years. BHP Billiton shed 4.6 per cent to 966p, while Antofagasta fell 4.3 per cent to £19.94 and Xstrata was down 4.1 per cent to £15.36.

Oil stocks fared just as badly as the price of crude oil traded near four-week lows. Royal Dutch Shell B shares fell 2.3 per cent to £18.70 and BP shares which were lower on Tuesday after full-year results missed targets, slipped 1.8 per cent to 636½p in early morning trade.

The FTSE 100 traded down 63.2 points, 1.1 per cent at 5,683.6 while the mid-cap FTSE 250 dropped 101.2 points, or 1.1 per cent to 9,142.3.

...more...

Mining and oils drag Europe lower
Following overnight declines in Asia and the US, European equity markets staged a broadly based decline shortly after the opening on Wednesday amid widespread weakness in oil and mining stocks. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 11 points or 0.8 per cent to 1,206.98 while the Xetra Dax lost 55.3 points or 1 per cent at 5,618.79 while the French Cac 40 retreated 48.1 pints or 1 per cent to 4,887.21. In London, the FTSE fell 54.6 fell 54.6 points or 1 per cent to 5,692.3 as mining stocks retreated as metals prices started to correct following strong gains from the start of the year.

[EuroObserver]

21. Miners hit European shares; M&A helps pare losses

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Wednesday as mining majors such as Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell alongside weaker metals prices but takeover activity and bid talk helped stem the losses. "It is ironic because lower raw material prices and particularly lower oil costs is pretty good news for the global economy, but not very good news for the indices when so many of the companies are making such a big proportion of their profits from them," said Hilary Cook, director of investment strategy at Barclays Stockbrokers.

By 1140 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> was down 0.2 percent to 1,315.49, after opening down nearly 1 percent.

London's FTSE 100 index <.FTSE> fell nearly 1 percent in early trade but pared losses after Spain's Ferrovial said it may bid for BAA (BAA.L: Quote, Profile, Research). Dealers said the possible bid pushed sector valuations higher, with BAA jumping as much as 18 percent and Frankfurt's airport operator Fraport (FRAG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) rising 2 percent. "BAA is one of the FTSE stocks that you would have thought would be relatively bid immune, but clearly nobody is...M&A activity is bubbling along and that should underpin things," said Cook. But M&A talk was not enough to offset the losses sustained by heavily weighted miners Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Antofagasta (ANTO.L: Quote, Profile, Research), BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which all lost around 3 percent as precious metals prices dropped on fund selling.

Base metal prices also fell sharply after hitting new peaks on Tuesday.

Oil stocks were weaker after Tuesday's 3 percent fall in oil prices on anticipation of a rise in U.S. oil inventories later today. Oil prices <Clc1> were slightly firmer on Wednesday. Oil major Total (TOT.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) shed 1.7 percent, while BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) was in the red after it lost 2.7 percent in the previous session on weaker-than-expected fourth quarter earnings.

Across Europe bourses were weaker. Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> dropped 0.4 percent to 5,651.01, while in France the CAC 40 <.FCHI> shed 0.8 percent to 4897.39. A 2.7 percent overnight fall on the Nikkei also weighed on European markets. "The markets are weak after the fall in the Nikkei, and we're seeing a difficult day today." said a Paris-based trader.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

22. Markets recover some at midday

Swiss SMI up 0.18% at 7851.54 Zurich 13:35:14 CET
Xetra Dax 30 down 0.2% at 5,659.16 in Frankfurt 12:59 GMT
CAC 40 down 0.7% at 4,899.39 in Paris 12:59 GMT
FTSE 100 down 0.2% at 5,735.5 in mid-session trade in London 12:58 GMT

[EuroObserver]

88. Europe resisted

Europe loses ground as energy stocks fall
European equity markets were dragged lower on Wednesday amid widespread weakness in oil and mining stocks despite a fresh bout of bid and merger talk. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 2.24 points or 0.2 per cent to 1,315.77. London’s FTSE 100 closed 0.4 per cent weaker at 5,725.1; The CAC 40 in Paris was 0.8 per cent lower at 4,895.1 and the Xetra Dax 30 lost 0.1 per cent closing at 5,666.4. The European oil sector fell 2.2 per cent with OMV of Austria off 2.9 per cent to €55.58 and Total sliding 2.4 per cent to €215.90. Salzgitter fell 4.6 per cent to €54.49 following a profit warning from BlueScope Steel, Australia’s largest steelmaker. The fall in metals prices on Tuesday hit the copper producer, Norddeutsche Affinerie , down 5.5 per cent to €24.42.

...more...

London closes in the red as oil and mining stocks wipe gains
London equities closed with losses on Wednesday as oil and mining stocks fell, outweighing gains sustained by continued bid talk. The FTSE 100 fell 0.4 per cent to 5,725.1 and the mid-cap FTSE 250 stayed flat at 9,240.7. Easing crude prices and weaker commodities markets conspired to pressure oil and mining companies, the twin heavyweights of the Europe’s biggest stock market. BP and Shell led the losses, with a 1 per cent decline to 641p and a 2 per cent drop to 1875p respectively. RioTinto was 2.6 per cent lower at 2781p, Anglo American was 3.6 per cent weaker at 2013p and Vedanta closed 3.7 per cent behind at 979p. Old Mutual was rocked by comments from a Swedish state-owned pension fund that it did not have faith in the new owners of Skandia, the country’s leading insurer, sending the parent’s shares 4.6 per cent lower to 188p. Andra AP-Fonden pledged to sell its stake in Skandia. Lingering bid-talk, outweighed by the broad-based nature of the list of blue chip fallers, did provide some upside. Reports of a potential approach for BAA sent the airport operator’s shares 14.9 per cent higher to 781p. Lloyds TSB kept making headway on lingering expectations of an approach from Spain’s BBVA. The high street bank’s stock closed 1.7 per cent ahead at 538p.

[EuroObserver]

8. China, India joint oil purchase in Syria; may enter more deals together

SINGAPORE (India Times / Reuters): The flagship oil firms of China and India have closed their first-ever joint acquisition, the $580 million-takeover of an asset in Syria, which would likely pave the way for more joint deals between the two Asian giants.

...more...

[UpInArms]

9. Oil Trades Near Four-Week Low on Speculation U.S. Supplies Rose

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=a653fRR1ZVLQ&refer=europe

Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near a four-week low in New York on speculation a government report today will show U.S. oil inventories jumped last week.

Crude oil stockpiles, already 11 percent above average, probably gained 1 million barrels, or 0.3 percent from a week earlier, based on an analyst survey. Oil, heating oil and natural gas futures fell yesterday as some traders took the view winter heating demand has peaked.

``The eastern seaboard has been quite a bit warmer than usual and that's bearish for the whole energy sector,'' said Mike Sander, a commodities trader at Altavest Worldwide Trading Inc. in Mission Viejo, California.

Crude oil for March delivery fell as much as 33 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $62.76 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $62.91 at 10:40 a.m. in Singapore.

Most of the northern U.S. has been warmer than normal since mid-December, slashing demand for heating fuel. New York City's average temperature in January was the highest since 1990, making the month the third warmest since records started in 1869, the National Weather Service said last week.

...more...

[UpInArms]

27. Oil and gas prices lift Pioneer's profit 38%

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38756.3649562153-859806833&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) , a Dallas-based oil and gas producer, rode high oil and gas prices to a 38% increase in fourth-quarter profit. The company said Wednesday its net income was $141 million, or $1.08 a share, compared with net income of $102 million, or 69 cents a share, reported a year ago. From continuing operations alone, income would have been $140 million, or $1.07 a diluted share, compared with $98 million, or 66 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Analysts polled by Thomson First Call expected Pioneer to earn 97 cents a share, on average.

[UpInArms]

47. March Crude @ $62.83 bbl - March NatGas @ $7.885 mln btus

10:03am 02/08/06 MARCH CRUDE FALLS 26C TO A 5-WK LOW OF $62.83/BRL IN NY

10:03am 02/08/06 MARCH NATURAL GAS UP 2.7C AT $7.885/MLN BTUS

[UpInArms]

52. Surprise! DOE Petroleum Inventories - Crude Stocks DOWN

10:31am 02/08/06 U.S. CRUDE STKS DOWN 300,000 BRLS LAST WK: ENERGY DEPT

10:31am 02/08/06 U.S. DISTILLATE STKS DOWN 300,000 MLN BRLS: ENERGY DEPT

10:31am 02/08/06 U.S. GASOLINE STKS UP 4.3 MLN BRLS: ENERGY DEPT

[UpInArms]

53. March Crude @ $62.60 - March Gasoline @ $1.565 gal

10:33am 02/08/06 MARCH CRUDE NEARS THE DAY'S LOWS AS MARCH GASOLINE FALLS 2%

10:33am 02/08/06 MARCH CRUDE DOWN 49C AT $62.60/BRL

10:33am 02/08/06 MARCH GASOLINE DOWN 2.9C AT $1.565/GAL

[UpInArms]

77. March Crude @ $63.20 bbl - March NatGas @ $7.93 mln btus

12:08pm 02/08/06 MARCH CRUDE UP 11C AT $63.20/BRL AFTER $62.25 LOW

12:08pm 02/08/06 MARCH NATURAL GAS UP 7.2C, OR 0.9%, AT $7.93/MLN BTUS

12:08pm 02/08/06 MARCH UNLEADED GAS FALLS 1.1% TO $1.58/GAL AFTER 2-MO LOW

[UpInArms]

93. March Crude closes @ $62.55 bbl - March NatGas @ $7.71 mln btus

2:56pm 02/08/06 MARCH CRUDE FALLS 54C TO END AT OVER 5-WK LOW OF $62.55/BRL

2:56pm 02/08/06 MARCH NATURAL GAS LOSES 14.8C TO END AT $7.71/MLN BTUS

2:56pm 02/08/06 MARCH UNLEADED FALLS 2.7%, ENDS AT 2-MO LOW OF $1.551/GAL

[EuroObserver]

10. Toshiba firm on selling just under half of Westinghouse

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese electronics maker Toshiba says it is committed to selling just under half its stake in Westinghouse after its gigantic purchase of the US power plant maker. Toshiba has been warned by ratings agencies that it faces a potential downgrade as it foots a 5.4 billion-dollar bill to buy Westinghouse from British Nuclear Fuels in the biggest Japanese overseas acquisition in years.

Toshiba Corp President and Chief Executive Atsutoshi Nishida, meeting reporters in Tokyo on his return from the deal-signing in Britain, said the company sought only a majority stake. "The stake we will have in Westinghouse will be just about 51 percent. Even if it goes beyond that, we would not have a share like 70 percent or 80 percent," Nishida said.

He declined to specify who would buy the 49 percent share, but a Toshiba statement said it was looking at "US companies, a trading company and others." Britain's Financial Times has reported that the contenders include Japanese trading house Marubeni, conglomerate Mitsui and US engineering group Shaw.
...

President George W. Bush's administration wants to relaunch construction of nuclear reactors in the United States as the cost of crude oil is soaring near record highs due to both geopolitical and supply concerns.

...more...

[EuroObserver]

11. Gold off 3-week low as buying emerges, Tokyo tumbles

SINGAPORE, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Gold fell to a three-week low on Wednesday before staging a rebound as lower prices ignited new buying interest from jewellers and investors in parts of Asia and the Middle East. Other precious metals weakened, with platinum falling to its lowest in nearly two weeks.

Spot gold <XAU=> fell to as low as $546.90 an ounce before rebounding to $550.00/550.75 an ounce by 0550 GMT, steady from $549.80/550.70 late in New York on Tuesday, when the metal dropped more than $20 an ounce -- its biggest one-day decline in dollar terms in nearly 13 years.

Gold, used in jewellery and as an investment, rose to its highest price in 25 years at $574.60 last week due to tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions, worries about the outlook for the dollar and rising energy costs.

"We are still in an upward trend. The fundamentals are still in place, but I think we are having a bit of a shake-out," said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at N M Rothschild in Sydney. "I think the scope is great to move down to the lows of the $525 area before building again for another move up," said Heathcote, who pegged immediate resistance at $553.50.

Gold's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) stood at 35.42 on Tuesday, down from 72.54 on Feb. 2. The market views an RSI of 30 or less as oversold and 70 or more as overbought.

Dealers and analysts said that despite the heavy losses on Tuesday, gold still has the potential to rally again after a pause. Some expect the metal to eventually hit $600 in coming months -- a level last seen in December 1980.

...more...

[UpInArms]

44. April Gold @ $553.80 oz

9:42am 02/08/06 APRIL GOLD FALLS $1 TO $553.80/OZ AFTER 3-WK LOW OF $548.50

[54anickel]

45. Commodities bull market has long way to go

http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/sub/news/story/0,4574,185344,00.html?

snip>

Demand for commodities - oil, metals, agricultural products and others - is now running well ahead of supply, suggesting that the 'bull market' has a long way to run, said international commodities guru James Rogers.

China is 'all over' Africa, Latin America and other regions searching for energy as well as hard and soft commodities, he noted during a three-day investment symposium held here by Hong Kong-based investment bank CLSA. 'The best way to invest in China is to invest in commodities; in other words, to buy the things that the Chinese have to buy,' he suggested.

snip>

Previous commodity price booms have tended to last anything between 16 and 23 years, noted Mr Rogers, mainly because it takes that long to bring new production capacity on stream once shortages arise and prices turn up, he said.

snip>

The global boom in commodities is not limited to metals. Agricultural commodities such as sugar, coffee, soy beans, orange juice and many others are also booming.

snip>

In contrast to commodities, global bonds could continue to go down for more than a decade while stocks are likely to be profitable only to those who know how to trade in and out, said Mr Rogers.

Among currencies, he is bearish on the US dollar.

more...

[54anickel]

59. Inelastic Gold Supply (Willie)

http://www.321gold.com/editorials/willie/willie020706.html

snip>

SUPPLY & DEMAND
Most people are familiar with the basics of the supply & demand curve. Well, except perhaps economists, who re-invent their craft as they go along, fully sacrificing time-tested principles as they "sell out" and defense their interests. Their self-serving analyses disseminated to the public are routine landscape shrubbery. We are often subjected to questionable economist arguments. One particular story comes to mind, pertaining to the copper market. Supposedly, enormous off-warehouse copper supply (unaccounted for) will drive down the copper price. This has been a Frank Veneroso claim, with details offered on inventory quantities at a few key exchanges. However, where is the factor whereby off-warehouse demand is satisfied off the mainstream copper market? Nowhere. Ever since copper surpassed the $1.00 level, the former advisor to Western central bankers has gone from the argument of inevitable Chinese demand collapse to a new equally shaky argument of excess untracked non-exchange copper inventory. So tons and tons of copper are sequestered quietly, surreptitiously, and managed in such a manner that no customer purchases from these available supplies, even if convenient and nearby, even if official exchange costs can be sidestepped? Nonsense. Whenever a convenient spin is needed on an economic subject, it is alarming how often either supply or demand is ignored, as an oversight (unintended or blatant), or a distortion (accidental or planned) within an argument. Almost a year ago, a colleaugue Greg McCoach in the gold community made a claim as a conference panel member that copper would easily exceed the $2.00 price level. His view was widely dismissed, despite his valid relentless demand side reasoning contrasted against slow arrival of supply due to standard production timelines. Greg was right.

The standard supply & demand theory maintains two notions. As supply increases, the price at which it can be sold declines. As demand rises, the price which it can fetch rises. An equilibrium is reached when demand (D) meets supply (S), so as to clear inventory. Or from the other side, equilibrium is reached when supply meets demand, so as to avoid shortage. The vertical scale is price, the horizontal is quantity in the charts. Where the two curves meet is the equilibrium price dictated by the marketplace.

When shortages exist, as has been the case in both the gold market and the crude oil market, the price mechanism has adjusted to find a higher price to remove that shortage. With crude oil, growing Asian demand led to a gradual ratcheting upward in price. No shortages have been reported or experienced, except for the brief episodes in the wake of the hurricanes in late 2005. The price mechanism works. The phenomenon at work nowadays, a strain to be sure, is that the entire supply (S) curve is moving UPWARD TO THE LEFT, since energy deposits are more depleted with each passing year. With each passing year, less supply is delivered to market at a given fixed price. At the same time, the demand (D) curve is moving DOWNWARD TO THE RIGHT, since developing economies are growing. With each passing year, more demand arrives at the market at a given fixed price.

In the primary mainstream markets, a paradoxical situation seems very evident to mark an extraordinary phenomenon. Gold does not operate under the same rules. My claim is that its demand is inelastic, wherein demand grows as price increases. This is called "gold fever." Also, its supply is inelastic, wherein supply fails to respond properly as price increases. This is the paradox discussed as the article theme.

HEDGE BOOKS & INELASTICITY
Barrick Gold hedge book losses have begun now to be quantified. Don't expect setbacks are over for either this firm or other hedge device abusers. Barrick was once accused of being a financial firm masquerading as a gold miner, for the unexpressed purpose of selling forward gold contracts far in excess of actual production. Its entire existence is an anomaly, most likely from its inception being a corporate illicit hedge apparatus, a gold cartel tool. Their senior management hailed from financial firms, not mining firms, and surely not of geologist background. Their central unstated non-chartered modus operandi was founded in neglect of their mine operations, sure to exacerbate their future (like now) gold output. Their reported 13 million gold ounce short position vastly eclipses any future production schedule, an outpouring of acid on their balance sheet of as much as $560 million lost in a single recent quarter. To put that quantity into perspective, 13 million oz short position exceeds all gold exchange traded fund (ETF) holdings. In the past six quarters, try imaging the harsh reality of a $1000 million loss for Barrick.

Anyone who cannot conclude that their acquisition of Placer Dome was motivated by a desire to blend acid with some valid production and cash (alkaloid) is naïve at best or blind at worst. Their combined short position is 21 million oz gold. To date, a $3 billion loss on the Barrick books is staggering, but that amount is likely less than half of the sum necessary to close out their "ingenious" hedge book. Again, perspective is needed. Such a cumulative loss over the years offsets the entire profit generated by Barrick from its ill-designed inception. One can serve up Barrick in an MBA business school program as the quintessential hedge disaster in all of history. My view is that at least one mining firm, and very probably Barrick, will blow up in the next derivative disaster with full publicity and notoriety. My conjecture is that Fanny Mae already blew up, but its publicity has been smothered in secrecy under the aegis of the US Federal Reserve. My other evil conjecture is that the USFed is illicitly transforming Fanny Mae mortgage backed bonds into US Treasury Bonds. Does anyone watch? Does anyone care? Is the law even apply? Are laws relevant to the game anyway?

more...

[UpInArms]

89. April Gold closes @ $553.80 oz

1:52pm 02/08/06 APRIL GOLD CLOSES AT 3-WK LOW OF $553.80/OZ, DOWN $1

[UpInArms]

12. Consumer borrowing with credit cards slows

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/258677_borrowing08.html

Consumer borrowing rose nationally last year at the slowest pace since 1992 as Americans relied less on credit cards and more on loans against the value of their homes.

Consumer credit, or non-mortgage loans to individuals, increased by 3 percent in 2005 to $2.16 trillion, the smallest percentage gain since a 1 percent rise 13 years ago, the Federal Reserve said in a report Tuesday.

Borrowing in December rose for a second month, by $3.35 billion, after climbing a revised $568 million in November.

Consumer borrowing with credit cards slowed over the past five years as Americans tapped lower-cost home-equity loans. The share of cash-out refinancing in the fourth quarter for loans owned by Freddie Mac rose to the highest level in five years, suggesting homeowners are still using property to finance spending.

...more...

[UpInArms]

13. US home loan applications fall as purchasing drops

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T120129Z_01_N08384189_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-MORTGAGES-UPDATE-1.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. mortgage applications fell for a second consecutive week, led by a decline in home purchase loans, as interest rates hit their highest levels since early December, an industry trade group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity for the week ended Feb. 3 decreased 1.2 percent to 619.3 from the previous week's 626.8.

The MBA's seasonally adjusted purchase mortgage index fell 2.4 percent to 425.1 from the previous week's 435.7. The index is considered a timely gauge on U.S. home sales.

Borrowing costs on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, excluding fees, averaged 6.25 percent, up 0.05 percentage point from the previous week's 6.20 percent, marking their second consecutive weekly increase. Rates were at their highest levels since the week ended Dec. 9, when they reached 6.28 percent.

<snip>

Analysts say an increasing number of borrowers have been converting their ARMs into new fixed-rate loans as the difference between adjustable and fixed mortgage interest rates narrow. This has been a factor behind the recent rise in demand for refinancing.

...more...

[UpInArms]

50. Freddie economist eyes drop in 2006 US home sales

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T151932Z_01_WAT004813_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-HOUSING-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. home sales should fall 3.4 percent in 2006 but new construction will drop more, down about 7.3 percent from last year's high, as rising mortgage rates cool the housing market, Freddie Mac's top economist said on Wednesday.

Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) Chief Economist Frank Nothaft told Reuters he expects home sales to total 7.19 million units in 2006, down from the record 7.44 million units sold in 2005. That would be near the 2004 sales level of 7.17 million units.

Total home sales includes new and existing homes, but not condominiums, Nothaft said.

He said housing starts should decline to 1.91 million units this year, down from 2.06 million units in 2005 and 1.95 million in 2004.

...more...

[AnneD]

72. Morning Marketeers,

:donut: I was watching the morning news and they did a cut away to Alexis Christophorus. She started out by saying that the housing market boom was experiencing a soft landing. She then went on to report that one company was reporting a drop of 29% in new homes built. I did a double take....29% loss of business a soft landing? :eyes:
Katrina has proved to be the gift that keeps on giving. BP will finally have their refinery on line next month. One of their biggest rigs is still out and will be out for a few more months. In Houston, the city ambulances report a 10% increase in calls due to increase in our population (evacuees). The sad part, 30% of the calls are cardiac emergencies from the evacuees. The fire chief said it was a direct result of the stress they are under.
I enjoyed watching the CSK funeral. It also gave me great pleasure to see dimson squirm. Here in Houston and at my school, we have to deal with the results of his incompetence on a daily basis. All I want anymore is justice. I hope to see it on this side, but I know it will happen on the other side.
Happy Hunting and watch out for the bears.

[UpInArms]

90. US mortgage, consumer loan demand down-Fed survey

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T190749Z_01_WAT004819_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-FED-LOANS-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Demand for mortgages and consumer loans weakened at U.S. banks in recent months, while competition forced banks to ease terms for commercial real estate loans, a Federal Reserve survey released on Wednesday found.

"On net, 44 percent of domestic banks reported weaker demand for mortgages to purchase homes, a notably larger fraction than in the October survey," the Fed said in its quarterly survey of senior loan officers.

Banks reported an easing of lending standards and terms for commercial and industrial loans and no change in lending standards -- in fact some tightening of standards -- for commercial real estate loans over the past three months.

At the same time, banks told the Fed that they had eased some terms for commercial real estate loans in the face of aggressive competition from bank and non-bank lenders.

[UpInArms]

14. Today's Report:

http://biz.yahoo.com/c/e.html

Feb 8	10:30 AM	Crude Inventories	02/03	-	NA	NA	NA	-

[UpInArms]

55. DOE Petroleum Inventories Report: Crude Stocks Unexpectedly Fall

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38756.4423574537-859822331&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Energy Department said motor gasoline inventories rose 4.3 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 3 to total 223.3 million. That's 1.7% above the year-ago level. Crude stocks fell unexpectedly by 300,000 barrels, with total stocks at 320.7 million barrels, but that's 10.7% above the year-ago level. Distillate supplies also fell 300,000 barrels to 136 million. March crude lost 34 cents to $67.75 a barrel in New York. March unleaded gas shed 2.65 cents to $1.5675 a gallon. March heating oil lost 0.48 cent to $1.687 a gallon.

[UpInArms]

60. Crude supplies down 2.7 million barrels last week: API

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38756.4503792593-859823879&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&property=symb&value=&categories=&

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The American Petroleum Institute said crude inventories fell 2.7 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 3. The Energy Department had reported a decline of 300,000 barrels. Motor gasoline inventories were up 2.8 million barrels, the API said -- below the government's reported 4.3 million-barrel increase. Distillate stocks fell by 1.2 million barrels, the API said.

[UpInArms]

15. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 90.24 Change -0.01 (-0.01%)

Lack of Data Keeps Dollar Weakness Limited

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_fundamentals/6607_lack_of_data_keeps_dollar_weakness.html

US Dollar
Today has been a rather quiet day in the market, which gave some of the major currencies a chance to recover against the US dollar. The recovery in the Euro was rather shallow while the Japanese Yen was able to rack up some nice gains. The Canadian dollar however continued to lose strength, as it slid against the greenback for the fifth consecutive day. Despite the cooler weather here in the Northeast and still existing geopolitical tensions with Iran, oil prices are softer, trading back below the $65 a barrel mark. Losses in the dollar however remain rather limited as the market continues to maintain a bullish bias. Like today, there is nothing of consequence in tomorrow’s US economic calendar that could shift the market’s direction. In fact, with the market so focused on the possibility of 5.00 percent rates, it seems that even a strong trade balance number due out on Friday could not stifle the resolve of dollar bulls. Yet as we watch the dollar rally, we wonder how much longer it can last. It is irrefutable that the Federal Reserve will stop raising interest rates sometime this year and at that time, dollar bulls could run out of arguments to back their rally. We will probably have to look ahead to next week’s testimony to Congress by the new Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (on February 15) for clearer direction. This will be one of the first times that we will get chance to hear about where the new Fed Chairman stands on monetary policy. If you recall, it wasn’t too long ago that he said that there will no major changes in policy. Yet popularly known as an inflation dove, Bernanke could very well move closer to a neutral policy faster than we would think, but until February 15, this is nothing more than a guessing game. The risks that the US economy faces still exist, but there are many who also believe that growth could pick up over the next few months. ...more...

[UpInArms]

16. Tyco gets subpoena from N.J. attorney general

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BF0E4816B%2D783C%2D4653%2D8BD0%2DA01C193211D0%7D&symbol=

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Tyco International Ltd. (TYC) disclosed Tuesday that it received a subpoena from the New Jersey Attorney General's criminal justice division.

The manufacturing and service company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the subpoena requests that it produce documents on former employees, the use of chemicals, and reports filed under a New Jersey state environmental law at a New Jersey facility sold by Tyco in 2000.

The subpoena seeks information from January 1987 to December 2000, the company said.

According to Tyco International, it is gathering the information requested in the subpoena and will cooperate with investigators.

...more...

[UpInArms]

99. I wonder if that subpoena had anything to do with: Abramoff/Safavian?

U.S. Says Abramoff Tipped Tyco to GSA Move

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff gave his client Tyco International an early warning in 2003 that the government was about to suspend Tyco's federal contracts -- inside information he received from a General Services Administration official now under indictment, federal prosecutors alleged yesterday.

David H. Safavian, who has been charged with obstructing the Abramoff corruption investigation, alerted Abramoff in November 2003 that the GSA was about to suspend the contracts of four Tyco subsidiaries, prosecutors said in court papers. Safavian provided "sensitive and confidential information" about internal GSA deliberations, as well as advice about how to get around the suspension, the prosecutors said.

<snip>

Abramoff in May 2003 solicited Tyco as a client on a tax issue, according to documents filed with his plea agreement earlier this month. Prosecutors said Abramoff recommended that the company hire both him and a consulting firm, GrassRoots Interactive, but hid from Tyco that GrassRoots Interactive was his business. In May and June 2003, Tyco paid GrassRoots Interactive about $1.8 million, of which about $1.7 million went to Abramoff and entities he controlled, prosecutors said. Abramoff's firm, Greenberg Traurig, has reimbursed Tyco.

Safavian, former GSA chief of staff, is to stand trial in April on charges of making false statements to investigators about a 2002 golf trip to Scotland with Abramoff.

Yesterday's filing said the government intends to use the Tyco information to show that Safavian had a motive to lie to government ethics officials about the nature of his relationship with Abramoff.

...more...

[UpInArms]

17. (Squal-Mart) Retail group seeks injunction vs unfriendly law (Fair Wages)

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T021136Z_01_N07304499_RTRIDST_0_RETAIL-LAWSUIT-UPDATE-1.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A retail trade group sued Maryland state and a New York county on Tuesday, saying laws that force companies such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to spend more on employee health care single out specific companies and threaten the entire retail industry.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) filed suits in U.S. District Courts in Baltimore, Maryland and Brooklyn, New York, seeking injunctions against laws passed in Maryland and New York's Suffolk County in the last few months which it regarded as unconstitutional.

New York City has passed a similar law and other states and cities, including San Francisco, are exploring related legislation.

One RILA lawsuit, against James Fielder, Maryland's secretary of labor, licensing and regulation, challenges the state law requiring companies with more than 10,000 employees to spend at least 8 percent of their payroll on health benefits, or pay the balance into a state low-income health insurance fund.

The other, filed against Suffolk County, New York, the Suffolk County Department of Labor and its commissioner, Robert Dow, challenges a county law requiring large, non-unionized food retailers to make annual health care payments of no less than $3 per hour worked by all employees.

...more...

[UpInArms]

49. Washington State subsidy to Wal-Mart employees put at $12 million

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002791346_walmart07m.html

OLYMPIA — It cost the state an estimated $12 million in 2004 to provide government-subsidized health care to Wal-Mart employees, according to a state Senate analysis released Tuesday.

The total was nearly double that amount if costs to federal taxpayers are included.

The new figures provide fresh ammunition for a labor-dominated coalition that is pushing for legislation that would force some big employers to spend more on health-care benefits and stop shifting those costs to the state.

"The numbers tell us why it's imperative that we act now," said Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, chairwoman of the Senate Labor, Commerce and Research and Development Committee.

<snip>

The new analysis, prepared by Senate committee staff, is based on data from two confidential state reports that listed the top 20 companies that had the most employees receiving state-subsidized health coverage through Medicaid or the state's Basic Health Plan (BHP).

Wal-Mart came out on top of both lists, with 3,180 employees receiving Medicaid benefits for themselves or a family member and 456 more on the BHP. The company employs about 16,000 people in Washington.

<snip>

"We're talking about an $11 million subsidy to the most profitable corporation in the country," said House Labor and Commerce Committee Chairman Steve Conway, D-Tacoma.

...more...

[UpInArms]

18. Overall spending has skyrocketed under Bush, GOP

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002789149_budgetdeficit07.html

WASHINGTON — President Bush renewed his call for spending restraint when he sent his proposed fiscal 2007 budget to Congress on Monday, but one thing is clear: The era of big government is far from over.

Over the past five years, Bush and the Republican-led Congress have been far better at expanding government than shrinking it. Spending for national security and government entitlement programs has skyrocketed, without offsetting cuts in other programs.

"At the beginning of the year, there's a lot of talk about spending restraint and reducing the deficit. At the end of the year, that's all kind of forgotten," said Steven Kosiak, the director of budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington think tank that specializes in defense issues.

The government produces a budget deficit when its total spending exceeds its total revenues. Budget deficits cause the government to borrow more money by selling Treasury securities to domestic and foreign investors. As the government seeks to borrow ever more to finance those deficits, rates on Treasury securities rise to entice investors. That pushes up other interest rates, such as home mortgages, many auto loans, some home equity lines of credit and some credit cards.

In a worst-case scenario, foreigners who finance the U.S. budget and trade deficits would sour on U.S. investments and unload their holdings. The prices of U.S. stocks and bonds could plunge. Interest rates, including those for mortgages, could soar.

...more...

[54anickel]

41. Gearing Up for the 'Long Bond'

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-longbond8feb08,1,5346405.story?coll=la-headlines-business

snip>

The Treasury's revival of the 30-year security — the so-called long bond — is a sign of the government's burgeoning cash needs, as the budget deficit swells again. The bond was discontinued in 2001 amid budget surpluses.

But Wall Street also has been clamoring for 30-year bonds because of a perceived strong appetite among pension funds and insurance companies for longterm fixed-rate securities. Since 2001, the longest-term conventional bond issued by the Treasury has been the 10-year T-note.

snip>

"There's a perception of not so much a desire to buy as a need to buy" the bond on the part of pension funds, said Scott Gewirtz, head of Treasury note and bond trading at Lehman Bros.

That need may be stronger among foreign pension plans than U.S. plans, said Andrew Brenner, head of global fixed-income securities at Investec U.S.

"There are very strict rules all through Europe and especially in England as to what can buy," Brenner said.

Congress also is mulling over pension reforms that could further boost bond demand by U.S. pension plans.

more...

[UpInArms]

19. The Bush budget is a trillion little pieces of fantasy

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/steffy/3643694.html

WE will be out of Iraq and, for that matter, Afghanistan, by the end of the next fiscal year. No troops, no economic support of any kind.

The alternative minimum tax, that secret tax system ensnaring more and more middle-class families, will vanish without costing the government a dime in lost revenue.

The tax cuts that have saved some of the wealthiest among us hundreds of dollars a year will continue indefinitely. This, too, will cost the government nothing.

That spiffy alternative energy technology that President Bush said in his State of the Union speech last week will help end our oil addiction? It can be funded on a shoestring.

Those are just a few of the twisted fantasies you have to embrace if you want to follow the president down the rabbit hole of his latest budget proposal.

We have been here before.

It's the parallel universe in which difficult choices are put off in favor of mind-bending assumptions. When those assumptions don't come true, the White House will embrace its familiar retreat: Blame Congress.

The cost of our national debt, according to the little counter that sits on my desk, now tops $8.19 trillion. By the president's own projection, the budget deficit will set a record of $423 billion this fiscal year.

...more...

[UpInArms]

24. Bush budget cuts Social Security survivor benefits

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3643356.html

WASHINGTON - President Bush's budget calls for elimination of a $255 lump-sum death payment that has been part of Social Security for more than 50 years and urges Congress to cut off monthly survivor benefits to 16- and 17-year-old high school dropouts.

<snip>

Mark Lassiter, a spokesman at the Social Security Administration, said the one-time $255 benefit is paid in the deaths of some Social Security recipients but not all, making it an administrative burden for the agency.

"It bears no relation to what a person's funeral expenses are or to any of workers' earnings levels," he said. "We believe that eliminating it is not going to cause an appreciable financial hardship to a survivor."

Lassiter said the benefit is paid in cases in which a surviving spouse was living with the deceased at the time of his or her death. It is also available in some cases for a surviving spouse who lived apart and for some surviving children.

<snip>

The second change Bush proposed would terminate monthly survivor benefits for 16- and 17-year-olds who do not attend school full time. Current law requires 18-year-olds to remain in school to receive their benefits. Survivor benefits are paid in cases in which a parent has died.

...more...

[AnneD]

73. Bush again manages to screw America's children....

Those children generally do not receive those checks directly....the surviving spouse does. My sister lost her husband when my nephew was around 2. He always contributed the max to SS and it has been a source of comfort to our family sis had a little extra coming in to provide what he needed. It goes to the child via the surviving spouse or family member.
They managed to screw anyone with a state pension that may not pay SS (teachers)from getting spousal survivor benefits. Even though I have fully paid the number of quarters need for SS, I will not be able to draw my SS or my husband's SS survivors benefits, prorated or otherwise. In Bush's new Amerika, it doesn't pay to be poor, a widow with children, an orphan, or a teacher. "What you do to the least among you, you do unto me".

[Danascot]

32. Who could ever have anticipated that ...

fill in the blank

[54anickel]

61. US places guns before butter

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/HB08Ak01.html

WASHINGTON - Despite his administration's growing concerns about preventing the collapse of states in strategic parts of the world, US President George W Bush has proposed cuts in development and disaster assistance while increasing the defense budget by almost 7%.

Under his 2007 budget request submitted to Congress on Monday, Pentagon spending next year would rise to some US$440 billion, not including another $120 billion that the administration is expected to ask for as a supplemental appropriation to fund US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through September, when fiscal 2006 ends.

By contrast, Bush's proposed 2007 foreign-aid request will remain roughly the same as last year's at some $24 billion, the equivalent of what Washington spends in less than five months in Iraq.

Moreover, the president is calling for a nearly 20% cut in development aid - from roughly $1.5 billion $1.26 billion in development aid - and similar cuts in disaster assistance and child-survival and health programs.

"This administration has said there are three components to national security - diplomacy, defense and development," said Mohammad Akhter, president of InterAction, a coalition of some 160 US non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in developing countries. "We see that diplomacy and defense are well taken care of, but development is the weakest tool in our kit. Yet that's where our long-term security lies."

more...

[UpInArms]

91. Bush budget lacks compassion, reality

http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/5512219p-4967158c.html

President Bush’s guns-over- butter budget makes clear his priorities — and the impossibility of meeting them.

The $2.77 trillion blueprint unveiled Monday stays true to the administration’s playbook of draining social programs to fund tax cuts and the war on terror.

It proposes big increases in military and domestic security spending. The 7 percent increase in defense spending alone would represent a 45 percent hike in the Pentagon’s budget since Bush took office in 2001 and the highest level of funding for defense since the Korean War.

In exchange, other government programs would take it in the shorts. In all, Bush’s plan calls for scrapping or substantially reducing 141 federal programs that are unrelated to the nation’s security. Hit hard would be programs aimed at low-income Americans. Saved from the budget ax are the tax cuts passed in recent years. Bush continues his slavish dedication to making them permanent.

The comparison offered by a former Clinton economic adviser seems apt: Bush is like a man who leases three fully loaded Hummers and finds the expenses stretch his family’s budget to the breaking point. So he decides to buy cheaper peanut butter.

...more...

[UpInArms]

20. Pro-Business Group (Ken Starr) challenges anti-fraud law (Sarbanes-Oxley)

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/business/13819356.htm

WASHINGTON - A law that reshaped the accounting industry after a wave of corporate scandals is being challenged on constitutional grounds by pro-business conservatives.

Their big-guns legal team includes Kenneth Starr, best known as the special prosecutor in the Monica Lewinsky affair. Bitterly opposed to the sweeping anti-fraud law, the conservatives are challenging the board established to oversee the accounting industry, arguing that it violates the Constitution's mandated separation of powers among the three branches of government.

The Free Enterprise Fund, an anti-tax group that seeks limited government, filed suit Tuesday in federal court in Washington against the accounting board, known as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Christi Harlan, a spokeswoman for the board, said she had no immediate comment because the board hadn't seen the lawsuit.

The anti-fraud law, known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for its congressional sponsors, could be invalidated if any of its sections is found unconstitutional. Opponents want it sent back to Congress for a revision.

The 2002 law, among other things, required greater financial disclosures and increased the criminal penalties for securities fraud.

...more...

Now why would they want to do that? Because they want to lie, cheat, steal and rip people off with no consequences!

[wordpix]

37. Ken Starr ending anti-fraud law like trying to end Clinton legitimate pres

idency

[54anickel]

54. Unconstitutional?!!? Bwahahaha - what friggen constitution? It's just

a GD piece of paper!

Corporate personhood is what's unconstitutional! Yeah, bring it on - let's go back and review how this notion of corporate personhood every came about in the first place.

Geesh, the irony these days. The rights of citizen's, which the constitution was meant to protect, are being stomped by this mal-administration. Yet corporations, which weren't meant to be protected, scream for their constitutional rights. And our elected reps - which rights are they going to concentrate on protecting? Unless we start taking to the streets, it ain't gonna be ours!

Damn, aren't Murikans fed up with having to sit in the back seat yet?

[loudsue]

104. I'm w/ you, 54anickel!! This is one of my pet peeves!

Corporations have far more rights than ANY citizen does, and it's time THAT little pickle was stopped.

:kick::kick::kick:

[cosmicdot]

105. ever read what Thom Hartmann discovered re corp. personhood?

"Oh, you mean the one where corporations become persons."

~snip~

The Supreme Court agreed, and ruled in favor of the railroad. But at the end of the ruling, I discovered that while the railroad had offered several other defenses, including one on constitutional grounds, the Court had chosen not to consider them because the issue of the posts was in itself quite clear. I then said to myself, "This doesn't say that corporations are persons. In fact, it explicitly states that the Court did not rule on the constitutional issue."

~snip~

So I went to Paul, the librarian, and said, "This ruling you gave me doesn't say that corporations are persons." He answered, "That's interesting - did you read the head note, the commentary on the case?" Then he showed me an introductory page of small boldface type, and the first sentence states, "Corporations are persons under the 14th Amendment and therefore entitled to equal protection under the law." I said, "That's interesting - it's not in the decision. What is this?" He answered, "That's the commentary on the decision written by the Clerk of the Court, the Court's reporter." "It doesn't say what the decision says," ~snip~

Then I walked a few blocks to the office of an old friend of mine who is a lawyer in town, and laid the copies out on his desk. "I want to ask you about the 1886 Santa Clara County case," I told him, and he answered, "Oh, you mean the one where corporations become persons." Really, that is how lawyers inevitably respond. Then I asked him to take a look at the last paragraph of the case. He read it, and said, "That's interesting." But when I had him read the first sentence of the head notes, his response was "Holy Cow!" or actually, something a little stronger. "Clearly," he said, "the head notes don't say what the ruling says." "Which means . . . ?" I asked. "Which means there is a mistake," he answered.

"A mistake?" I said. "A hundred and twenty years of American law based on a mistake? The World Trade Organization is based on a mistake?" ~snip~

So I went home and called Deb Markowitz, who is the Secretary of State for Vermont - "Hello, I'd like to speak to Deb Markowitz." The answer was, "this is Deb." That is one of the advantages of living in a small state! I told her that I had a question about the 1886 Santa Clara County Case, and she replied, "Oh, the one where corporations became persons." I said, "Yes, that one," and asked her if she had read it. She said she hadn't, although she had studied the case in law school. So I read to her from the end of the case, where the court declines to rule on the constitutional issues, and her response was about the same as my friend's - she was shocked. And when I asked what it meant, she said it showed that the Court never said that corporations are persons, and never granted them constitutional rights.

~snip~

This is why the title of my book refers to "the rise of corporate dominance and the theft of human rights." Make no mistake: This was a theft, since the Supreme Court never actually ruled that corporations have the same rights as persons. No legislature has passed such a law, no governor or president has signed such a policy into law, and the public has never voted on such a law. In other words, it is not the result of any democratic process whatsoever. And yet, corporations have cited this principle in every sphere imaginable.

~snip~

http://www.bodhitree.com/lectures/hartmann2.html

[54anickel]

106. Yep, that's what I was referring to. Thanks for digging it up! n/t

[UpInArms]

23. Boehner: Tangled up in Goo

Boehner's D.C. landlord is veteran Capitol lobbyist

WASHINGTON - Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who was elected House majority leader last week, is renting his Capitol Hill apartment from a veteran lobbyist whose clients have direct stakes in legislation Boehner has co-written and that he has overseen as chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee.

The relationship between Boehner, John Milne and Milne's wife, Debra Anderson, underscores how intertwined senior lawmakers have become with the lobbyists paid to influence legislation.

Boehner's primary residence is in West Chester, Ohio, but for $1,600 a month, he rents a two-bedroom basement apartment near the House office buildings on Capitol Hill owned by Milne, Boehner spokesman Don Seymour said Tuesday.

Boehner's monthly rent appears to be similar to other rentals of two-bedroom basement apartments close to the House side of the Capitol in southeast Washington, based on a review of apartment listings.

Milne's clients — including restaurant chains and health insurance companies — hired him to lobby on issues at the heart of Boehner's work, including minimum wage hikes, small business tax breaks and tax-free savings accounts to help cover insurance costs, congressional lobbying records show.

In the weeks preceding the GOP leadership elections, Boehner acknowledged his close ties to the lobbying community, but he assured Republican lawmakers that all of his relationships were ethical and campaigned on a platform of change and reform. Seymour reiterated that message Tuesday.

...more...

[UpInArms]

26. Boehner Aide Tied to Trip Set by Abramoff (another Rove tie-in)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/3644019.html

WASHINGTON — A White House aide who was once chief of staff to House Majority Leader John Boehner helped plan a 1996 trip to the Northern Mariana Islands that was organized by fallen lobbyist Jack Abramoff, billing records from Abramoff's firm show.

Barry Jackson, now chief deputy to White House adviser Karl Rove, accepted an invitation to travel to the island of Saipan in April 1996 but later decided not to go, White House spokeswoman Erin Healy said Tuesday.

The government of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands extended the invitations to Jackson and other high-level GOP House leadership staff while Congress was considering legislation to control immigration and labor practices in the remote Pacific island territory.

Abramoff, the central figure in a wide-ranging Justice Department investigation of influence peddling in Congress, lobbied for the Marianas in Washington. The commonwealth's government was accused of permitting egregiously low wages and poor conditions for immigrants working in sweatshops.

According to bills from Abramoff's former lobbying firm to the Marianas government, Abramoff's staff contacted Boehner's office about island issues at least 10 times in the first four months of 1996. Copies of the billing records were obtained by The Associated Press through open-records requests to the territorial government.

Typically, the contact was made by David Safavian, who later became the Bush administration's chief procurement official in the Office of Management and Budget. Safavian recently was indicted on charges of obstructing investigations of his ties to Abramoff. Safavian was the first administration official indicted in the Abramoff scandal.

...more...

[UpInArms]

28. Let's Not Forget that SPY in Cheney's Office

Well, remember the Marine arrested at the White House for spying recently? Feeding classified material to politicians in the Philippines? The politicians were Abramoff's clients...

The Marine passed classified documents to a Filipino politician named Michael Aquino, who’d been sent to the U.S. to chill out until he was no longer “hot” in Manila. Why was Aquino laying low?

Because he'd killed a man who’d released an embarrassing video clip during the Filipino Presidential campaign showing Philippine Vice President Joseph Estrada playing high-stakes baccarat at a casino with a notorious gambler.

Edgar Bentain disappeared without a trace, until someone confessed that they’d seen him...in a drum. Bentain was encased alive in cement. Philippine NBI agents were later said to be searching for a metal drum near the bridge.

"We were brought to a bridge near Bacolor, where we saw Bentain inside a drum. We could still see his head but the rest of his body was already buried under cement," said the man’s statement to police. “Bentain was crying and begging for his life.”

In Tagalong, Aquino told him, “You deserve this because you mind other people's business too much!"

[donkeyotay]

66. A crime family is running this country. Freedom and demockracy have

been hijacked by a common crime syndicate, aka the GOP. You've got your bribery, extortion, GAMBLING and worse, much, much worse. Saw a lovely little piece on Frontline last night about sex slavery... stuff that's so hard to believe is even happening, let alone that there seem to be peripheral links to the Bush administration. Seems there was also mention of sex slavery in the Mariannas, although I don't have a link off the top of my head. I used to not be able to believe this stuff like Dynacorp, but the latest piece I read on the crime family in Iraq includes none other that this: "Mr. Bloom kept a villa in Baghdad where he provided women who gave sexual favors to officials he hoped to influence..." (NYTs "Wide Plot Seen in Guilty Plea in Iraq Project" by James Glanz, Feb. 2, 2006.).


Hookers going to Iraq or sex slaves? With the Republicans in charge of utterly destroying every thing decent left in the world, I assume the latter.

And everywhere gambling. Odd for such a religious bunch.

PS- You got a link to that story?

[UpInArms]

68. Hiya donkeyotay!

that link was "hidden" under the article title - but I'll paste right here too :)

http://www.madcowprod.com/02072006.html

That part is about half-way down the page - but all is worth reading :hi:

[donkeyotay]

76. Thanks UIA. I have trouble reading when I'm having a stroke

eyes bulging, veins popping - gawd I hate these guys. Figures it'd be madcow, though, when there are few others willing to go where they go:

Jack Abramoff’s intense preoccupation with a tiny string of islands 7000 miles from Washington D.C. was no laughing matter... It wasn’t because he wanted easy access to Tahiti, either. Evidence indicates that Abramoff’s clients, who ran the Mariana’s Islands as if they were a sugar plantation in Haiti circa 1700, were also in business with Chinese Tongs, the Yakuza, and the Russian Mafia.
...
Jack Abramoff, it will be explained, was an aberration. A singularity. An evil genius, creating corruption where none would otherwise have existed, or the Arnold Rothstein of American politics bribing a hapless Congress into pretending they're the infamous Chicago Black Sox during the crooked 1919 World Series.
...
Once you've lost your illusions, there's no getting them back.

Ain't that the truth?

:hi:

[UpInArms]

74. Background: Accused Marine Worked in Vice President Cheney's Office

Oct. 5, 2005 — Both the FBI and CIA are calling it the first case of espionage in the White House in modern history.

Classified Material Transferred by E-Mail

Officials say the classified material, which Aragoncillo stole from the vice president's office, included damaging dossiers on the president of the Philippines. He then passed those on to opposition politicians planning a coup in the Pacific nation.

"Even though it's not for the Russians or some other government, the fact that it occurred at the White House is a matter of great concern," said John Martin, who was the government's lead espionage prosecutor for 26 years.

Last year, after leaving the Marines, Aragoncillo was caught by the FBI while he worked for the Bureau at an intelligence center at Fort Monmouth, N.J.

According to a criminal complaint, Aragoncillo was arrested last month and accused of downloading more than 100 classified documents from FBI computers.]

[orwell]

100. "Boehner's monthly rent...

...appears to be similar to other rentals of two-bedroom basement apartments close to the House side of the Capitol in southeast Washington, based on a review of apartment listings."

Except when you factor in the hookers, cuban cigars, single malt scotch, and envelopes full of money. Those apartments rent for considerably higher...

[Tace]

25. MOGAMBO GURU: Lady Fate Being Very, Very Nice To You

Richard Daughty, the angriest guy in economics -- World News Trust

We start off this week the same way we always do; take a handful of various tranquilizers, get strapped into a straightjacket, put on a crash helmet and get tied into my chair. Then I am, at last, ready to take a look at the increase in Total Fed Credit at the Federal Reserve, as this is the measure of how much more money the horrid Federal Reserve is creating out of thin air, which is, in turn, a measure of how much those arrogant, pinheaded bastards are destroying the dollar by creating so many of them. But this week I was, "all dressed up but going nowhere, "as the Fed only increased credit by $2.4 billion, which is still bad, but not as bad as it COULD have been, and usually is.

To show you why this is important, we turn to Jay Taylor, of Taylor Hard Money Advisors, who talks about, "cascading cross defaults (i.e., deflationary collapse). "Because," he writes, "this is not self-liquidating debt, there is never enough cash flow to service the debt, because interest is added to the debt. The real trouble begins when interest charges exceed debt growth, because at that point, debtors at the margin are unable to service their debt. Debt has to grow faster than interest charges or else the system ultimately collapses in cascading defaults," which is when I can't pay some guy, and he can't pay that guy, and that guy can't pay these guys, and these guys can't pay those guys, and those guys cover their losses by cutting staff levels and firing The Mogambo, which makes me angry and desperate, and everybody dreads what an armed and desperate paranoid lunatic will do. And THAT is only ONE reason why the changes in Total Fed Credit, which is a measure of total debt growth, are so damned important.

So this week not much money was created, but Securities Bought Outright went up by $2.7 billion, which is another of my pet outrages that make me scream in my sleep; the Fed and the banks are not only creating more money out of thin freaking air (which is bad enough to warrant rioting in the streets, as Americans of every color and creed march to Washington, D.C. en masse, chanting, "The Mogambo was right! We're freaking doomed," and tear down the Federal Reserve building, brick by brick), but the banks are using this money that they just invented to buy government debt! The supreme fraud and outrage!

But the lack of money being loaned is perhaps explained by the drop in the stock and bond markets, as who in the hell is stupid enough to buy stocks and bonds, with borrowed money, in THIS economic climate? Hahaha! I laugh to think that there ARE people who think that stocks will go up based on fundamentals! Look! I'm still laughing!

more

http://worldnewstrust.org/modules/AMS/article.php?storyid=2350

[ret5hd]

69. you forgot the important part at the very end:

****Mogambo sez: Tuesday's dramatic drop in the price of precious metals and oil is Lady Fate being very, very nice to you, and offering you a chance to load up at bargain prices. Lucky you!

[JNelson6563]

85. haha Mogambo funny!!

If I were an economist these days I would bet this quote could be easily attributed to me, heck, I'm relatively ignorant on many fronts and I sometimes feel this way:

We start off this week the same way we always do; take a handful of various tranquilizers, get strapped into a straight jacket, put on a crash helmet and get tied into my chair. Then I am, at last, ready to take a look at the increase in Total Fed Credit at the Federal Reserve, as this is the measure of how much more money the horrid Federal Reserve is creating out of thin air, which is, in turn, a measure of how much those arrogant, pinheaded bastards are destroying the dollar by creating so many of them.

:patriot: Spoken like a true American, Mogambo Guru. :patriot:

Great thread today, as always you guys/gals.

:yourock:

Julie--demonstrating an inexplicable proclivity for emoticons today

[UpInArms]

29. Treasury: Benchmark note slightly higher ahead of 10-year sale

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/newsfinder/pulseone.asp?dateid=38756.3714631481-859808250&siteID=mktw&scid=0&doctype=806&

NEW YORK (MarketWatch)- The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose a bit early Wednesday, pushing yields a little lower, ahead of an afternoon auction of $13 billion in new 10-year notes. The auction is expected to go smoothly, according to Action Economics. The 10-year note last was up 3/32 at 99-18/32 with a yield (TNX) of 4.559%, down from 4.568% in late trade Tuesday.

Will we have more "surprised" economists today?

[UpInArms]

64. US Fed extends March 28 FOMC meet to two days

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T155057Z_01_WAT004814_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-FED-MEETING-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve's one-day policy-setting meeting on March 28 is being extended to two days, March 27-28, to allow new chairman Ben Bernanke more time at his initial meeting, the Fed said on Wednesday.

The central bank's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee meeting will begin on the afternoon of March 27 and conclude on March 28, the Fed said in a statement.

[UpInArms]

86. 10-yr Treasury Auction Results:

1:08pm 02/08/06 <$TNX> 10-YR TREASURY AUCTION HAS 41% INDIRECT BID

1:07pm 02/08/06 <$TNX> 10-YR TREASURY AUCTION PRODUCES HIGH YIELD OF 4.540%

1:05pm 02/08/06 <$TNX> 10-YR TREASURY AUCTION HAS BID-TO-COVER RATIO OF 2.32

1:06pm 02/08/06 10-YR TREASURY AUCTION HAS MEDIAN YIELD OF 4.510%

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T181309Z_01_NYG000127_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-AUCTION-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices trimmed losses on Wednesday after an auction of $13 billion in new 10-year notes drew demand that more or less matched last year's average.

The notes were sold at a high yield of 4.540 percent and drew bids for 2.32 times the amount on offer, just above the 2.30 average in 2005's four 10-year auctions, excluding reopenings.

Indirect bidders, which include customers of primary dealers and foreign central banks, snagged $5.25 billion, or 40.4 percent of the deal, just below the 40.6 percent average in last year's four 10-year auctions, excluding reopenings.

Existing 10-year notes, which were 3/32 lower ahead of the auction's completion, were steady for a yield of 4.573 percent.

[UpInArms]

92. Closing Treasury Numbers:

3:04pm 02/08/06 30-YR BOND ENDS DOWN 12/32 AT 110-6/32; YIELD 4.680%

3:03pm 02/08/06 10-YR TREASURY YIELD ENDS AT 4.593%; 2-YR YIELD AT 4.630%

3:02pm 02/08/06 10-YR TREASURY YIELD ENDS AT 4.593% VS. 4.655% TUESDAY

3:01pm 02/08/06 10-YR TREASURY ENDS DOWN 6/32 AT 99-9/32; YIELD 4.593%

[UpInArms]

94. Treasuries slip, market frets over revived bond

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T200110Z_01_N08510004_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-UPDATE-2.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices eased on Wednesday as relief over a relatively successful auction of 10-year notes was quickly replaced by anxiety over the upcoming return of the long bond.

The latest sale was certainly a step up from Tuesday's disappointing three-year note auction, traders said, particularly given that a proxy of foreign demand came in right near the recent average.

But dealers and investors, who had aggressively bought the 30-year bond earlier this week in anticipation of a strong auction, were backing off ahead of Thursday's sale of the long bond, the first in nearly five years.

"There's is some anxiety now about tomorrow's bond," said Brian Robinson, bond strategist at 4Cast Ltd. "Guys are just afraid."

There were also signs that dealers may have started to sell bonds ahead of the 30-year auction to cheapen the price of the new issue, which is typical ahead of a sale.

<snip>

The yield curve grew even more inverted, with spreads between 10- and two-year debt sinking to -6 basis points from -3 on Tuesday.

...more...

[UpInArms]

30. GE Consumer Finance plans credit card with China partner

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%7BE698C3BF%2D8C6D%2D4130%2DB2FF%2D533FBC85BD3C%7D&symbol=

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- GE Consumer Finance, an arm of conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE), said Wednesday it plans to a launch a credit card in China in the middle of this year with local partner Shenzhen Development Bank Ltd. (000001.SZ).

The announcement is the GE unit's first specific mention of its plans for the China market since it agreed in October 2005 to pay US$100 million to acquire a stake of about 7% in the Shenzhen bank.

U.S. private-equity firm Newbridge Capital Ltd. is Shenzhen Development's largest shareholder. It acquired a 17.89% stake in the Shenzhen-listed lender in December 2004.

Many foreign financial institutions see China's consumer finance market as relatively under-served, and global banks like HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) and Citigroup Inc. (C) have been quick to use their Chinese partnerships to launch co-branded credit cards.

David Nissen, president and chief executive of GE Consumer Finance, said the company is also looking at working with Shenzhen Development on other types of personal finance products, including automobile loans.

...more...

[UpInArms]

31. pre-opening blather

09:02 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +1.9. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +11.0. Futures trade still indicates an upside open for the major indices. News that Pfizer (PFE) may divest its Consumer Healthcare unit to unlock shareholder value is another supportive item this morning. Separately, crude extends yesterday's sharp decline to $62.70 per barrel, ahead of the Department of Energy's latest crude inventory report. That data is the only economic item today, and is scheduled for 10:30 ET.

08:30 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.0. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +11.0. The stock market remains set to start the session higher. Cisco shares, which are up over 7%, continue to be the force behind the Nasdaq futures' rise. Its shares have enjoyed multiple upgrades, and upgraded Dell (DELL) and Applied Materials (AMAT) shares also add to the bullish bias within the Tech sector. Better than expected January same-restaurant sales from Dow component McDonald's (MCD), one of our portfolio picks, lend further support.

08:01 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +2.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +12.5. Versus fair value, futures trade suggests a higher start for the cash market. The Nasdaq 100 futures particularly show a bullish bias, as a slightly better than expected fiscal Q3 report from Cisco Systems (CSCO) has helped fuel some bargain hunting interest in the Tech sector. Some other solid earnings reports have come from the likes of Computer Sciences (CSC), XTO Energy (XTO), and Pepsico (PEP).

[UpInArms]

33. White House Adds Bricks to Its Congressional Stonewall

http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/3271/1/1?TopicID=1

The Bush administration's pattern of doggedly withholding information from Congress seems to have garnered national attention as congressional oversight on critical issues has accelerated. The White House has refused to provide copies of internal legal documents regarding warrantless domestic spying by the National Security Agency (NSA), communications detailing when the administration learned of potential wide-spread damage from Hurricane Katrina, and information, including photos, related to the president's dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The White House has even blocked key administration officials from testifying before Congress.

Stonewalling on Katrina

Committees in both the House and Senate are investigating exactly what went wrong in the preparation for and response to Hurricane Katrina. Determining the timeline of what officials knew and when they knew it, relative to actions taken, is essential to that investigation. The Bush administration, however, has refused to disclose relevant communications and has prevented key officials, like Homeland Security Advisor Frances Fragos Townsend and Chief of Staff Andrew Card, from testifying before Congress.

<snip>

Stonewalling on Domestic Spying

On Feb. 6 the Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings on the NSA's warrantless domestic spying program, under which phone calls and email communications between U.S. citizens and people in certain Middle Eastern countries were monitored without obtaining a secret court order as prescribed by law. The committee is attempting to determine if the administration's actions were legal and if congressional action is necessary, either to reform the program or modify existing law to allow for its continuation.

<snip>

Stonewalling on Jack Abramoff

Democrats and Republicans have launched efforts to end the "culture of corruption" in Washington, efforts that have picked up considerable steam since the guilty plea by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Democrats are now calling on the White House to fully explain the relationship between Abramoff and the executive branch and the president in particular.

...more...

[wordpix]

39. finally occuring to repukes in Congress that * is hiding something? Could

it be?

[54anickel]

58. The facade of the Raygun "big tent" lie is crumbling. Conservative

Republicans were duped by the "unity" mantra of the neo-cons. Their party has been hi-jacked, and they allowed it to happen. They willingly put the gun to their own temples. They are now in a Catch-22 as they played along with the neo-cons for too long. Do they try to take their party back and run the risk of loosing the "legitimacy" and control of power for the "R" column, or do they give up their principals and ideologies and "take one for the Gipper" for a fascist party that is now Republican in name only.

[54anickel]

34. GOLDMAN WORKERS' HALF-MIL

http://www.nypost.com/business/63135.htm

February 8, 2006 -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Wall Street's most profitable firm, paid employees an average $521,000 each last year, enough to buy 4,000 celebratory bottles of Dom Perignon champagne or seven Porsche 911 Carrera sports cars.

Goldman, the No. 2 U.S. securities firm by market value, paid $11.7 billion in compensation to 22,425 employees for the fiscal year that ended in November. Average pay rose 12 percent from the 2004 average and 35 percent from the previous year, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing yesterday. Chief Executive Officer Henry Paulson, 59, received $37 million in shares and stock options for 2005.

Goldman earned more than either Merrill Lynch, the world's No. 1 securities firm, or No. 3 Morgan Stanley, with half as many employees. Wall Street bonuses typically vary from about $50,000 for junior analysts to $5 million or more for star traders and investment bankers.

snip>

Pay at Goldman depends on revenue as well as "prevailing labor markets, business mix and the structure of our equity-based compensation programs," the firm said in the filing.

more...

[donkeyotay]

70. What ever happened to that pump and dump investigation pre-9-11?

Didn't that involve the Russian mob and Goldman Sachs?

[UpInArms]

79. I heard Peter Jennings promise to give us the answers for that

...

but he's dead and I guess that promise is just not going to be kept :eyes:

[donkeyotay]

84. How about that. Well, I'm sure some hard-hitting investigative reporter

like Scarborough or O'Reilly will get right on it. Somehow I imagine that all the current investigations will go the same way unless there's a full out revolt in the Repo party or in agency Washington. Gives a whole new meaning to "so much crime, so little time."

[54anickel]

35. A Florida City Awaits the Payoff From Its Bet on Condos

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/realestate/commercial/08myers.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

FORT MYERS, Fla., Feb. 5 — As the stepchild to its more beautiful sisters in southwest Florida, Naples and Sarasota, this city has struggled for decades to revitalize its picturesque downtown and attract snowbirds and tourists.

With low-rise buildings dating back to the 1800's, the city has the potential to be a New Urbanist paradise. But as in many other cities that began sprawling outward in the 1970's, the downtown was long neglected until high hopes for condo development along the riverfront spurred city planners to undertake a major redevelopment effort.

Now, the historical buildings are no longer deteriorating; many have been rehabilitated using preservation tax credits and other tax abatement measures. And yet much of downtown is still vacant, leaving some people in Fort Myers to wonder, What if you rebuild it and they still don't come?

"The city leaders have put all their eggs in the condo basket," said Warren J. Wright, the councilman for downtown Fort Myers. "They said, if we build enough condo units, then downtown will come back to life. But the way the economy is going, I'm not sure they'll ever get built."

City planners had long ago determined that increasing the downtown residential population, currently less than 3,000, would be critical to the city's revitalization. And with riverfront property suddenly in high demand as condo fever belatedly reached Fort Myers, the city went where the market took it.

snip>

In short order, the city began approving high-rise condo projects for a total of 3,600 units, all exceeding the height limit set by the master plan that had just been adopted, as well as the number of units allowed by law in a coastal high-hazard zone. (The city is currently lobbying the state to raise the cap.) Fort Myers also proceeded with a $30 million downtown street improvement project, and spent millions expanding the airport.

more...

[UpInArms]

36. Avoiding Questions: US's Snow postpones congressional testimony

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T142009Z_01_WAT004811_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-BUDGET-SNOW-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow has postponed scheduled budget testimony before the Senate Budget Committee until Feb. 15, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

No reason was immediately given for the postponement.

I guess he doesn't want to answer questions about his lies and why we are in "technical" default? :eyes:


The estimated population of the United States is 298,469,983
so each citizen's share of this debt is $27,517.82.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$2.14 billion per day since September 30, 2005

http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opdpenny.htm

Current           Amount

02/06/2006        $8,197,590,334,157.11

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

38. Default?

On January 24th they breached it brazenly and openly and with nary an accompanying explanation. Neither have any lawmakers have broached this indelicate subject.

I suppose we could write this off as merely an unsurprising development from a government that no longer bothers to even appear to be adhering to rules, laws and procedures, let alone actually doing so.

But the silence is all the more troubling because there is an unprecedented level of government borrowing on the books for 1Q06 with next 2 weeks (Feb 1st to Feb 9th) an especially busy period of time. An ambitious ~$70-$80b in Treasury paper will hit the market.

The federal government does not have the legal authority to borrow above the statutory debt limit, which raises the prospect of emergency congressional action to avoid a full-fledged default.


http://www.financialsense.com/fsu/editorials/2006/0127b.html

:scared:

[fasttense]

62. Damn the laws, full speed ahead directly into a sovereign president and

a lazy, useless congress all supported by a government controlled press.

[wordpix]

40. "each citizen's share of debt is $27,517.82" Wake up, America & Congress!

[54anickel]

46. Can't be makin' waves before the auction. What an assclown

[UpInArms]

42. Liz Claiborne to cut 500 jobs, take charges (close 20 stores)

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/print_story.asp?print=1&guid={51D19820-DF94-4C6D-9CF5-8D79041B15B3}&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Apparel maker Liz Claiborne Inc. said late Tuesday said it would streamline its operations in a move to boost profits and better integrate acquisitions.

The New York-based maker of Sigrid Olsen, Ellen Tracy, and Juicy Couture brands, said the move included 500 job cuts and a $60 million charge, and expects to the plan to generate millions in annual savings from shares resources.

<snip>

Liz Claiborne plans to cut about 500 positions, or about 4% of its global work force, with "significant" staff reductions at the more senior levels of the organization. The company also said it will close or "repurpose" about 20 retail stores.

"While we applaud the difficult decision to reduce the workforce in order to enhance shareholder value, yesterday's restructuring announcement leads us to suspect headwinds may be stronger than previously indicated," said Morgan Keegan analyst Brad Stephens in a note to clients.

...more...

[UpInArms]

43. 9:45 EST the Land of LaLa rejoices

Dow 10,780.10 +30.34 (+0.28%)
Nasdaq 2,256.68 +11.72 (+0.52%)
S&P 500 1,258.17 +3.39 (+0.27%)
10-Yr Bond 4.561 -0.06 (-0.13%)

NYSE Volume 180,563,000
Nasdaq Volume 213,154,000

09:40 am : As futures trade had suggested, the equity market opened on positive turf. Following a slightly better than expected report from Cisco Systems (CSCO), the Nasdaq is especially higher. The fact that the company did not disappoint has incited some bargain hunting interest within the Tech sector, but its boost to the broader market has been relatively modest. Some bearish overhangs, which include the inverted yield curve, uncertainty over rising interest rates, and uninspiring earnings guidance, keep buying action in check. There are some other items that support the early market: McDonald's (MCD) reported better than expected same-restaurant sales for January - the 33rd straight month of global comps growth, Pfizer (PFE) is considering a divesture of its Consumer Healthcare business, and Univision (UVN) may put itself up for sale. DJ30 +27.01 NASDAQ +11.69 SP500 +2.28

[UpInArms]

48. 10:10 EST numbers and blather

Dow 10,769.37 +19.61 (+0.18%)
Nasdaq 2,251.32 +6.36 (+0.28%)
S&P 500 1,255.66 +0.88 (+0.07%)
10-Yr Bond 4.569 +0.02 (+0.04%)

NYSE Volume 408,875,000
Nasdaq Volume 417,251,000

10:00 am : The market has held its ground, and each of the three major indices remain higher. Led by Technology (+1.1%), five of the ten economic sectors are advancing. Due to Cisco (CSCO 19.23 +1.14), the communication equipment industry leads the sector and the market. Hardware and semiconductors are also attracting solid buying interest; upgraded Dell (DELL 30.98 +1.29) and Applied Materials (AMAT 19.90 +0.40) lead those industry groups, respectively. The Energy sector's 1.6% decline somewhat offsets the Tech sector's gain. Wide-spread selling has taken each of the S&P 500's energy stocks lower. Behind the slide is crude's extended pullback, a move that is in part attributed to the belief that the EIA's upcoming inventory report will show a build in inventories. DJ30 +20.90 NASDAQ +7.66 SP500 +1.48 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1137/1357/352.8 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1242/1424/235.4 mln

[54anickel]

51. Why the Economy Is a Lot Stronger Than You Think

http://biz.yahoo.com/special/economy06_article1.html

In a knowledge-based world, the traditional measures don't tell the story. Intangibles like R&D are tracked poorly, if at all. Factor them in and everything changes

You read this magazine religiously, watch CNBC while dressing for work, scan the Web for economic reports. You've heard, over and over, about the underlying problems with the U.S. economy -- the paltry investment rate, the yawning current account deficit, the pathetic amount Americans salt away. And you know what the experts are saying: that the U.S. faces a perilous economic future unless we cut back on spending and change our profligate ways.

But what if we told you that the doomsayers, while not definitively wrong, aren't seeing the whole picture? What if we told you that businesses are investing about $1 trillion a year more than the official numbers show? Or that the savings rate, far from being negative, is actually positive? Or, for that matter, that our deficit with the rest of the world is much smaller than advertised, and that gross domestic product may be growing faster than the latest gloomy numbers show? You'd be pretty surprised, wouldn't you?

big snip>

And let's not forget about immigrants. The workers who move to the U.S. each year bring with them a mother lode of education and skills -- human capital -- for free. One celebrated example is Jonathan Ive, the man who designed the iPod and iMac. Ive was born in England and educated at Newcastle Polytechnic University of Northumbria before joining Apple Computer Inc. in California in 1992.

Ive is not unique. Most of the workers who immigrate to the U.S. each year have at least a high school diploma, while about a third have a college education or better. Since it costs, on average, roughly $100,000 to provide 12 years of elementary and secondary education, and another $100,000 to pay for a college degree, immigrants are providing a subsidy of at least $50 billion annually to the U.S. economy in free human capital. Alternatively, valuing their contribution to the economy by the total wages they expect to earn during their lifetime would put the value of the human capital of new immigrants closer to $200 billion per year. Either the low or high estimate would make the current account deficit look smaller.

lots more BS....

[Roland99]

63. Saw that the other day. Maybe this is the "dark matter"?

BTW, wouldn't those expenditures (software upgrades, training, etc.) be, oh, I dunno, EXPENSES?



Now it's CAPITAL????


:wtf:

[UpInArms]

71. Did anyone here see a large white rabbit?

[PassingFair]

83. They Create Their Own Reality...

and the rest of us prop it up.

Down the rabbit hole indeed!

[UpInArms]

56. 10:41 EST high on false hopes (now known to be wrong) w/blather

Dow 10,790.82 +41.06 (+0.38%)
Nasdaq 2,253.91 +8.95 (+0.40%)
S&P 500 1,258.99 +4.21 (+0.34%)
10-Yr Bond 4.569 +0.02 (+0.04%)

NYSE Volume 641,517,000
Nasdaq Volume 604,297,000

10:30 am : The Energy Department has recently released its latest inventory report. Last week, crude supply unexpectedly fell 318K barrels; analysts had anticipated a 1.0 million barrel build. Gasoline increased a more than expected 4.3 million barrels versus the 2.0 million barrel consensus estimate. Distillate supply declined a slightly more than forecasted 313K barrels. A 400K barrel drawdown had been estimated. Just before the data, the indices had risen. In the market's immediate response, they've held at those levels. Crude futures have held relatively still at $62.75 per barrel.DJ30 +48.52 NASDAQ +9.66 SP500 +9.99 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1410/1254/562.1 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1666/1215/424.4 mln

[UpInArms]

57. Video shows former executives Lay, Skilling in Enron's halcyon days

http://ap.morningsun.net/pstories/business/20060208/3632060.shtml

HOUSTON — For about 30 minutes, jurors in the fraud and conspiracy case against former Enron Corp. chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling saw the one-time corporate celebrities as the energy giant's top cheerleaders rather than criminal defendants.

Skilling's lead lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, on Tuesday played a videotape of Lay and Skilling addressing analysts at a January 2001 conference near the end of a second day of cross-examining the prosecution's first witness, former Enron investor relations chief Mark Koenig.

On the video, Lay and Skilling, casual with open-collared shirts and sport coats, appeared demonstrative, tanned and enthusiastic as they praised their company and lofty growth prospects.

<snip>

For example, Koenig said he informed Skilling and former top Enron accountant Richard Causey, on the day before Enron was to announce fourth-quarter 1999 earnings, that analysts pushed expectations to 31 cents per share from 30 cents. Koenig said "a decision was made to increase the earnings" and Enron announced it had hit 31 cents.

...more...

[54anickel]

65. Tomgram: Bushwhacked in Bushworld "Beam Me Up, Scottie!"

http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=56990

Just in case you hadn't noticed, we're in a Bushworld too absurd for words. But that hasn't stopped this administration from yakking its collective head off.

Over the last week: The President came out for an ethanol-powered globe -- that's corn on the cob to you, buddy -- while his Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld announced that our poor planet had somehow gotten more terroristically dangerous since George took the helm. (No fault of his, natch.) Last Tuesday night, of course, the Great Helmsman stood on the congressional deck of state -- perhaps confusing it with the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln (Didn't anyone hear me? Mission accomplished!) -- and declared that we were on nothing less than the "road to victory" in Iraq. (Unfortunately, the message seems not to have gotten through to Iraqis lining that road with IEDs, possibly due to power outages in that country.) Intelligence "Tsar" John Negroponte visited Congress to deliver the news that Earth was virtually swarming with terrorist groups which already had their hands on WMD. (Sleep well, Virginia.) At the same time, multitasking like mad, the administration continued its noble war on T-shirts; the Pentagon put political cartoonists on notice that the military high command wasn't going to take a pen jab lying down (no sir!); and KBR, one of two subsidiaries of the Halliburton Corporation (the other being the U.S. government), received an almost $400 million dollar contract to build emergency "detention facilities" in the homeland (after much practice at Guantanamo). Oh yes, and in their spare time, the President and his closest advisors happily continued to exercise another of those handy prerogatives of the Commander-in-Chief in wartime by essentially amending the Constitution to wipe out the odd check or balance.

Am I going too fast for you? Then, take a breath, buckle on your seatbelt, put on your helmet, check your oxygen gauge, and then let me beam these stories up to you one at a time (along with a few other gems stored in the Mother Ship of my brain).

George's Half-Step Program to Energy Independence So this was the year that the President of Oil discovered we were "addicted" to the stuff and, worse yet, that it came from "unstable parts of the world" -- hold on a sec, while I fill my gas tank -- but he also came up with a solution! Thanks to his Advanced Energy Initiative, ethanol, essentially a corn product, would power us into the future along with hybrid car engines and the odd nuclear power plant. Twenty years from now, he assured us in his State of the Union Address, we more or less won't know the Middle East exists.

Though our brush-cutting President did mention wood chips and switch grass, ethanol is essentially a corn product; and corn is our petroleum farm crop of choice, since growing it in quantity involves massive infusions of oil-based chemical fertilizer. So maybe we should consider George's ethanol-fix like one of those nicotine patches for cigarette smokers. Throw in some leftover radioactive waste from those nuclear plants his administration would love to hug into existence and it all made perfect sense to me... until the next day when an administration that had never heard of no-backsies took it all back. The President's suggestion about making 75% of Middle Eastern oil imports go away "was purely an example," insisted an embarrassed Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman. And anyway, it turned out that none of it really mattered since, as Paul Krugman pointed out: "he National Renewable Energy Laboratory is about to lay off staff because of budget cuts. ‘A veteran researcher,' reports The New York Times, ‘said the staff had been told that the cuts would be concentrated among researchers in wind and biomass, which includes ethanol.'" Of course, the President and his men generated enough wind last week to create a little extra power -- if only we'd put some money into alternative fuels.

lots more...

[UpInArms]

67. KA-CHING! Washed-Up Has-Been Partisan Hack at Lehmans

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T161434Z_01_N08329427_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-FED-GREENSPAN-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan spoke at an event hosted by Lehman Brothers on Tuesday, a source at Lehman Brothers said on Wednesday.

"He did speak at Lehman yesterday afternoon," said the person, who did not attend the event.

Greenspan retired from the Fed on Jan. 31 after 18 years at the head of the U.S. central bank.

The dollar <=USD> edged to session highs after a report of Greenspan's remarks circulated in the market, with a trader citing reportedly bullish comments Greenspan made on the economy.

[UpInArms]

82. Will someone tell that WUHBPH to STFU?

And what kind of freaking idjits are listening to the drool falling?

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T173220Z_01_N08434965_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-UPDATE-1.XML

NEW YORK, Feb 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices eased on Wednesday before the second of three government auctions this week as former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan caused a stir with comments to hedge fund investors.

Market sources, citing others who had spoken to participants at an event hosted by Lehman Brothers on Tuesday, said the former Fed chief told investors that the U.S. economy was more robust than he had previously thought.

But analysts and strategists downplayed the effect of his comments on the bond market, where dealers awaited results of the government's $13 billion auction of 10-year notes, due at 1 p.m. (1800 GMT).

"I would not read a lot into the Greenspan speech," said Andrew Brenner, head of fixed income at Investec U.S. "It's one guy with an opinion. Greenspan is yesterday's news. It's now in Bernanke's hands," he added, referring to new Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Talk of a strong economy from an influential figure might typically cause selling in the bond market because strong growth implies rising inflationary pressures -- a prospect bond investors fret over because rising prices erode the value of fixed-income assets.

But prices held stable as talk of Greenspan's appearance, a week after his 18-year tenure at the U.S. central bank ended, spread through the market.

...more...

There should be laws prohibiting appearances of this piece of rotten garbage :puke:

[UpInArms]

87. WUHBPH grabs $120,000 for 1 hr video-link from home to Japan Spew

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T181357Z_01_N08465405_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-GREENSPAN-GOLD.XML

Greenspan, who spoke to an audience of international investors in Tokyo via video link from his apartment in New York, also said cheap oil prices were a thing of the past due to a lack of oil refining capacity, the paper said citing members of the audience in an article that was published online and in print.

While the newspaper article did not quote Greenspan, it said he acknowledged the U.S. central bank's failure to prevent the stock market bubble of the late 1990s.

Gold prices in the spot market <XAU=> reached a 25-year high last week at $574.60 an ounce, up 11 percent since the start of 2006. The price climbed 18 percent last year.

Greenspan, who said high gold prices did not reflect inflation or the strength in commodities, added the low probability of a nuclear weapon being detonated within five years would not necessarily stave off a spike in gold prices, according to the article.

The event at which Greenspan spoke was sponsored by Hong Kong-based CLSA, an Asian investment group that paid the former Fed chief $120,000 for the one-hour speech, the Times said. CLSA is a unit of Credit Agricole.

Guess this is what made gold drop this a.m. :eyes:

[UpInArms]

95. WUHBPH accused of being unethical? They are just NOW noticing???

http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=uri:2006-02-08T200110Z_01_N08510004_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-UPDATE-2.XML

GREENSPAN FLASHBACK?

Alan Greenspan, the just-retired Fed Chairman, was already signaling that he intended to maintain a public role even as private citizen.

Greenspan spoke privately to Lehman Brothers overnight, sources at the investment bank said, and rumors surrounding his comments prompted some selling in interest rate futures.

The speaking engagement raised questions about ethics from traders, with many saying the former Chairman was walking a fine line by giving private talks so soon after stepping down.

The Times of London newspaper also reported that Greenspan spoke on Tuesday to an audience of international investors in Tokyo via video link from his apartment in New York.

The event at which Greenspan spoke was sponsored by Hong Kong-based CLSA, an Asian investment group that paid the former Fed chief $120,000 for the one-hour speech, the Times said.

[converted_democrat]

75. Bush is at again with the privatization plan again!! Under the radar.....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11235990/site/newsweek/from/RSS

(You have to scroll half way down the page)
Snip-
Last year, even though Bush talked endlessly about the supposed joys of private accounts, he never proposed a specific plan to Congress and never put privatization costs in the budget. But this year, with no fanfare whatsoever, Bush stuck a big Social Security privatization plan in the federal budget proposal, which he sent to Congress on Monday.

His plan would let people set up private accounts starting in 2010 and would divert more than $700 billion of Social Security tax revenues to pay for them over the first seven years.

If this comes as a surprise to you, have no fear. You're not alone. Bush didn't pitch private Social Security accounts in his State of the Union message last week.

[UpInArms]

78. here's another thing in that pile of shit that is not legal

http://www.ardemgaz.com/ShowStoryTemplate.asp?Path=ArDemocrat/2006/02/08&ID=Ar00102&Section=National

(free registration or try www.bugmenot.com)

Analysts questioned a number of assumptions in Bush’s budget, such as his assertion that the government will take in $4 billion over five years from oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Congress has rejected the president’s proposal for such drilling.

[converted_democrat]

80. Unfreaking real.. I can't believe the gall of these people.. n/t

[Roland99]

102. I can. There's no one around to stop them.

The Dems have the power to SHUT DOWN THE SENATE but they refuse and are letting the neocons and corporatists plunder this soon-to-be-formerly-great nation.

[UpInArms]

81. 12:31 EST and the band plays on ...

Dow 10,812.83 +63.07 (+0.59%)
Nasdaq 2,257.70 +12.74 (+0.57%)
S&P 500 1,260.55 +5.77 (+0.46%)
10-Yr Bond 4.581 +0.14 (+0.31%)

NYSE Volume 1,219,087,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,135,824,000

12:00 pm : Heading into the afternoon, the major indices hang onto moderate gains. A slightly better than expected fiscal Q3 earnings report from Cisco Systems (CSCO 19.28 +1.19) has helped support the market, and a much better than expected build in gasoline supply has fostered some further optimism. At the same time, the market's advance is somewhat tempered by continued uncertainty over inflation and Fed tightening.

The fact that Cisco did not disappoint has given the market a boost. That stock has enjoyed several subsequent upgrades, and upgraded Dell (DELL 31.04 +1.35) and Applied Materials (AMAT 19.84 +0.34) shares give bargain hunters more reasons to look towards the Tech sector. Its 1.1% advance leads the market. Health Care (+0.7%) also lends solid upside. The driver there is Pfizer (PFE 26.03 +1.09), which is considering a divesture of its lower-margin Consumer Health Care business. On the heels of Time Warner (TWX 18.36 0.00) and Univision (UVN 33.84 +3.30), the Telecom sector (+0.4%) is also advancing today. With respect to the former, reports indicate that Carl Icahn is advancing a plan to split the company. Univision, meanwhile, is considering a sale.

The Energy Department's latest crude inventory report was a mixed bag. Crude supply unexpectedly declined, but gasoline supply rose more than twice as much as analysts had expected. Given the implication that higher gasoline inventories should translate into lower prices at the pump for consumers, the latter point has been a supportive factor. McDonald's (MCD 36.36 +0.17) adds to the Discretionary sector's upside. For the 33th consecutive month, the Briefing.com recommended holding reported solid same-restaurant sales growth. Despite the drawdown in crude supply, crude futures extend yesterday's 2.3% drop. In turn, the Energy sector has fallen victim to profit taking. Its 1.2% decline is countered by gains in seven other sectors, but it also serves as somewhat of a cap on the broader market's advance. We remain bullish on Energy, and very strong fourth quarter earnings reports from both Grant Prideco (GRP 45.01 -3.44), another one of our portfolio picks, and Diamond Offshore (DO 79.35 -0.73) underpin that view.DJ30 +53.31 NASDAQ +10.66 SP500 +4.42 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1493/1368/988.4 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1685/1400/786.6 mln

[UpInArms]

96. 3:21 EST YEEHAW!!! The sky's the limit! WHEEE!

Dow 10,852.30 +102.54 (+0.95%)
Nasdaq 2,265.50 +20.54 (+0.91%)
S&P 500 1,264.76 +9.98 (+0.80%)
10-Yr Bond 4.595 +0.28 (+0.61%)

NYSE Volume 2,009,332,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,854,755,000

(updated blather on edit)

3:25 pm : Advances in every sector have sent the indices to fresh highs. Today's leaders - Tech and Health Care - are respectively up 1.8% and 1.2%. Financial, which spent most of the session within close proximity of the unchanged mark, has now advanced 0.6%. As that sector accounts for more than a fifth of the S&P 500, its climb has added muscle to the broader market's rise. In addition to the insurance brokerage group, consumer finance leads the sector. Even banks have enjoyed buying interest, despite the inverted yield curve and continuing interest rate uncertainty. DJ30 +106.94 NASDAQ +21.88 SP500 +10.47 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1408/1626/1.85 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1552/1669/1.49 bln

3:00 pm : The indices have ticked back to the top of the afternoon's narrow range. At the bottom of the hour, commodities trade closed. Prices across the energy complex extended their declines. Crude oil fell 0.8% to $62.60 per barrel, heating oil lost 1.7% to $1.6625 per gallon, gasoline dropped 2.5% to $1.555 per gallon, and natural gas closed 1.5% lower at $7.74 per million BTUs. Today's market appears to have taken a bullish cue from the energy price action. Conversely, the Energy sector suffered some profit-taking, but its intra-day decline has been well pared. DJ30 +71.40 NASDAQ +14.93 SP500 +6.40 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1455/1564/1.72 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1607/1635/1.36 bln

2:30 pm : Tight range-bound trade persists. The Financial sector has remained relatively flat today. Insurance brokers demonstrate relative strength, but the industry's 2.6% advance is somewhat overshadowed by weakness in REITs. On a related note, homebuilders extend yesterday's decline. That group is a sore spot for the Consumer Discretionary (+0.4%) sector, and auto manufacturers are an additional weight. Today, Deutsche Bank downgraded GM to Sell from Hold and cut their target to $17 from $22, as they continue to be disappointed by the limited cash savings targeted by current restructuring efforts.DJ30 +59.63 NASDAQ +12.80 SP500 +5.16 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1431/1567/1.60 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1518/1697/1.28 bln

[Roland99]

101. Wow! Oil's back to merely a light gouging at $62/bbl...let's buy stocks!!!

[UpInArms]

97. Senate panel probes Fannie, Freddie foundations (illegal lobbying?)

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-02-08T201211Z_01_N08395346_RTRIDST_0_FINANCIAL-GSES-TAX-UPDATE-2.XML

WASHINGTON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Finance Committee is examining whether Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) abused the tax status of their charitable foundations by using them to skirt campaign finance and lobbying laws, the panel's chairman said on Wednesday.

"I'm concerned that we're seeing more and more charities in general used in the best interests of lobbyists or special interests, and not in the public's interest," Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley said in a statement.

The Senate Finance Committee has been conducting a broad review to make sure that charitable dollars are being used for the intended purpose and whether non-profit groups fully warrant their special tax-exempt purpose, the statement said.

"My committee is reviewing this matter to gain a better understanding of the relationship between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their charitable foundations," he said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

98. PIEHOLE ALERT:

3:34pm 02/08/06 BUSH AT BILL SIGNING: SPENDING RESTRAINT ESSENTIAL

GACK!!!

The hypocrisy is astounding!

:banghead:

[UpInArms]

103. closing and blather

Dow 10,858.62 +108.86 (+1.01%)
Nasdaq 2,266.98 +22.02 (+0.98%)
S&P 500 1,265.65 +10.87 (+0.87%)
10-Yr Bond 4.595 +0.28 (+0.61%)

NYSE Volume 2,427,382,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,221,350,000

Concerns over inflation, Fed tightening, Iran, earnings growth, and the yield curve continue to hang over the equity market, but investors found reasons to buy today. Cisco (CSCO 19.44 +1.35) delivered better than expected earnings after yesterday's close, and news that Pfizer (PFE 26.44 +1.50) may divest its lower-margin consumer health care business lent further upside. In addition, the market took a bullish cue from extended price declines across the energy complex.

The notion that Cisco did not disappoint, as has been the case with a number of Tech companies, gave the market an early boost. The communication equipment industry surged, and bargain hunters lifted the sector a market-leading 1.9%. The hardware and semiconductor groups were also particularly strong following analyst upgrades on Dell (DELL 31.55 +1.86) and Applied Materials (AMAT 20.19 +0.69) shares. Led by Pfizer, Health Care (+1.2%) was a strong force behind the market's rise. The Financial sector's late-day advance (+0.7%) lent further momentum. The Treasury market spent the day on negative turf, largely due to rumored comments out of former Fed Chief Greenspan yesterday. The yield curve remained inverted, and uncertainty over the length of the Fed's tightening cycle continues to bother the market. However, even banks benefited from the broad-based buying action.

Minutes before the closing bell, the Energy sector (+0.1%) rebounded. That action sent the indices to their best levels of the session. The economic front featured just one item, which was a mixed bag from the Department of Energy. Crude supply unexpectedly dropped, but gasoline inventory increased more than two times the forecasted build. Given the implication that higher gasoline inventories should translate into lower prices at the pump for consumers, the latter point was a supportive factor for the broader market. While extended energy price declines incited profit taking across the Energy sector, it too was lifted by wide-spread buying. We remain bullish on the sector, and very strong earnings reports from our portfolio pick Grant Prideco (GRP 45.93 -2.52) and Diamond Offshore (DO 79.85 -0.23) underpin that view.

The Discretionary sector benefited by the energy price action, as well as from strong same-restaurant sales data from McDonald's (MCD 36.38 +0.19). The company, another one of our portfolio picks, reported its 33rd straight month of global comps growth. Due to news that Univision (UVN 34.26 +3.72) may put itself up for sale, broadcasting and cable surged. On a related note, reports that Carl Icahn has advanced his Time Warner (TWX 18.50 +0.14) break-up plan helped send Telecom 1.7% higher.

General Motors (GM 21.95 -0.86) was one of the market's worst performers today. Deutsche Bank downgraded the stock to Sell from Hold and cut their target to $17 from $22, citing continued disappointment in the limited cash savings targeted by the company's current restructuring efforts. Related issues also trended lower, but were more than offset by advances across the broader market.DJ30 +108.86 NASDAQ +22.02 SP500 +10.87 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1291/1769/2.20 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1380/1918/1.79 bln