STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday August 5

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday August 5, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 169
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2753 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2478 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2769
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

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

---

AT THE CLOSING BELL WHEN BUSH TOOK OFFICE on January 22, 2001
Dow - 10,578.24
Nasdaq - 2,757.91
S&P 500 - 1,342.90
Oil - $27.69/bbl
Gold - $266.70/oz.
$1 USD = EUR 1.06678
$1 USD = JPY 116.6200

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON August 4, 2008

Dow... 11,284.15 -42.17 (-0.37%)
Nasdaq... 2,285.56 -25.40 (-1.10%)
S&P 500... 1,249.01 -11.30 (-0.90%)
Gold future... 907.90 -9.60 (-1.06%)
30-Year Bond 4.59% +0.02 (+0.44%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.97% +0.02 (+0.61%)






GOLD,EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. Market WrapUp: Everybody Gets a Trophy

Oh dear. This has aromas of Greenscam's 'hands off the free(dom) markets' through it. - Ozy

Economic perils of the Nanny State
BY TONY ALLISON

Let me take you to a magical land called NannyState, where once upon a time everyone was happy, inflation was low and real estate always went up. Or did. Times are a’ changing in NannyState and all is not well.

Everyone was elated in NannyState in 2002-2006, because real estate really went up. Way up. There was no need to sacrifice or save because you could buy a home with no money down. Everyone could enjoy the American Dream! In fact, banks offered a 125% loan so you could upgrade the house and take a nice vacation. Everyone deserved the opportunity to buy McMansions and drive Hummers. NannyState made sure interest rates were low, and inflation was “under control” and money was plentiful. Life was great!

.....

NannyState believes the public can’t deal with hard times and must be continually lied to in order to preserve a false prosperity. The truth is slowly dawning on some citizens anyway, and they are not amused.

.....

If the citizens of NannyState do not wish to wake up with a severe hangover after the party, there are certain steps that will likely help alleviate the discomfort.

* Save more and spend less
* Pay down debt, even if just a little each month
* Invest internationally, and diversify out of dollar-denominated assets
* Strive to become more self-sufficient
* Understand the concept that prosperity is earned, not deserved
* Remain skeptical
* Stop giving trophies for participation in youth sports (just kidding, but not a bad idea)

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

[fasttense]

4. What a fool this man is.

Unless you were one of the uber wealthy, there never was a Nanny State for you. You had to go out and sell your labor alongside, convicts, children and illegal immigrants. You had to work double shifts just to get enough money to feed your family. There was no Nanny State for the middle class and poor. Only the haves and have mores, bushes base, got the Nanny to take care of them.

We are our brothers' keeper but handing off a nation's wealth to the wealthy never did solve anything.

A society is not judged by how they keep their kings, but how they treat the weakest among them.

[ozymandius]

6. I am disappointed with his parroting Greenscam's FT drivel.

Yesterday the Financial Times published an op-ed piece by the Messtro himself. Greenscam wrote in his thick, plodding language exalting the free markets. He said forcefully that government asserting itself into the markets is bad, bad, bad. Oh boy - how the old hack has forgotten that Fischer the Fixer was working for him in those heady days of market manipulation.

I only regret that, after reading that crock of selective amnesia, there are a few minutes of my life gone forever, spent for nothing.

[rfranklin]

11. The invisible hand has been panhandling again...

Capitalism Comes in Two Parts - Profit & Loss

by Jon Faulkner | August 3, 2008 - 2:58pm


Republicans have preached about the Magical Free Market for so long they’re starting to believe it is magical - that profit comes automatically, as long as the government, with its suffocating rules and regulations, stays out of things. Conservatives seem to have forgotten there’s another side of profit, and that is loss. If profit is the soul of capitalism, then risk is its heart. Americans can have respect and admiration for a man who is willing to believe in his own ideas, and is willing to put his last nickel on the line because he believes in himself. Such a man is saying, in a fundamental way, here is my fortune. I’m willing to risk it, and by extension, the well being of my family and friends, and my reputation as an intelligent, discerning person, that I might profit from my idea. Without risk, there is no point in profit. What is there to admire about a man who puts a few dollars into this or that enterprise knowing it will be returned to him no matter the circumstances, no matter the inherent danger? Capitalism without risk is defined fascism.

Consider the republican response to the collapse of the Housing Industry. Taxpayers, only a few months ago, lent J.P. Morgan $30 billion to bail out the fifth largest investment house in the nation, Bear Stearns. The loan was a sweetheart deal. The interest was 2.5% - hardly a rate that’s available to a majority of Americans. If the deal goes sour, and J.P. Morgan is unable to recoup any of Bear Stearn’s losses, J.P. would only be responsible for the first billion of the $30 billion dollar loan. American taxpayers would bear the rest of the burden. They are being asked to accept most of the risk for their loan of $30 billion dollars, while J.P. Morgan gets the profit. Nice work. If you can get it.

--more--

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/16269

[UpInArms]

23. I'm so sorry that you read his drivel, Ozy

I was about to puke just reading the synopsis of the article and determined it was just more bullshit that the washed up has been partisan hack POS was spewing to distract the masses.

[Hugin]

40. Thom Hartmann had a shrugger on his show yesterday...

I lost a couple of minutes of my life there... So, I won't bother with this one. Thanks for the warning.


As any cult the Objectivists have cute 'pat' answers derived from the fiction book they've based their
ideology on... Irritating to say the least. Of course, none of it has any sort of empirical (that means scientific)
support or if there is contrary evidence (like current state of our predatory economy) they summarily ignore it.

In other words, there's not a conversationalist in the bunch. Sermonizers, all. :eyes:

[Dr.Phool]

55. They remind me a lot of communists and Larouchies I encountered years ago.

I was pretty active in the anti-war movement when I got out of the service in 1971. The people I encountered in SDS (post PLP take-over) and other organizations couldn't see a mule after it kicked them. The sun was shining goddamned it, even if it was midnight and stormy, if Marx or Mao said so.

I ran off with the Yippie's. At least we could smoke dope and have fun.

[Demeter]

57. More LIke Free Piracy than a Free Market IMO

[TalkingDog]

60. Would he be willing to impose the same criteria on businesses?

Since they have "personhood" and all....


That's always been my problem with the idea of "citizens" and "corporate citizens".

Strictly speaking you can't have the 2nd without the first, which should make the first at least equal in stature.

The problems have come with the depersonalization of the 1st and the personalization of the 2nd.

Our priorities have become purposefully inverted by those that stand to profit. The machine always works in service to the man. Taken at face value, it would seem to be the other way around, but that is data offered without contextual information.

We have allowed the abhorrently henious and abnormal to become normalized so that a few have more than they will ever be able to use.

It is a sickness.

[Karenina]

101. It is impossible to negotiate a win-win outcome

with someone whose core value is win-lose. A citizen has responsibilities to the community-at-large. A corporate citizen's legally mandated fiduciary responsibility is to increase shareholder value and FUCK ANY/EVERYONE ELSE. But we all know that. ;-)

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

10:00 ISM Services Jul
Briefing.com 51.0
Consensus 48.7
Prior 48.2

14:15 FOMC Policy Statement

http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

[UpInArms]

53. U.S. July ISM services new-orders index 47.9% vs. 48.6%

01. U.S. July ISM nonmanufacturing index 49.5 vs 48.4 expected
10:01 AM ET, Aug 05, 2008

02. U.S. July ISM services new-orders index 47.9% vs. 48.6%
10:01 AM ET, Aug 05, 2008

but... it's not as bad as was expected :eyes:

[ozymandius]

3. Oil falls toward $120 in Asia on demand concerns

SINGAPORE - Oil prices fell to near $120 a barrel Tuesday in Asia on expectations the economic downturn in the U.S. will erode consumer demand for crude products.

"The main factor weighing on oil prices is worries about oil consumption being weakened, especially in the U.S.," said David Moore, a commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 93 cents to $120.48 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract dropped $3.69 overnight to settle at $121.41 a barrel.

.....

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 2.51 cents to $3.325 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline prices dropped 2.82 cents to $2.972 a gallon. Natural gas futures decreased 9.7 cents to $8.629 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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

[Ghost Dog]

13. Asian stocks drop as oil slide raises fears

HONG KONG, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Asian stocks fell to their lowest level in more than a year on Tuesday as shares in resource firms such as BHP Billiton were pummeled by a slump in oil and metals prices to multi-month lows.

Oil hovered just above a three-month low on signs of declining U.S. fuel demand, helping to lift the dollar to a seven-week high against a basket of major currencies.

But the steep decline in crude prices to $120 from a record high above $147 in mid-July is worrying some investors in Asia who had at first cheered the benefits in a region where countries are grappling with double-digit inflation.

Instead, the commodity declines are now reinforcing fears of a slowing global economy, one year after a downturn in the U.S. subprime mortgage market helped spark a financial crisis still reverberating around the world.

...

The declines in resource firms, combined with the concerns over the global economy, brought the MSCI index of Asian stocks outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS at one point to its lowest level since March 2007, before it pared some of the losses.

The index was down 1.8 percent as of 0600 GMT.

...

Metal prices also slumped. Spot platinum <XPT=> dropped to as low as $1,530.00 an ounce, its weakest in more than six months, from $1,551/$1,571 late in New York on Monday, on fears of falling demand from struggling global auto makers.

Gold <XAU=> edged down about $4 to $890.95/892.00 an ounce.

COMMODITY SHARES SLUMP

The falling prices of oil and metals dented commodity shares in Asia, with Australian resource firm BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) losing 6 percent and Hong Kong-listed oil offshore producer CNOOC (0883.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) down 5.4 percent.

"Global slowdown worries have prompted an unwinding in the commodities market, which in turn has spurred a sell-off in commodity-linked stocks," said Steven Leung, director with UOB Kay Hain in Hong Kong.

"If the U.S. dollar continues to advance we will see commodity stocks taking further hits in the short term."

The resource-heavy Australian index fell 1.4 percent, while the Hong Kong .HSI and Taiwan indexes dropped more than 2 percent each.

Tokyo's Nikkei average .N225 swung between gains and losses, to end down 0.1 percent. Falls in commodity-related shares were offset by gains in exporters such as Honda Motor (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) which benefit from a weaker Japanese yen.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINSP6922820080805?rpc=44&sp=true

[ozymandius]

5. No change expected in Fed interest rates

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve, caught between mounting job losses and rising inflation, is likely to sit tight and hope that the interest rate cuts it has already provided will be enough to heal a sick economy.

Private economists believe that when the central bank concludes its one-day meeting on Tuesday, it will announce that its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, will remain at 2 percent.

.....

Many economists believe the funds rate will remain at 2 percent not only in August but for the rest of this year. That would mean that commercial banks' prime lending rate, the benchmark for millions of consumer and business loans, will remain at 5 percent, its lowest level since late 2004.

.....

The inflation pressures have come while the economy has been staggered by a prolonged housing slump that has pushed home prices down by record amounts and a severe credit crisis that has seen banks tighten lending standards sharply after billions of dollars of losses on bad mortgage loans.

The combination of a weak economy and rising inflation has raised fears of stagflation, the malady that last beset the country during the oil price shocks of the 1970s.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080805/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_interest_rates

[ozymandius]

10. Bernanke May Sound Tougher on Inflation to Avert Fed Rebellion

Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, likely to leave interest rates unchanged today, may need to sound tougher on inflation to avert the sharpest public disagreement among policy makers in more than a decade.

The fastest inflation in 17 years adds to the risk that three members of the Federal Open Market Committee will dissent for the first time since 1992. Gary Stern, president of the Fed's Minneapolis bank, and the Philadelphia Fed's Charles Plosser joined Dallas's Richard Fisher since the last meeting in June in calling for an increase in rates to limit price increases.

The trio wield more clout than usual because two seats assigned to Fed governors on the 12-member panel are currently vacant. That means Bernanke must craft a consensus that's responsive to the their inflation warnings while still heeding tumbling housing prices, a faltering economy and the worst credit crisis since the Great Depression.

.....

Ten officials will decide the price of money today: Four are district-bank leaders that rotate into voting slots each year, joining five Washington-based governors. The New York Fed president has a permanent slot as the FOMC's vice chairman and tends to back the chairman.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=a8EvQOfmB7l4&refer=economy

[radfringe]

24. may sound tougher?

oooooooooooooo....shaking in my boots... bernie's gonna sound tough.... :eyes:

[ozymandius]

7. ECB, BoE expected to leave rates unchanged

FRANKFURT, Germany - The European Central Bank and Bank of England will likely leave interest rates unchanged Thursday, paralyzed by mounting inflation and slowing growth.

Accelerating prices and signs that growth has stalled are major dilemmas for both banks.

The ECB last month moved to cool inflation by hiking borrowing costs for the first time in a year to 4.25 percent for the 15 countries that use the euro — a bloc of 320 million people that accounts for more than 15 percent of the world's gross domestic product.

The Bank of England, however, has left rates unchanged at 5 percent since April, when it reduced its benchmark figure by a quarter of a percentage point.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080805/ap_on_bi_ge/europe_interest_rates

[ozymandius]

8. SocGen second-quarter net profit drops 63 percent

PARIS - French bank Societe Generale SA said Tuesday net profit fell 63 percent in the second quarter, after its investment banking unit posted a loss.

Net profit dropped to euro644 million ($1 billion) in the second quarter from euro1.74 billion a year ago, SocGen said in a statement.

Continued turmoil in global financial markets led SocGen's corporate and investment banking unit to a euro186 million ($290 million) loss, compared with a euro721 million profit a year earlier, the bank said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080805/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_france_societe_generale

[Ghost Dog]

12. European stocks extend gains, banks lead rally

LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - European stocks extended gains in midday trade on Tuesday, led by banks which rose ahead of the Federal Reserve rate decision and following better-than expected results from Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

By 1102 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 1.8 percent at 1,173.64 points, having risen by as much as 2 percent.

Societe Generale rose by nearly 7 percent after its results, while the DJ Stoxx European banks index rose 4 percent.

HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 9 percent, UBS (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) advanced 6.6 percent and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) climbed 4.7 percent.

Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 7.4 percent after Swiss Re (RUKN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) agreed to buy its life assurance portfolio for 753 million pounds.

/. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAL559943320080805?rpc=44

[Ghost Dog]

64. Europe stocks rally on oil drop, SocGen earnings

PARIS, Aug 5 (Reuters) - European stocks rose sharply on Tuesday to snap a three-day losing streak thanks to a drop in oil prices and better-than-feared results from Societe Generale (SOGN.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) that lifted banks ahead of a U.S. rate decision.

Oil-sensitive airline stocks were among the biggest gainers as crude fell to a three-month low around $118 a barrel. Ryanair (RYA.I: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) rose 15 percent and British Airways (BAY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) added 5.7 percent, while Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which posted better-than-expected earnings, gained 9.2 percent.

Danish brewer Carlsberg (CARLb.CO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) soared 16 percent after posting forecast-beating second-quarter earnings. The solid results lifted shares in peers Heineken (HEIN.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) 5.3 percent and InBev (INTB.BR: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) 6.1 percent.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares unofficially closed 2.6 percent higher at 1,181.93 points. The index is down 22 percent on the year.

...

European energy stocks were the big losers of the day, with Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) losing 1.4 percent and BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) falling 1.4 percent.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCAL568376520080805?rpc=44

[Ghost Dog]

65. Toronto stocks swept lower by big commodity selloff

TORONTO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock market index plunged more than 300 points on Tuesday morning as a broad sell-off in oil and other key commodities knocked the index to its lowest level since late March.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 294.87 points, or 2.2 percent, at 13,201.66 after dropping as low as 13,130 earlier in the day.

It was the index's lowest level since March 25, when it hit 13,019.72. Its low for 2008 is 11,982.89, set on Jan 22.

Only five of the TSX index's main groups were down but a big 6.9 percent decline in the resource-heavy materials group and a 5.2 percent fall in oil issues knocked it for a loop.

Fertilizer producer Potash Corp (POT.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) was down 10.5 percent and oil company Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) dropped 6.6 percent.

...

Despite the plunge, at least one market pundit saw the declines as a turning point for the market, which he said has experienced irrational gains over the past year on the back of rising natural resource prices.

"This is wonderful news. We are getting back to a sense of sanity," said Rick Hutcheon, president and chief operating officer at RKH Investments.

"We have energy going in the right direction. Gold is down and the U.S. market is running in the right direction. I don't understand why people are unhappy here."

Among the key issues falling on Tuesday were Potash Corp, which dropped C$22.90 to C$184.09, and fellow fertilizer company Agrium Inc (AGU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which fell C$7.15 to C$82.62. Agrium is set to release quarterly results later in the week.

Most key energy shares were lower including Suncor Energy (SU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which slipped C$3.78 to C$52.34, and Canadian Natural, which dropped C$5.68 to C$75.60.

Financial shares helped cushion some of the blow with a rise of 1 percent spurred by merger activity in the mutual fund market.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0532248820080805?sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

66. Brazil stocks rise on bargain hunting, real drops

SAO PAULO, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Brazil's stock market rose on Tuesday as investors went bottom fishing for shares such as mining company Vale and banking giant Itau, which had tumbled in recent sessions.

The Bovespa index .BVSP of the Sao Paulo stock exchange was up 1.7 percent at 56,547.29, the first gain after a three-day rout that wiped out nearly 7.3 percent in value from the index and pushed it to its weakest since Jan. 23.

The exchange had record net foreign investment outflows of 7.6 billion reais in July, surpassing a previous all-time high of 7.4 billion reais in outflows in June.

Foreign investors, which account for nearly one-third of trading at the exchange, have been selling assets in Brazil to cover losses in the United States and Europe, traders said.

Blue-chip stocks Vale and Petrobras lost at least 10 percent in the previous three sessions as prices of oil and other commodities declined, bringing the entire index down.

"The market today is making up for the excessive declines of the past days, even as lower commodity prices hurt those companies with the heaviest weight on the index," said Carlos Alberto Ribeiro, a director at brokerage Novacao. "We are also taking advantage of a positive scenario abroad."

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCNN0531233120080805?rpc=44&sp=true

[ozymandius]

9. D.R. Horton posts smaller 3Q loss on lower charges

DALLAS - Homebuilder D.R. Horton has posted a smaller loss in its fiscal third quarter, as charges to write down the value of property declined.

Fort Worth, Texas-based D.R. Horton posted a loss of $339.3 million, or a loss of $1.26 per share, compared with a year-ago loss of $823.8 million, or a loss of $2.62 per share.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080805/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_dr_horton

[ozymandius]

14. U.S. Stock-Index Futures Advance; Procter & Gamble, GM Climb

Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures gained, indicating the Standard & Poor's 500 Index may rebound from three days of losses, as investors speculated second-quarter earnings will continue to beat estimates and oil dropped to $119 a barrel.

Procter & Gamble Co., the world's largest consumer-products company, rose after posting fourth-quarter profit that topped projections. General Motors Corp., the automaker that reported a $15.5 billion loss last week, advanced in Europe after crude slumped as much as 2.8 percent in New York. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its decision on interest rates.

Futures on the S&P 500 Index expiring in September added 10.2 to 1,259 at 12:06 p.m. in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 85 to 11,356. Nasdaq-100 Index futures increased 17 to 1,828.75.

.....

Bear Market

Energy companies in the S&P 500 fell into a bear market yesterday, bringing their decline from a May record to more than 20 percent, after crude prices dropped.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601084&sid=agOrIGD.MS5Q&refer=stocks

[UpInArms]

15. dollar watch

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

Last trade 73.794 Change +0.298 (+0.41%)

US Dollar: Will the Federal Reserve's Meeting Yield A Bullish Breakout?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/US_Dollar__Will_the_Federal_1217879662607.html

The US dollar has been rallying against the world’s most heavily traded currencies on speculation the United States Federal Reserve could open the door for a series of rate hikes in the months ahead. However, with the US economy remaining fragile, is there a chance that the Federal Reserve could disappoint and hurt the US dollar?

The US Dollar Has Been Appreciating But Could the US Federal Reserve Disappoint?

The US dollar has been rallying against the world’s most heavily traded currencies on speculation the United States Federal Reserve could open the door for a series of rate hikes in the months ahead. Indeed, the US dollar is trading close to a one month high against the euro and has been appreciating sharply against the Japanese yen. Yet, the chances of the Federal Reserve increasing rates by 25 basis points at this August meeting are below 7 percent. In fact, even though real GDP growth picked up to a 1.9 percent annual rate, the U.S. economy remains very fragile and the recent spike in economic activity only reflects spending out of tax rebates. Moreover, traders expect the Federal Reserve to increase rates by 75 bps over the next eight FOMC meetings, according to overnight index swaps which measure interest rate expectations for the next twelve months. Nevertheless, the US Federal Reserve may disappoint and hurt the U.S. dollar.

US Economic Data: How Have Things Changed Since the Last Meeting?

Since the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) last met in late-June, economic conditions in the US have evolved in a less-than-favorable way. While GDP rose to a 1.9 percent annualized pace in Q2 from 0.9 percent in Q1, this was simply an advanced reading and could be revised two more times. Highlighting the importance of this factor, Q4 GDP was revised just last week down to a dismal -0.2 percent from 0.6 percent. Additionally, more timely indicators of economic expansion point to a slowdown. On the consumer front, personal spending, personal income, and advance retail sales all slowed dramatically in June following a post-rebate check bounce in May. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate surged to a four-year high of 5.7 percent as non-farm payrolls plummeted for the seventh consecutive month by 51,000 workers. In the housing sector, new and previously-owned home sales continue to contract, while the most recent S&P/Case-Shiller home price index fell by 15.78 percent in May from a year ago, marking the sharpest drop on record. Manufacturers have fared somewhat better thanks to export demand, though conditions are far from resilient. In fact, the July ISM index for the sector fell to 50 from 50.2, signaling that business activity stagnated.

Clearly, the most up-to-date data shows that the US economy is floundering. So will the FOMC move to cut rates anytime soon? Don’t count on it. Currently, fed fund futures are pricing in no change in rates on Tuesday, and a slight 8 percent chance of a 25bp hike to 2.25 percent (rate expectations are measured in the table below). Looking further ahead, though, overnight index swaps are currently pricing in approximately 75bps of rate increases within the next year. Why? Inflation fears. The Federal Reserve has many goals cited in its Mission Statement, with the primary ones being to conduct “the nation's monetary policy…in pursuit of maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.” Now that the FOMC is dealing with two opposing factors – rising unemployment and accelerating price growth – their decision is far more complicated. With headline CPI jumping to 5.0 percent annual pace in June – a 17-year high – and core CPI rising to a 2.4 percent annual pace, the markets are betting that the FOMC is more likely to hike interest rates in an effort to make it clear that inflation is their primary concern.

...more...

Dollar Domination Continues

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/special_report/special_reports/Dollar_Domination_Continues_1217931603765.html

Last week proved immensely fruitful as we hit our long US Dollar targets on trades against the Euro, Australian Dollar, and New Zealand Dollar, yielding a cumulative 587 pips. We see the greenback continue to exhibit strength going forward, with the majors now lined up to offer new entry opportunities.



...more...

[UpInArms]

25. Behold the power of bullshit:

http://www.reuters.com/article/usDollarRpt/idUSL564475920080805?sp=true

The Fed is widely expected to keep key rates at 2.0 percent, although the futures market is pricing in a near one-in-five chance of a quarter percentage point rise FEDWATCH.

If Federal Open Market Committee voting members Charles Plosser and possibly Gary Stern join Richard Fisher in calling for a rate increase, the dollar could get an additional boost.

"We see at least one FOMC member likely to vote for a hike in light of the increasing inflationary pressures, though there is the potential for three dissenters to emerge," said RBC Capital Markets strategists.

see? they don't expect the rate to rise, but if..... if 2 of these clowns vote for a rate increase that doesn't happen - it's a market mover!

wheee!

[ozymandius]

29. It's like Fantasy Island, Survivor and American Idol all wrapped in one.

Whose hand will Chopper Ben hold next? Will Plosser and Fisher invite Stern to their side of the island? Stay tuned.

What utter nonsense. How is this drama actionable?

[ozymandius]

27. Reminder of a bedrock element beneath this stress:

Inflation is at a 27-year high. That figure was recorded in June soon after the last FOMC meeting.

[UpInArms]

91. Rates stay the same - The 10-1 decision - Fisher lone dissenter

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0532511320080805?sp=true

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve held U.S. interest rates steady on Tuesday, expressing concerns on both economic growth and inflation and offering few clues as to when it might push borrowing costs higher.

The 10-1 decision by the U.S. central bank leaves the benchmark federal funds rate target at a low 2 percent, where it has been since April. The Fed had reduced rates by a cumulative 3.25 percentage points since mid-September in response to a sharp housing retrenchment and turmoil in credit markets.

"Although downside risks to growth remain, the upside risks to inflation are also of significant concern," the Fed said in a statement.

The announcement closely mirrored a statement issued after the Fed's last meeting in late June. However, the central bank omitted a phrase contained in the June statement that had said risks to growth appeared "to have diminished somewhat."

U.S. stocks added to earlier gains, while prices for U.S. government debt securities and the dollar slipped. U.S. short-term interest rate futures pared the implied prospects of rate hikes later this year.

Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Richard Fisher dissented from the decision, preferring higher rates. It was Fisher's fifth straight dissent.

"If there is a subtle shift in the risk assessment it is that while acknowledging the downside risks to growth, it notes the upside risks to inflation 'are also (of) significant concern,'" Marc Chandler, global head of strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York, said in a note to clients.

"This may have been a sufficient bone to the hawks to prevent others from joining Fisher in dissenting," he said.

...more...

:eyes:

[UpInArms]

16. Fewest Treasury Traders Since 1960 Hit Taxpayers

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a4YfkyU_9aMo&refer=home

Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- For the first time since 1960, when it created the network of securities firms obligated to buy and sell Treasury bonds, the U.S. government has the fewest bond traders making markets in its debt and a bigger burden for American taxpayers financing record federal deficits.

The number of so-called primary government securities dealers declined to 19 last month when Bank of America Corp., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired the troubled Countrywide Financial Corp. The sale was the climax of dozens of bank failures, triggered by the biggest decline in residential real estate since the Great Depression and the seizing up of credit markets from New York to London. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the agent of the U.S. Treasury, plans to shrink the dealers again when JPMorgan Chase & Co. completes its takeover of Bear Stearns Cos.

Fewer firms bidding for U.S. bonds means ``you're going to have sloppier auctions,'' said Mark MacQueen, a money manager in Austin, Texas, at Sage Advisory Services, who traded Treasuries at dealer Merrill Lynch & Co. in the 1980s. ``The taxpayer and the government are paying more no matter what happens.''

The paucity of primary dealers coincides with the largest borrowing requirement in American history and the acknowledgment by the administration of President George W. Bush that the U.S. will finance a budget deficit totaling a record $482 billion next year. When the dealer system began 48 years ago with 18 firms, the U.S. had a $300 million surplus. The group has shrunk from a peak of 46 in 1988.

...more...

[UpInArms]

17. Citigroup Posts Loss on Credit-Card Securitizations

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ajsTInbxlpHk&refer=home

Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. reported its first loss since at least 2005 on credit-card securitizations, signaling that risks may be growing in a business that generated $3.5 billion of revenue in the past three years.

The biggest U.S. credit-card lender lost $176 million in the second quarter packaging card loans into securities, the company said in an Aug. 1 regulatory filing. The New York-based bank completed fewer deals and was forced to mark down its own $9 billion stockpile of the debt instruments and other stakes the company amassed while selling them to investors.

Led by Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit, 51, Citigroup manages about $202 billion of credit-card loans worldwide, about $111 billion of which have been turned into securities and sold, according to the filing. Delinquencies on the securitized portion have jumped by 16 percent since the end of last year to $2.16 billion as of June 30, Citigroup said. The firm's results may portend similar losses for rivals.

Banks and other card issuers ``are predicting higher net charge-off rates across the credit-card industry,'' said Meghan Crowe, a Fitch Ratings analyst who tracks credit-card issuers including American Express Co., Capital One Financial Corp. and Advanta Corp. ``Things have been worse than anticipated.''

...more...

[Hugin]

45. Okay, the page is being turned...

To the other Mammoth in the living room.

Quietly this time so as to not wake the natives. Hard to hide the Mortgage looting, what with people on the
streets, signs in the yards, and abandoned houses. If they have their way this one will be much easier to
hide as they can pick us off one-by-one.

:scared:

[Robbien]

100. Credit card securities dropped to $123.5B this year compared to $465.8B this time last year

Here it comes: the spillover from subprime mortgages that many secondary market participants had hoped not to see looks increasingly as if it may finally be coming home to roost. A published report Tuesday morning noted that the credit card ABS market is locking up, as investors pull back from the sector and more borrowers begin to default on their consumer credit debt.

The Wall Street Journal, citing data from JP Morgan Securities, said that issuance of credit card ABS fell to $4.4 billion during July, off from $5.26 billion in June and less than half of the $10.1 billion issued in March. A report by JP Morgan structured finance analysts said that deal flow has “slowed considerably” — and, adding insult to injury in the latest xBS market to falter, those deals that are coming to market are taking longer to do so.

Adding to investor fears in the credit card sector was an August 1 report by Citigroup Inc. (C: 19.92 +5.79%) with the Securities and Exchange Commission that saw the fourth-largest credit card issuer post a $176 million loss in credit card securitization activity during the second quarter.

Overall U.S. ABS issuance slowed to a crawl, totaling just $8.6 billion in July according to industry trade publication Asset Backed Alert; so far this year, ABS issuance has totaled just $123.5 billion.

Last year at this time, total U.S. ABS issuance was $465.8 billion. Forty-two percent of U.S. ABS issuance this year has been in the form of credit card debt, the largest percentage of ABS (which also includes auto financing, student loans, and the like).

http://www.housingwire.com/2008/08/05/credit-card-abs-locking-up-report/

Doors are closing left and right for banks. Do they have any business ventures left?

[UpInArms]

18. Fannie's Mudd Soothed Asian Investors as Bonds Rose

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=azswcZQvmUX0&refer=home

Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mudd was sitting down to a glass of wine with his wife at their Washington home around 10 p.m. on Saturday July 12 when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called.

Concerns about the financial health of the biggest U.S. mortgage finance company had driven Fannie Mae's borrowing costs to the highest since March the previous week and its shares had tumbled 45 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Investors in Asia, the biggest foreign owners of Fannie Mae's $3 trillion of bonds, were asking the Treasury to bolster the government- sponsored company and its smaller competitor, Freddie Mac, said three people with knowledge of the talks.

Paulson told Mudd he had a plan to restore confidence in Fannie and Freddie, the core of the Bush administration's efforts to revive the U.S. housing market. ``At that point, the proposal began to take form,'' Mudd, 49, said in an interview. ``We're trying to solve a crisis of confidence. Would this do it?''

<snip>

Freddie and Fannie rely on foreign institutions. Investors and central banks outside the U.S. own about $1.3 trillion of Fannie and Freddie's corporate and mortgage bonds, according to the Treasury. Chinese institutions are the biggest holders in Asia. European investors own $300 billion of the securities.

...more...

[DemReadingDU]

28. Shedlock: US Blackmailed By China?

8/4/08 US Blackmailed By China? by Mike "Mish" Shedlock
Bloomberg is reporting Fannie's Mudd Soothed Asian Investors as Bonds Rose.

Karl Denninger wrote a scathing attack of Paulson's maneuver in Now We Know - There WAS A Threat. My thoughts on the so-called "confidence building measures" of this scheme follow.

Confidence Building?

* How can anyone have confidence in the markets when the Fed, the SEC, or the Treasury Department has to intervene on a weekly basis?
* How can anyone have any confidence in earnings statements when level 3, market to fantasy assets rise every quarter?
* How can anyone have confidence in banks when Citigroup Holds $1.1 Trillion in Mysterious Off Balance Sheet Assets?
* How can anyone have any confidence when the FASB Postpones Off-Balance-Sheet Rules for a Year, at Citigroup's request, because "It's not practical" to implement the rules now. (Please see Not Practical To Tell The Truth for more on this story).
* How can anyone gave confidence in financial institutions when Deleveraging Risk Is High And Growing At Lehman and other broker dealers?
* How can anyone have any confidence in banks when there are 25 Rock Solid Reasons To Believe The Banking System Is Unsound.
* How can taxpayers have any confidence when Congress acts in the best interest of Fannie Mae executives, investors like Bill Gross who bet on a taxpayer funded bailout, and China, rather than the best interests of taxpayers and innocent citizens that had nothing to do with this housing mess?
* How can anyone have confidence in the system if there is even the remotest possibility that the US financial system was held hostage by China?

Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mudd called Paulson's move a "confidence building measure". Mudd cannot possibly be further from the truth.
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2008/08/us-blackmailed-by-china.html


Edit to add Karl Denninger's essay:
Now We Know - There WAS A Threat
http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/2008/08/04.html

[ozymandius]

31. Just found this: Economic blackmail?

http://www.financialarmageddon.com/2008/08/economic-blackm.html

It's long been said that the U.S. relies on the kindness of foreigners to fund its ever-growing current account deficit. By the same token, our dependence on overseas investors and lenders also makes us vulnerable to external pressures that could be at odds with domestic needs and goals.

If you read between the lines of the following report by Bloomberg's Dawn Kopecki, "Fannie's Mudd Soothed Asian Investors as Bonds Rose," you get the distinct impression that the impetus behind the scramble to bail out the nation's largest mortgage lenders might have been a bit of economic blackmail by countries America is financially beholden to.

Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mudd was sitting down to a glass of wine with his wife at their Washington home around 10 p.m. on Saturday July 12 when Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called.

Concerns about the financial health of the biggest U.S. mortgage finance company had driven Fannie Mae's borrowing costs to the highest since March the previous week and its shares had tumbled 45 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Investors in Asia, the biggest foreign owners of Fannie Mae's $3 trillion of bonds, were asking the Treasury to bolster the government- sponsored company and its smaller competitor, Freddie Mac, said three people with knowledge of the talks.

.....

Asian investors were among the most important groups to soothe because central banks, financial institutions and funds in the region own $800 billion of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's $5.2 trillion in debt, according to data compiled by the Treasury. U.S. officials were concerned that sales from the region would push lending rates higher, said the people, who declined to be named because the discussions were confidential.

.....

Freddie and Fannie rely on foreign institutions. Investors and central banks outside the U.S. own about $1.3 trillion of Fannie and Freddie's corporate and mortgage bonds, according to the Treasury. Chinese institutions are the biggest holders in Asia. European investors own $300 billion of the securities.

"If they stop buying the agency debt, then yields would increase," Ajay Rajadhyaksha, the head of U.S. fixed-income strategy at Barclays Capital in New York, said in reference to Asia investors. "The costs would get passed to the consumers."

much more at link

[DemReadingDU]

33. Yeh, that Bloomberg article is sure making the rounds today

Here's the Bloomberg link again
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=azswcZQvmUX0&refer=home

[ozymandius]

36. There are no secrets anymore.

So thugs have resorted to 'hiding in plain sight' - considering that audacity might deflect scrutiny into their misdeeds. George Carlin spoke frequently about how our government still does all the horrible things that were mere rumors during the Nixon era. These days, though, they're just more matter-of-fact about it.

[ozymandius]

32. Karl Denninger was in front of this. His language is full of fury. And rightfully so!

$800 billion dollars. The precise amount that Paulson asked for, and got, in debt ceiling addition so he could buy $800 billion, potentially, worth of Fannie and Freddie's debt.

And there, in the underlined portion of the quote, is your threat. Either backstop that which the black letter printing in the prospectus (and yes, it really is there) says has no backstop and can lose value or we will not only refuse to buy more but will sell what we have.

Don't you think the American People deserved to know BEFORE our government signed over $800 billion of taxpayer money to CHINA that FOREIGN INVESTORS AND CENTRAL BANKS - THAT IS, FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS - had effectively BLACKMAILED our government?

[Dr.Phool]

34. This was my feeling when it first happened.

I didn't have any numbers or hard information, but it stunk to high heaven, knowing that Asian governments, especially China, held most of the debt.

This went through the House and Senate, without one single hearing or an announcement that it was going to happen.

But, not to worry anymore. No matter who wins the election, our economy will be in better hands than Allstate. On the one hand, we'll have Phil Gramm and Carly Fiorina running things. On the other hand, we'll have the gang from Milton Friedman University running things.

:hide: :puke: :hide:

[ozymandius]

39. The failure of Friedman should result in a confrontation with Obama.

Of all the great things to come from Chicago, Friedman's economic philosophy is not one of them. Friedman's ideas have been tried. And they failed. Anyone who knows a sliver of anything about how we arrived in this morass knows that Friedman's ideas are the root cause of it. These ideas are the seedlings from which grew Grover Norquist's toxic agenda and spawned that hideous Club for Growth. Friedman is the germ for Greenspan. Friedman is the foundation that gave us a post-Katrina New Orleans and the Minneapolis bridge collapse one year ago.

So why did Obama put Friedman clones on his economic team? Is it an Illinois thing? Does he really listen to them? I do wonder about quite a few things.

[antigop]

44. I made the comment on another thread in another forum....

that hopefully Obama put these guys on his advisory team so he could listen to them and do the exact opposite.

I can only hope.

[ozymandius]

49. That's a great thought.

I can appreciate a leader who listens to conflicting ideas. The practice is reminiscent of Lincoln. My primary concern is that Obama's ideas on economics will only come from the single source, rather than from a range of viable alternatives. His modus operandi so far indicates this is how he operates. So there is hope yet that we can avoid another 20+ years of Reagan era mistakes.

[antigop]

50. I share your concerns. n/t

[AnneD]

74. When Warren Buffet sat in on that meeting...

via phone, I had a glimmer of hope. Same with Volker. I am sure Obama got a variation of ideas but it stands to reason that if it isn't working for you know, more of the same won't work any better. I haven't liked what has come out lately...the gimicky 1000 check, using our strategic reserve, drilling off shore,etc. Smacks of pandering.sigh......

[Tansy_Gold]

56. Didn't we all??

[UpInArms]

19. Freddie Mac chief disregarded warning signs: report

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080805/bs_nm/freddiemac_dc

(Reuters) - U.S. mortgage market giant Freddie Mac's (FRE.N) chief executive dismissed internal warnings that could have protected the company from some of the financial problems now engulfing it, the New York Times said, citing more than two dozen current and former high-ranking executives and others.

In 2004, Chief Executive Richard Syron received a memo from Freddie Mac's chief risk officer warning him that the firm was financing questionable loans that threatened its financial health, the paper said.

Though the current housing crisis would have undoubtedly caused problems at both companies, Freddie Mac insiders say Syron heightened those perils by ignoring repeated recommendations, the NY Times said.

In an interview with the paper, Freddie Mac's former chief risk officer, David Andrukonis, recalled telling Syron in mid-2004 that the company was buying bad loans that would likely pose an enormous financial and reputational risk to the company and the country.

Syron received a memo stating that the firm's underwriting standards were becoming shoddier and that the company was becoming exposed to losses, the paper said, citing Andrukonis and two others familiar with the document.

But Syron refused to consider possibilities for reducing Freddie Mac's risks, the paper cited Andrukonis as saying.

"He said we couldn't afford to say no to anyone," the paper quoted Andrukonis as saying. Over the next three years, Freddie Mac continued buying riskier loans, the paper said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

20. Procter & Gamble 4Q profit jumps 33 percent

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080805/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_procter___gamble?_ylt=AreGFqfA2_Yqr8lWq4gY4bGb.HQA

CINCINNATI - Procter & Gamble says its fourth-quarter profit soared 33 percent, helped by tax benefits and a lower tax rate.

The Cincinnati-based company says profit rose to $3.02 billion, or 92 cents per share, from $2.27 billion, or 67 cents per share. Excluding tax benefits, Procter & Gamble Co. earned 80 cents per share.

Thomson Financial says analysts expected 78 cents per share.

The consumer products company says revenue jumped to $21.27 billion from $19.27 billion. Analysts predicted $21.05 billion.

...more...

Anyone see that price hike that they just hit to the consumers with?

[Dr.Phool]

21. A bit of good news (maybe).

Some or all of these people will get to keep their jobs. No details, but normally in situations like these, the "White Knights" demand every concession in the world from workers. We'll see. I hope it works out well for the employees.

http://blog.cleveland.com/business/2008/08/norwalk_furniture_sold_to_priv.html

Norwalk Furniture sold to investment groups
Posted by Frrank Bentayou August 04, 2008 18:02PM
Categories: Breaking News, Manufacturing

Brynne Shaw/The Plain Dealer
Jim Gerken, chairman of Norwalk Furniture, in the company's design center in June 2007. Gerken was a fourth-generation co-owner of the family-run company, which ran into financial difficulties this year and was sold to two investment groups.
Norwalk Furniture Corp., the financially battered Huron County manufacturer that idled 876 jobs in mid-July, said Monday it had signed agreements with two investment groups that could reopen the 106-year-old company by week's end.

Under the new ownership, hundreds of employees in Norwalk, a city of 16,000, and in Fulton, Miss., where the company operates another factory, would likely return to the jobs they had until July 21. That's when the company laid off all but a skeleton workforce.

Days earlier, the company's Dallas-based bank, Comerica, had cut off credit to the furniture maker, making it financially impossible to keep the plants operating. Norwalk owed the bank $11.1 million.

Both investment groups have strong ties to Ohio. IRG Capital Group LLC is an affiliate of Industrial Realty Group LLC of Downey, Calif., whose most visible area project is the $900 million development in Akron that will include a new international headquarters for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The other investor in Norwalk is Blackbird Capital Partners, based in Cincinnati.
About Stuart Lichter

Through his company -- Industrial Realty Group LLC of Downey, Calif. -- Stuart Lichter has been involved in dozens of development projects nationwide. An affiliate of Industrial Realty Group, IRG Capital Partners, was one of two investment groups that teamed up to buy financially troubled Norwalk Furniture.


(snip) more

___________________________________________________________

Unfortunately, I'm always reminded of the words of the immortal Frank Lorenzo, after he bought and before he raped Eastern Airlines.

"There ain't no Santa Claus".

[UpInArms]

22. Whitney: Credit crunch far from over

http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/04/news/newsmakers/whitney_oppenheimer.fortune/index.htm

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- The credit crisis is far from over, star analyst Meredith Whitney tells Fortune magazine in its upcoming issue.

Whitney, who audaciously - and correctly - predicted last October that Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) would have to cut its dividend, tells the magazine that banks in general today are still facing much bigger credit losses than what they've reported so far.

The Oppenheimer & Co. analyst warned last year - and continues to warn today - that the "incestuous" relationship between the banks and the credit-rating agencies during the real estate bubble will have a long-lasting impact on banks' ability to recover.

For years the ratings agencies, which are paid by the issuers of bonds, gave high marks to securities backed by subprime mortgages. Many of those bonds, of course, turned out to be anything but safe.

<snip>

Whitney's current concern is that banks aren't slashing costs and cutting losses in their loan portfolios fast enough. On the cost side, she says, banks have yet to come to terms with the disappearance of the securitization market, which she believes will stay in hibernation for the next three years.

Why does this matter? From 2001 through 2005, for every dollar of bank capital used to make mortgage loans, ten were supplied via investors in mortgage securities. All that secondary-market capital is now sidelined, but the staffing levels of bank lending departments don't yet reflect it.

By Whitney's reckoning, banks have laid off about 7% of their employees; she thinks the cuts need to reach 25%.

...more...

[radfringe]

26. Credit Card 'Bill of Rights' inches forward

Credit Card 'Bill of Rights' inches forward
Posted: Tuesday, August 5 at 05:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2008/08/legislation-tha.html#posts

Legislation that would ban many unpopular credit card company tactics has been passed by a congressional committee, opening a path for the so-called "Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights" to be considered by the full House of Representatives.

The bill, which was approved by the House Financial Services Committee last week, would prohibit many triggers that cause consumers to pay fees and higher interest rates. For example, it would stop card issuers from imposing higher rates retroactively on outstanding balances in some situations. The legislation was approved by a healthy 39-27 majority despite spirited lobbying against it by the banking industry.

The legislation is nearly identical to a set of new rules proposed in May by banking regulators, including the Federal Reserve. Those rules are still under review, with the public comment period ending Monday. The regulations face several additional hurdles, including a public hearing, though the Fed could wrap up the process by the end of this year.

If passed, the House bill might offer quicker relief to consumers , as some of its provisions would take effect immediately.

But the legislation faces an uphill climb on Capitol Hill. There's only about a three-week window for new business when the House reconvenes in September. Should the credit card bill find its way to the top of the House legislative agenda, and win approval, a similar bill sponsored by Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., would have to be passed and then aligned with the House bill. Finally, the legislation would either have to be signed into law by President Bush in the waning days of his administration -- highly unlikely -- or his veto overridden by Congress, also unlikely.

----------snip-------

Key provisions in the Fed rules and the legislation are:
• Credit card companies are required to give cardholders 45 days notice of any interest rate increases.
• Retroactive rate increases are prohibited, unless the card holder is more than 30 days late.
• Billing statements must be sent 25 calendar days before the due date under the legislation; the new Fed rule varies slightly, requiring 21 days.

The banking industry argues that any restrictions on the way it prices credit will increase costs for all consumers, including those who always pay their bills on time.


=====

F*** the banking industry - with or without restrictions they still increase the costs in one way or another and strangle the goose to get more eggs

[Dr.Phool]

30. Watch the banks go proactive and screw everyone before it takes effect.

And the Fed reign them in?:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

A bunch of Wall Street bankers are not going to cut off their biggest moneymaker.

[ozymandius]

35. Back story from July 5th

Quelle Surprise! Credit Card Companies Opposed to Proposed Regulation

Credit card companies, once having had Washington in the palm of its hand, is now facing a backlash as "gotcha" fees combined with a lot of Americans paying credit card rates that a generation ago would have landed the lender in jail (no joke, on an NPR show that I participated in, a caller said his uncle, a former loan shark, was in wonder of the credit card industry's practices. Said uncle did 15 years of hard time for lending at 17%).

However, reading the reforms currently under consideration for the industry, the proposals do go after some of the more dubious practices but fall far short of imposing stringent controls such as usury ceilings (one could imagine old balances being grandfathered and new balances being subject to limits).

.....

If implemented, the new rules mean, horrors, that credit card issuers would not reap as much profit from chronically indebted card users as in the past, which might in turn lead them to be more stringent in extending credit to them. That would clearly be a terrible outcome.

Another blow for credit card companies not mentioned in the article is the probable death of frequent flier programs. Oh, they won't officially be killed, but the often-difficult-to-use miles (which can be accumulated on certain credit cards) will become well nigh impossible to use unless fuel prices drop in fairly short order. And once consumers figure that out, they will abandon cards tied to airline reward programs, most (all?) of which carry annual fees.

From the NY Times article:

...the legislation most likely to succeed in both the House and Senate sets similar rules on consumers’ behalf. Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, the Democrat of New York who wrote the House bill, and Senator Christopher J. Dodd, the Democrat of Connecticut behind the Senate measure, said they planned to bring their measures to the floor for votes before Congress adjourns in September.

The House and Senate bills as well as the Federal Reserve require that lenders apply payments to the debt with the highest interest rate. All would ban “double cycle” billing, in which interest is charged on some already repaid debt, and all would extend the time required, currently 14 days, between a statement mailing and payment due date.

.....

The credit card industry continues to stand firm against regulation, especially law made by Congress. John G. Finneran Jr., the general counsel at Capital One Financial Corporation, testified in House hearings in March that “it would be unwise — especially at this time — to enact broad legislation that sets payment formulas in statute, redefines critical product features and limits the tools of risk management for consumer credit.”

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/07/quelle-surprise-credit-card-companies.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

37. Layoffs 8/5

Good morning everyone. Today's it's more bad more for Ohio (II've been doing this for a month and I don't think a day has gone by without Ohio losing jobs), the Seattle area, and potentially devastating news in GA.

Sear Holdings Corp - Dallas, TX - 50 jobs lost

Sears Holdings Corp., the parent company of Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co., has filed a letter with the Texas Workforce Commission advising of approximately 50 pending job cuts at its National Claims and National Support Center located at 4849 Greenville Ave. in Dallas.

Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) expects the layoffs, which involve mostly administrative-type positions, will begin on Sept. 26 and end by Nov. 21.

In the letter, Sears Holdings said the entire facility is not closing. The center is one of six support centers operated by the company; according to Sears' Web site, it deals at least in part with accounting.
http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2008/08/04/daily7.html

MDRNA Inc - Bothell, WA - 23 jobs lost

MDRNA Inc. of Bothell said Monday that it would lay off 23 employees, including its president and chief business officer, as the biotech company continues to restructure around its RNA interference programs, while trying to unload its nasal spray business.

The round of job cuts is MDRNA's third since November, when partner Procter & Gamble pulled out of an agreement to co-develop a nasal spray for osteoporosis with the company. MDRNA, formerly known as Nastech Pharmaceutical, has now laid off a total of 145 employees, leaving it with 55 full-time workers.

MDRNA executives said in May that they hoped to sell the nasal spray business, which had long formed the core of its operations.

Asked in an interview about the timing of the layoffs, which mostly encompassed employees who worked in the nasal spray business, Chief Executive Officer J. Michael French said the company had initially hoped to unload all the nasal spray programs, including associated personnel, to one party but that scenario seemed increasingly unlikely.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/373522_mdrna05.html

Borough of Fanwood, NJ - 2 jobs lost

Seven weeks after the borough of Fanwood sent layoff notices to every one of its 70 employees, the mayor and council are one step closer to laying off two municipal workers -- one from the police department and one from the public works department.

An employee in the finance department could be switched from full-time status to part-time.

The cuts, which were introduced by the council last week, will be voted on Aug. 20. If approved, the two employees will leave their jobs Oct. 1. Combined with cuts in other departments and extraordi nary aid from the state, the borough will save more than $600,000 annually, according to Mayor Col leen Mahr.

"(Residents) expected their elected leaders to make the tough decisions," Mahr said about the cuts, which have been discussed by the council and town residents for months.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/union/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1217910950123300.xml&coll=1

Johnson Controls - West Carrollton, OH - 130 jobs lost

WEST CARROLLTON — Johnson Controls Inc. has informed Ohio government it intends to permanently lay off about 130 employees from its local plant by the end of September — at the same time the local General Motors plant ends its second production shift.

The Johnson Controls plant at 217 S. Alex Road will lay off workers around Sept. 29, according to a letter to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services from the company.

The plant, which has about 200 workers, makes seats for GM's sports utility vehicle assembly plant in Moraine. Last week, GM said it will end the second production shift at its Moraine plant by the end of September. In June, GM said the plant will close altogether by 2010 or earlier.

Local Johnson Controls workers have said the Moraine GM plant is their plant's sole customer.
http://www.daytondailynews.com/b/content/oh/story/business/2008/08/04/ddn080408johnsonweb.html

Eli Lilly - Lafayette, IN - 780 jobs potentially lost

Eli Lilly and Co. said today that it is considering closing a manufacturing plant near Lafayette that employs 780 people.

The plant does bulk manufacturing for active pharmaceutical ingredients for the cancer medicine Gemzar and livestock medicine Tylan.
Advertisement

The plant already is under-used, company spokeswoman Angela Sekston said. Head count at the plant has fallen from 1,200 four years ago to less than 800 today.

Last year, Lilly offered a voluntary buyout at the plant.
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:1Y3BhRl_q9EJ:www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20080730/NEWS/80730058+eli+lilly+lafayette+plant&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us

5 Seattle area tech firms - triple-digit job losses

—Vivendi Games, a French gaming giant, has laid off 53 workers in its Issaquah, WA, offices effective mid-September, according to the state Employment Security Department’s dislocated worker unit. Last month Vivendi and Activision completed a merger to create a division of Vivendi called Activision Blizzard, based in Santa Monica, CA. The Issaquah office is part of this division. (It was originally Secret Lair Studios, which was acquired by Vivendi in 2006.)

—Northstar Neuroscience, a medical-device company based in Seattle, has cut 34 percent of its workforce, leaving it with 38 employees. Northstar has halted development of its brain-stimulation device for stroke patients, and is shifting its focus to depression. The company is currently fending off a takeover bid from shareholder Tang Capital Partners.

—Imperium Renewables, the Seattle-based refiner of biodiesel fuels, has laid off a portion of its corporate staff. As first reported last Wednesday in the Seattle P-I, the company has not disclosed the number of workers cut, but has confirmed that layoffs occurred. Imperium’s refinery in Grays Harbor, WA, is still operating.

—Seattle-based CarDomain, an online community site for car and truck enthusiasts, has cut an undisclosed number of staff in response to a drop in advertising sales. The P-I estimates that eight people lost their jobs and that the company now employs fewer than 50 people.

—Lastly, Dipiti, a Seattle-based search startup, has shut its doors. As reported in the P-I, the company focused on mining online message boards and forums, but “didn’t have the resources it needed to accelerate product development and user adoption,” according to CEO Dave Rice. As of February, Dipiti employed nine people and was backed by WestRiver Capital and former Microsoft senior-VP-turned-investor Scott Oki.
http://www.xconomy.com/seattle/2008/08/05/four-layoffs-and-a-funeral-vivendi-northstar-imperium-and-cardomain-cut-staff-dipiti-shuts-doors/

Cape Cod Healthcare - 169 jobs lost

More than 150 employees at Cape Cod Healthcare are waiting to hear if they’ve survived the cut this week as the organization announced that 169 employees in 20 departments would be laid off.

“We need to close our $25 million in operating losses and our $15 million deficit in net income to date this fiscal year. Our present financial performance is not sustainable,” explained Cape Cod Healthcare CEO Richard Salluzzo at a press conference Monday morning.

“The healthcare industry is in a lot of trouble. I don’t think that’s a surprise to anyone, but there are a lot of things we can do here to bring about change,” said Salluzzo.

In May, Cape Cod Healthcare announced 11 layoffs to clerical positions and 30 people accepted early retirement packages. In addition, a 10 percent reduction in executive compensation was enacted.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/barnstable/news/x544100451/CCH-announces-more-layoffs

Sea Island Co. - Sea Island, GA - 300-400 jobs lost

SEA ISLAND, Ga. --
The largest private employer in Glynn County says it will immediately begin laying off 300 to 400 employees.

Sea Island Co. said the move is being made because of faltering real estate sales and a weak national economy. The company, which operates The Cloister resort on Sea Island and The Lodge on St. Siomons Island, has 2,100 employees.

The company's chairman and chief executive, Bill Jones, said the job cuts will come across all areas and all levels of the company.

The company said many of those layoffs would involved seasonal workers, who would have departed at the end of the summer.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/251/story/392865.html

[Pale Blue Dot]

38. Job Cuts Spread Beyond Weakest Sectors

While layoffs at airlines, automakers and financial firms have dominated the headlines, the trend has now "spread throughout much of the economy," according to a report released this week by consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The firm, which helps laid off workers find new jobs, says that 17 of the 25 industries it tracks have seen an increase in job cuts compared with last year. That is particularly true for the aerospace and defense industry, where layoffs nearly tripled, as well as the entertainment and leisure industry, where they nearly doubled.

Job cuts in the public sector -- which is traditionally strong even through recessions -- as well as nonprofit agencies and insurance companies also rose by more than 90%.

"We have seen job cuts increase in the majority of industries that we track," says John Challenger, CEO of the firm, "indicating that the downturn, which was isolated to the housing and financial sectors just a few months ago, has spread throughout much of the economy."

Overall layoffs through July have accelerated by 33% compared with the same period a year ago, with 579,260 workers removed from the payroll so far this year.

http://www.thestreet.com/s/job-cuts-spread-beyond-weakest-sectors/markets/marketfeatures/10431809.html?puc=googlefi&cm_ven=GOOGLEFI&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

[radfringe]

42. crappy economy trickles across the ocean

Toyota lays off 800 temp workers
Forbes - 54 minutes ago
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/08/05/afx5289117.html

TOKYO, Aug 5 (Thomson Financial) - The Toyota Motor group has laid off 800 temporary workers at a factory in Japan due to slumping sales in North America, a company official said Tuesday.

A wholly owned Toyota (nyse: TM - news - people ) subsidiary on the southwestern island of Kyushu laid off 350 temporary workers in June and 450 in July, a company official said.

The move, accounting for some 10 percent of the plant's employees, was the largest ever workforce reduction by the unit.

'The cut was mainly due to a slump in sales in the North American market, which forced us to cut production,' a company official said, adding that the company plans to raise the number of jobs later this year.

[Pale Blue Dot]

51. E-One - Ocala, FL - 200-300 jobs lost

OCALA - Fire truck manufacturer E-One began a wave of layoffs Tuesday morning that employees said will eliminated 200 to 300 positions as the company moves to private ownership.

A former Emergency One employee, left, walks out of the E-One chassis plant on Southwest 20th Street after being laid off Tuesday morning. A fellow employee, right, helps him with his personal belongings.

E-One spokeswoman Amanda Davis said the number reported by laid off employees was not accurate.

"You're not within the range," she said. "That's way too high."

Day shift workers leaving the E-One chassis plant confirmed they had been told at 7 a.m. that they were being laid off because the company has too many workers.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20080805/NEWS/650806308/1001/News01&title=Major_layoffs_begin_at_E_One

[DemReadingDU]

78. Forbes: America's Fastest-Dying Cities (Ohio is the worst)

8/5/08 America's Fastest-Dying Cities

The turmoil of the mortgage market granted a temporary reprieve from hearing about the woes of America's Rust Belt. That doesn't mean things are better. Despite a decade of national prosperity, the former manufacturing backbone of the U.S. is in rougher shape than ever, still searching for some way to replace its long-stilled smokestacks.

Where's it worst? Ohio, according to our analysis, which racked up four of the 10 cities on our list: Youngstown, Canton, Dayton and Cleveland. The runner-up is Michigan, with two cities--Detroit and Flint--making the ranking.

Another brutal statistic all the cities share is a diminishing population. So far this decade, 115,000 people have left Cleveland, for other climes. Smaller changes in other regions can be just as painful. Nearly 30,000 people have left Youngstown, Ohio, and they aren't being replaced by either new babies or new immigrants.

more...
http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/08/04/economy-ohio-michigan-biz_cx_jz_0805dying.html


In Pictures: America's Fastest-Dying Cities
http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/04/economy-ohio-michigan-biz_cx_jz_0805dying_slide_2.html?thisspeed=25000

[ozymandius]

41. Markets shoot to extraordinary highs at open.

9:36
Dow 11,414.25 Up 130.10 (1.15%)
Nasdaq 2,311.05 Up 25.49 (1.12%)
S&P 500 1,260.90 Up 11.89 (0.95%)
10-Yr Bond 3.9700% Down 0.0020
NYSE Volume 133,874,700
Nasdaq Volume 80,771,490

08:55 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +9.2. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +16.6. Early indications suggest a firm upside start for the major indices. In earnings news, MGM Mirage (MGM) reported second quarter earnings of $0.40 per share, which was two cents short of estimates. Molson Coors Brewing (TAP) earned $0.93 per share in the second quarter, ex-items, which fell well short of the $1.16 consensus. TAP cited challenges of energy and commodity inflation.

08:31 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +7.7. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +15.8. Futures continue to indicate a higher start to the trading day. The July ISM Services Index (10:00 AM ET) is the only economic report set for release this session.

08:00 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +8.3. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +15.2. Futures point to a higher open ahead of the FOMC policy announcement at 2:15 ET. The Fed is expected to leave the fed funds rate unchanged at 2.00% (fed funds futures imply a 93% probability rates will remain unchanged). Giving futures a boost this morning is a 1.9% drop in crude prices to $119.07per barrel. In addition, European stock markets are rallying thanks to strength in financial names following better-than-expected results from Societe Generale. In earnings news, Procter & Gamble (PG) topped its expectations.

[Hugin]

46. A banging open, one might say. nt

[Demeter]

58. So, Who Hit the Electric Shocker?: CLEAR!

[Wednesdays]

43. Unhappy Anniversary: 'Banks Circling the Wagons'

Unhappy Anniversary: 'Banks Circling the Wagons' as Credit Crunch Slogs On

As the credit crunch moves into its second year, a big concern for many observers is the fact that long-term rates have risen despite the Fed's aggressive rate-cutting campaign. The Fed controls short-term rates, and its 325 basis points of rate cuts since September have helped borrowers with adjustable-rate mortgages, explains Beth Ann Bovino, senior economist at Standard & Poor's. But "global forces" dictate long-term rates, which is why 30-year mortgages are more expensive now than they were when the Fed started cutting.

Banks worldwide are "circling the wagons" after years of aggressive lending, Bovino says. This credit contraction can been seen in the following:

* Wider spreads between corporate debt and Treasuries, even for high-quality borrowers.
* Record levels of bank borrowing at the Fed's discount window.
* Tighter lending standards by banks worldwide.

The result is higher rates for both corporations and individuals, which means the credit crunch's recent unhappy anniversary is unlikely to be its last: The credit crunch is "in the seventh or eighth inning of an extra-inning game," Bovino says. "It's going to be a long game."

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/44320/Unhappy-Anniversary%3A-Banks-Circling-the-Wagons-as-Credit-Crunch-Slogs-On

[Hugin]

48. Oh, it's an anniversary?

That might explain the irrational exuberance on opening prop-ed up by the repos and repo extensions the past
couple of weeks.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

47. 9:45 or so Commodities Market Reportaletto

CLU08.NYM Crude Oil Sep 08 119.65 8:42am ET Down 1.76 (1.45%)<--==:bounce:
HOU08.NYM Heating Oil Sep 08 3.3095 8:41am ET Down 0.0406 (1.21%) <--==:bounce:
NGU08.NYM Natural Gas Sep 08 8.48 8:42am ET Down 0.246 (2.82%)<--==:bounce:
PNU08.NYM Propane Gas Sep 08 1.785 8:30am ET 0.00 (0.00%)
RBU08.NYM RBOB Gasoline Sep 08 2.96 8:41am ET Down 0.0402 (1.34%) <--==:bounce:

Any day is a good day when the predators in the energy market are taking body blows.

HGQ08.CMX Copper Aug 08 3.481 9:05am ET Down 0.0065 (0.19%)
ZGQ08.CBT Gold 100 oz. Aug 08 889.50 9:19am ET Down 10.60 (1.18%)
GCQ08.CMX Gold Aug 08 884.90 9:12am ET Down 15.20 (1.69%)
PAU08.NYM Palladium Sep 08 348.80 8:42am ET Down 5.65 (1.59%)
PLU08.NYM Platinum Sep 08 2,040.10 8:13am ET 0.00 (0.00%)
ZIQ08.CBT Silver 5000 oz. Aug 08 17.12 Jul 30 0.00 (0.00%)
SIQ08.CMX Silver Aug 08 16.75 9:08am ET Down 0.353 (2.06%)

CCU08.NYB Cocoa Sep 08 2,760.00 9:16am ET Down 23.00 (0.83%)
KCU08.NYB Coffee Sep 08 137.70 9:17am ET Up 0.85 (0.62%)
CTV08.NYB Cotton Oct 08 66.83 9:12am ET Down 0.21 (0.31%)
LBU08.CME Lumber Sep 08 259.00 Aug 4 0.00 (0.00%)
OJU08.NYB Orange Juice Sep 08 100.05 9:16am ET Down 0.85 (0.84%)
SBV08.NYB Sugar #11 Oct 08 13.59 9:17am ET Up 0.17 (1.27%)

[dweller]

59. please put one of those

:bounce: things on the propane and drive it down also if you can...

if only
dp

[UpInArms]

52. Analyst Bove sees Merrill dividend cut soon

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSBNG5582120080805

Aug 5 (Reuters) - Merrill Lynch & Co (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) may announce a dividend cut soon, according to analyst Richard Bove, who widened his 2008 loss estimate for the Wall Street investment bank and brokerage, saying its balance sheet will weigh on earnings for some time to come.

"The biggest issue for this firm... continues to be: Where will the new profits come from?" the Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co analyst said. "The answer to this question remains difficult to discern since most of the key revenue drivers of the past few years do not look very strong at all."

Bove also said the dividend on the common stock was "clearly a burden" for Merrill, as the company had an estimated 1.365 billion shares outstanding which was costing Merrill close to $500 million per quarter.

"There seems to be little merit in continuing to make this expenditure. The company has not expressed a desire to cut the payout... My assumption is that a reduction will be announced soon," Bove wrote in a note to clients.

Bove was one of the first banking analysts to recommend selling financial stocks as credit market problems began last year. Last July, he correctly predicted the booming growth of the financial system could not be sustained by economic growth.

...more...

[JNelson6563]

54. Rolling naked in the gloriously filthy lucre!!

My gawd but the CNBC heads seem to be on the verge of orgasm all morning. At least those who aren't brimming with self-righteousness.

I sure am glad my outlook on life doens't hinge on how the markets are doing. Always easy to tell by the behavior on CNBC, don't need to see the ticker or anything.

Julie

[AnneD]

61. Morning Marketeers......

:hangover: and lurkers. I stayed up til about 4 this am. Once they said the hurricane would land at Sabine Pass.....I conked out-more from the wine than lack of sleep I think. I woke up as the eye passed and took out the dogs. They have been calm, a good sign. They did have their noses to the air today, so they know something is going on.

I was most worried about the wind-but there has not been a great amount of that as of yet. Everything is holding. Hubby has not come home and I could not reach him, so he must be asleep at the hospital. I packed 3 days of meals for him and he has 3 days of clothes. It depends on how much flooding we have, but I look for him to come home tomorrow for sure. Some friends offered me and my pets a place to stay should it get too rough-but I think we will be just fine here. Just about everything is closed. Finally, employers are getting it through their thick skulls that they don't pay folks enough to risk their life and property to prop up their bosses ego. The Mayor has been firm about asking businesses not to open unless it was essential.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears....

[TalkingDog]

62. Glad you are safe.

Here's hoping it avoids damaging everything excepting maybe one building.....oh....somewhere in Crawford.

Yes, it's bad to wish bad things on people. I feel duly guilty for my immaturity. (but not for the wish)

[AnneD]

70. I always pray.....

for justice.;)

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

63. Noon-ish Commodities Report.

CLU08.NYM Crude Oil Sep 08 119.69 11:07am ET Down 1.72 (1.42%):toast:
HOU08.NYM Heating Oil Sep 08 3.3196 11:05am ET Down 0.0305 (0.91%):toast:
NGU08.NYM Natural Gas Sep 08 8.81 11:07am ET Up 0.084 (0.96%)
PNU08.NYM Propane Gas Sep 08 1.785 11:20am ET 0.00 (0.00%)
RBU08.NYM RBOB Gasoline Sep 08 2.9585 11:07am ET Down 0.0417 (1.39%) :toast:

HGQ08.CMX Copper Aug 08 3.474 11:03am ET Down 0.0135 (0.39%)
ZGQ08.CBT Gold 100 oz. Aug 08 881.40 11:55am ET Down 18.70 (2.08%)
GCQ08.CMX Gold Aug 08 878.90 11:45am ET Down 21.20 (2.36%)
PAU08.NYM Palladium Sep 08 355.20 11:16am ET Up 0.75 (0.21%)
PLU08.NYM Platinum Sep 08 2,040.10 11:05am ET 0.00 (0.00%)
ZIQ08.CBT Silver 5000 oz. Aug 08 17.12 Jul 30 0.00 (0.00%)
SIQ08.CMX Silver Aug 08 16.75 9:08am ET Down 0.353 (2.06%)

CU08.CBT Corn Sep 08 527.75 12:06pm ET Down 7.75 (1.45%)
OU08.CBT Oats Sep 08 364.75 11:04am ET Up 5.75 (1.60%)
RRU08.CBT Rough Rice Sep 08 16.20 11:37am ET Up 0.15 (0.93%)
SMQ08.CBT Soybean Meal Aug 08 354.00 12:07pm ET 0.00 (0.00%)
BOQ08.CBT Soybean Oil Aug 08 54.10 12:04pm ET 0.00 (0.00%)
SQ08.CBT Soybeans Aug 08 1,288.00 11:58am ET Up 1.00 (0.08%)

FCQ08.CME Feeder Cattle Aug 08 115.55 12:09pm ET Up 0.125 (0.11%)
PBQ08.CME Frozen Pork Bellies Aug 08 65.95 11:38am ET Down 2.45 (3.58%)
LHQ08.CME Lean Hogs Aug 08 82.90 12:09pm ET Up 0.65 (0.79%)
LCQ08.CME Live Cattle Aug 08 100.60 12:03pm ET Up 0.425 (0.42%)

CCU08.NYB Cocoa Sep 08 2,716.00 11:49am ET Down 67.00 (2.41%)
KCU08.NYB Coffee Sep 08 141.15 11:49am ET Up 4.30 (3.14%)
CTV08.NYB Cotton Oct 08 67.65 11:36am ET Up 0.61 (0.91%)
LBU08.CME Lumber Sep 08 258.50 12:04pm ET Down 0.50 (0.19%)
OJU08.NYB Orange Juice Sep 08 98.00 11:47am ET Down 2.90 (2.87%)
SBV08.NYB Sugar #11 Oct 08 13.59 11:50am ET Up 0.17 (1.27%)
SEU08.NYB Sugar #14 Sep 08 23.78 Aug 4 0.00 (0.00%)

[specimenfred1984]

67. Witness the wonder of publically manipulated markets

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=^GSPC&t=1d&l=on&z=l&q=l&c=

A proud nation of dumbed-down frauds, willing to waste billions of tax-payer dollars to perpetuate a system of criminality that will destroy itself and take the entire nation with it.

[specimenfred1984]

68. of course the link doesn't even work

Look at an intraday S&P 500 chart for today, pure manipulation.

[Wednesdays]

72. Wow! S&P is at it's highest level since...since...

since last Thursday! Whee! :crazy:

[TrogL]

69. Loonie Watch

Highlights

Current:



30-day and 90-day vs.greenback:



30-day vs. Euro, Yen, UK Pound and Swiss Franc




Currency Comparison: http://members.shaw.ca/trogl/looniewatch.html

Detailed analysis: http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?r=CME_CD

Up-to-the-minute graph: http://quotes.ino.com/chart/?s=CME_CD.Y%24%24&v=s&w=5&t=l&a=1

Historical values http://www.x-rates.com/d/USD/CAD/data30.html

2008-06-24 Tuesday, June 24 0.98668 USD
2008-06-25 Wednesday, June 25 0.986777 USD
2008-06-26 Thursday, June 26 0.988045 USD
2008-06-27 Friday, June 27 0.988142 USD
2008-06-30 Monday, June 30 0.981836 USD
2008-07-01 Tuesday, July 1 0.978474 USD
2008-07-02 Wednesday, July 2 0.987459 USD
2008-07-03 Thursday, July 3 0.980008 USD
2008-07-04 Friday, July 4 0.980008 USD
2008-07-07 Monday, July 7 0.982898 USD
2008-07-08 Tuesday, July 8 0.979912 USD
2008-07-09 Wednesday, July 9 0.989315 USD
2008-07-10 Thursday, July 10 0.989805 USD
2008-07-11 Friday, July 11 0.990786 USD
2008-07-14 Monday, July 14 0.994036 USD
2008-07-15 Tuesday, July 15 0.998502 USD
2008-07-16 Wednesday, July 16 0.998004 USD
2008-07-17 Thursday, July 17 0.998203 USD
2008-07-18 Friday, July 18 0.994728 USD
2008-07-21 Monday, July 21 0.998104 USD
2008-07-22 Tuesday, July 22 0.991768 USD
2008-07-23 Wednesday, July 23 0.991277 USD
2008-07-24 Thursday, July 24 0.988728 USD
2008-07-25 Friday, July 25 0.983574 USD
2008-07-28 Monday, July 28 0.978474 USD
2008-07-29 Tuesday, July 29 0.974659 USD
2008-07-30 Wednesday, July 30 0.976562 USD
2008-07-31 Thursday, July 31 0.974564 USD
2008-08-01 Friday, August 1 0.975515 USD
2008-08-04 Monday, August 4 0.965717 USD

Current values

http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?r=CME_CD)

Market            Open   High    Low   Last  Change    Pct 
CD.Y$$ Cash     0.9578 0.9613 0.9578 0.9593 -0.0055 -0.57% 
CD.U08 Sep 2008 0.9565 0.9610 0.9565 0.9605 -0.0032 -0.33% 
CD.Z08 Dec 2008 0.9584        0.9584 0.9584 -0.0048 -0.50% 
CD.H09 Mar 2009 0.9644 0.9644 0.9644 0.9631 -0.0092 -0.95% 
CD.M09 Jun 2009 0.9880 0.9880 0.9880 0.9632 -0.0092 -0.96% 
CD.U09 Sep 2009 0.9865 0.9865 0.9865 0.9633 -0.0092 -0.96% 
CD.Z09 Dec 2009 0.9845 0.9845 0.9845 0.9634 -0.0092 -0.95%  

Other combinations: (http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?c=currencies)

Market          Open    High    Low     Last    Change   Pct 
AUSTRALIAN $/CANADIAN $ (CME:ACD)
ACD.U08 Sep 2008 0.9596 0.9596 0.9596 0.9596 +0.0088 +0.92%   
EURO/BRITISH POUND (NYBOT:GB)
GB.U08.E Sep 2008 (E) 0.78960 0.78960 0.78960 0.79495 +0.00630 +0.79%    
EURO/JAPANESE YEN (NYBOT:EJ)
EJ.U08.E Sep 2008 (E) 166.455 166.495 166.275 166.275 -1.700 -1.01%     
EURO/US$ (SMALL) (NYBOT:EO)
EO.U08.E Sep 2008 (E) 1.54520 1.54570 1.54280 1.54280 -0.01235 -0.79%   

Blather (from http://quotes.ino.com/exchanges/?r=CME_CD)

The September Canadian Dollar was lower overnight as it extends the decline off July's high and posted a new low for the year. Closes below January's low crossing at 96.25, which marks the lower boundary of this year's extended trading range could prove to be a bear trap due to the oversold condition of stochastics and the RSI. If September extends the overnight breakout of January's low confirming a trading range breakout, last August's low crossing at 93.00 is the next downside target. Closes above the 20-day moving average crossing at 98.43 are needed to confirm that a short-term top has been posted. First resistance is the 10-day moving average crossing at 97.55. Second resistance is the 20-day moving average crossing at 98.43. First support is the overnight low crossing at 95.84. Second support is last August's low crossing at 93.00.

Analysis

No idea what happened. The loonie's lost four cents in about a week. Nothing is going on.

:cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry::cry:

[ozone_man]

73. The dollar rebounds!

It's about time. Starting to seriously intrude on my Canadian vacations. :)

Gold and oil are tanking, which makes the dollar stronger. Commodities have been a large speculative bubble, which is now popping.

[AnneD]

71. In honour of the FED'S and Bernanke......

Our theme for today is...

THE SPINNERS - The Rubberband Man

Hand me down my walkin' cane
Hand me down my hat
Hurry now and don't be late
'Cause we ain't got time to chat
You and me were goin' out
To catch the latest sound
Guranteed to blow your mind
So high you won't come down

Hey, y'all prepare yourself
For the Rubberband man
You never heard a sound
Like the rubberband man
You're bound to lose control
When the Rubberband starts to jam

<snip>


Once I went to hear them play
At a club outside of town
I was so surprised, I was hypnotized
By the sound this cat's puttin' down

When I saw this short fat guy
Stretch a band between his toes
Hey, I laughed so hard
‘Cause the man got down
When he finally reached his goal

more.......

www.oldielyrics.com/lyrics/the_spinners/the_rubberband_man.html

[fascisthunter]

75. Dow up over 200 points? Are you FKidding Me?

what a godamn joke

[TheWatcher]

82. Never underestimate the Power of Bullshit, Propaganda, and Direct Intervention and Manipulation

And the Gullibility and Stupidity of The American Public.

EVER.

Fundamentally, there is no reason for what is happening.

The US Financial Markets have become nothing more than a whorish Casino Playground.

Today will DEFINITELY put all the sheep to sleep for a couple of weeks, and all the resident Apologists and Shills will be out IN FORCE today on DU to chastise all of the "Doom And Gloomers", and smugly strut around like peacocks, pounding their chests and admiring how their Rose-Colored View of the world is always right in the end.

This Country has become a Joke.

[Amonester]

86. I bet it will not take a couple of weeks.

I bet it will drop big time as soon as... tomorrow.

Not what I wish, but... The Wall Street Casino... "works" like that these days.

[TheWatcher]

95. You are probably right.

But the perception, for the time being, will be managed within the Sphere of the General Public. The talking heads will blare this from the rooftops tonight and gently lay most back on their pillows to return to the peaceful slumber of indifference.

Even if there is a big drop tomorrow or in the next couple of days, CNBC will happily chirp that it's Profit Taking, and that everything has never been better.

And sadly, for the most part, most will believe it. Or do everything to convince themselves it's true.

And The Band Will Play On, and the Ponzi Scheme will continue.

Until it doesn't.....

[AnneD]

76. Border truck clash looms

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Monday it will extend the U.S.-Mexico cross-border trucking test program until 2010.
However, a U.S. House committee last week approved a measure that seeks to end cross-border trucking upon the demonstration program's one-year anniversary Sept. 6.
Monday's announcement and the pending House resolution set up a possible congressional-White House showdown in September, when Congress reconvenes after its August recess.
John Hill, administrator of the federal motor carrier agency, said Monday the program has been a success so far, but more participation is needed before deciding whether cross-border trucking should become permanent. The experiment allows U.S. and Mexican carriers to deliver freight in the interiors of each other's countries without switching drivers and cabs at the border.
"A number of potential companies have been unwilling to invest the time and resources necessary to participate due to uncertainties concerning the project's longevity," Hill said in a statement. "We intend this extension to reassure trucking companies that they will have sufficient time to realize a return on their investment, and we anticipate additional participation with this extra time."
Hill said the legislation that let the cross-border trucking test program start for one year included a provision allowing a two-year extension. Hill said the project saves consumers money and cuts shipping costs.
<snip>
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association questioned the timing of the announcement, coming on the first day of Congress' recess.
"The administration has shown time and again that when it comes to this program, they are willing to run roughshod over Congress and the American public," Todd Spencer, the group's executive vice president, said in a statement.

more...

www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5924314.html

Gee Eddy, I think my folks are catching on to you........

[AnneD]

77. Tight for cash, people, businesses seek to recycle

GLENSHAW, Pa. — Forklifts rumble around the scrapyard, grabbing pieces of metal and plunking them on scales: Will the junk be worth a tank of gas or a cart of groceries?
Nationwide, recycling facilities are doing brisk business. Weekends are the busiest, when people have time to bring in scraps like copper wire, brass bits, aluminum window frames and rotted pipes and cans, hoping to make some extra money.
"I drive about 35 miles round trip to work every day, so this recycle made a good deal on my gas tank," said David Trombley, 51, a shower door installer and glazer. He walked away with $133.40 at Fitzsimmons Metal Company in suburban Pittsburgh after turning in scraps left over from remodeling his basement bathroom.
"I put most of it in my tank, over half of it in my gas tank and that'll last me two weeks worth of going to work and back," he said.
Two factors are leading to the national rush to recycle: Skyrocketing metal prices caused by a demand in developing countries, such as China and India, and rapidly rising food and fuel costs that are stretching paychecks to the limit.
David Fitzsimmons, owner of the suburban Pittsburgh recycling facility, says on average about 80 people come through his facility daily, double the number he saw six months ago. Empire Recycling Corp. in Utica, N.Y., now sees 250 or 300 customers a day, up from about 150 people.

<snip>

"It's kind of like the perfect storm," Kowalsky said, noting how commodity prices are making recycling more attractive just as other costs are rising. "They get money here and they supplement their income and pay for their food and their fuel and their rent and everything else."


www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/5924989.html

Economist are sitting there STILL arguing about whether we are in a recession or not. From where I an standing...we are starting to look more like a depression. Our children aren't picking rags yet, but we are getting close. Wonder how plasma donations are going.

[AnneD]

79. Runaway Pay

Outsized executive pay is attracting ever harsher criticism from stakeholders across Europe. The French government, which takes over the six-month presidency of the EU in July, is promising to tackle "scandalous" pay rises and bonus rewards, in the words of finance minister Christine Lagarde. She has hinted that EU-wide regulation may be necessary to limit pay that is not deemed sufficiently linked to company performance. Jean-Claude Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg, told Lagarde and other euro-zone finance ministers at a meeting in May that recent rises in executive pay were a "social scourge," urging his counterparts to consider new taxes on hefty bonuses. Even Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, said that it was "legitimate to raise questions" about the size of some executive pay packages, warning that they could fuel higher inflation and, by extension, push up interest rates.

A sizeable share of executives themselves also think that current pay practices are out of whack. In CFO Europe's latest Business Outlook Survey, 20% of senior finance executives in Europe said that "excessive" executive pay is an issue that may require greater regulatory oversight. (See "The Missing Link" at the end of this article.)


The Dutch government has done most to address the issue, following the multimillion-euro "golden parachutes" granted to the bosses of food group Numico and bank ABN Amro after their recent takeovers. In May, finance minister Wouter Bos introduced a legislative proposal on the "taxation of excessive remunerations." Under the plan, now working its way through parliament, companies that award severance payments exceeding the annual salary of employees making more than €500,000 will, from 2009, face a 30% levy, as well as additional tax of 15%, from 2010, on contributions to those employees' pension funds.

Can companies do a better job designing pay policies in order to avoid a more widespread regulatory crackdown? For Pascual Berrone, a professor at Spanish business school IESE and contributing author to Global Compensation: Foundations and Perspectives (Routledge, 2008), the answer involves broadening the performance measures tied to executive pay. The general public — and by extension, politicians — want companies to "do more than amass shareholder wealth," Berrone says. "Diverse stakeholders' goals should be part of corporate strategy and reflected in pay schemes." Including environmental metrics or broader social measures in bonus schemes alongside traditional profit-based gauges, he says, will send the signal that a company is "more than just a money-making machine." Although naturally, he adds, that should be a firm's overarching goal.

Factoring squishier metrics into pay schemes may appear to be a tall order, but Berrone points out that executive compensation has always been "more of an art than a science."


www.cfo.com/article.cfm/11661224/?f=rsspage

More art than science my white sagging ass. Every time I went in for a pay raise-they were pretty specific with the requirement. The metrics is nothing more than a shell game. How about letting the employees rate them too. That might be an eye opener. :spray:

[Ghost Dog]

80. Just to lighten the mood: Max Keiser, Peak Oil, Dollar Collapse:

(Aug 1) http://karmabanqueradio.com/?p=1007 (Al Jazeera)

To be followed by (Aug 2): http://www.karmabanqueradio.com/podcast/tam020808.mp3 "WWI fought with derivatives..."

[Ghost Dog]

81. Oh yeah. One of few 'media' left that can make me smile,

even laugh out loud.

... And do check out that ref.: " Published Dec 4 2006 by Energy Bulletin
Archived Dec 4 2006
Closing the 'Collapse Gap': the USSR was better prepared for collapse than the US
by Dmitry Orlov" - http://www.energybulletin.net/node/23259

"Slide <6> An economic collapse is amazing to observe, and very interesting if described accurately and in detail. A general description tends to fall short of the mark, but let me try. An economic arrangement can continue for quite some time after it becomes untenable, through sheer inertia. But at some point a tide of broken promises and invalidated assumptions sweeps it all out to sea. One such untenable arrangement rests on the notion that it is possible to perpetually borrow more and more money from abroad, to pay for more and more energy imports, while the price of these imports continues to double every few years. Free money with which to buy energy equals free energy, and free energy does not occur in nature. This must therefore be a transient condition. When the flow of energy snaps back toward equilibrium, much of the US economy will be forced to shut down."

--> An outcome which is, on the other hand, of course, long-term and environmentally-speaking, highly desirable.

[TheWatcher]

83. Delete.

Wrong Spot.

[Ghost Dog]

85. Better delete this, too, Watcher (classic British dry humour):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3iM1_RycdY (FKN News)

... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahzapRoyItk&feature=related

... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56BRgzmzGnM&feature=user

[TheWatcher]

96. Oh My God That is hilarious.

Thanks for posting that Ghost Dog.

Sometimes it helps to be able to laugh. :rofl:

GREAT stuff.

Bookmarked and shared with friends. :)

[TheWatcher]

84. Dow Ends The Day Up 331 Points.

May The Farce Be With You.

[specimenfred1984]

97. I liked that pullback around...oh wait, there was no pullback, none.

Just the happiest group of totally fraudulent people that ever existed. With the govt not allowing "free markets" anymore in order to preserve our "free markets", it's a free market rally because everyone is so free and happy!

[Robbien]

87. Naked shorting: Hedge Funds up in arms about short-selling ban

The ban implies that the SEC has either misunderstood the damage that illegal naked shorting can inflict and has been inflicting, and suggests that it admits that the practice is rife in the industry. One trader says he is familiar with a large hedge fund manager that has been shorting large financial companies in the past few months with no intention of locating the actual stocks within the three-day period. His argument is that his firm has sufficient clout with the broker for the broker to turn a blind eye.

The ban has received criticism from hedge fund industry representatives, fearing it might lead to longer-term regulation restricting short selling as a whole. The Managed Funds Association and Coalition of Private Investment Companies wrote a letter of complaint to the SEC. MFA president and chief executive Richard Baker says his firm believes "the difficulties are the result of poor fundamental conditions and not a mysterious conspiracy, or the inadequacy of current rules related to short selling".

Jim Chanos, chairman of the CPIC, argues that restrictions on short sales undermine the integrity of prices because they remove liquidity and healthy sceptism from the marketplace

Shorting stock without physical possession of the stock certainly keeps the market liquid but hedge funds’ arguments that three days are not sufficient to locate stock and deliver it is only proof that the SEC’s failure-to-deliver regulations have been ignored for years.

http://www.euromoney.com/Article/1990841/BackIssue/65741/Naked-shorting-Funds-up-in-arms-about-short-selling-ban.html

The ban on naked shorts was put in and suddenly commodities stocks fall. Cause and effect?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

89. Another version:

I want to sell you a bridge. I will sell you a bridge. I don't own a bridge, but I won't let a small detail like that stop me.

[Robbien]

93. And

Don't worry about it being illegal, friends in high places are highly paid to not only look the other way but will work hard to protect our right to sell that bridge.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

88. 4:45 Commodities Market Final

CLU08.NYM Crude Oil Sep 08 118.55 3:40pm ET Down 2.86 (2.36%)<--==:party:
HOU08.NYM Heating Oil Sep 08 3.2741 3:39pm ET Down 0.076 (2.27%)<--==:party:
NGU08.NYM Natural Gas Sep 08 8.644 3:39pm ET Down 0.082 (0.94%)<--==:party:
PNU08.NYM Propane Gas Sep 08 1.785 3:43pm ET 0.00 (0.00%)
RBU08.NYM RBOB Gasoline Sep 08 2.9403 3:39pm ET Down 0.0599 (2.00%)<--==:party:

Some German bozo called a floor on oil today at $110.00. Earlier this year, they were saying that oil would peak somewhere between $150-200/barrel. Thesis: Most of these market prognosticators don't know shit and only make these projections to protect their own positions. Translations: Assholes. See: Douchebag.

ALQ08.CMX Aluminum Aug 08 1.32 4:11pm ET Up 0.01 (0.76%)
HGQ08.CMX Copper Aug 08 3.484 3:57pm ET Down 0.0035 (0.10%)
ZGQ08.CBT Gold 100 oz. Aug 08 874.10 3:35pm ET Down 26.00 (2.89%)
GCQ08.CMX Gold Aug 08 874.50 3:58pm ET Down 25.60 (2.84%)
PAU08.NYM Palladium Sep 08 349.00 3:23pm ET Down 5.45 (1.54%)
PLU08.NYM Platinum Sep 08 2,040.10 3:43pm ET 0.00 (0.00%)
ZIQ08.CBT Silver 5000 oz. Aug 08 17.12 Jul 30 0.00 (0.00%)
SIQ08.CMX Silver Aug 08 16.45 3:12pm ET Down 0.653 (3.82%)

CU08.CBT Corn Sep 08 525.25 2:26pm ET Down 10.25 (1.91%)
OU08.CBT Oats Sep 08 359.75 11:04am ET Up 0.75 (0.21%)
RRU08.CBT Rough Rice Sep 08 16.20 2:14pm ET Up 0.15 (0.93%)
SMQ08.CBT Soybean Meal Aug 08 347.50 2:17pm ET Down 6.50 (1.84%)
BOQ08.CBT Soybean Oil Aug 08 52.98 2:15pm ET Down 1.12 (2.07%)
SQ08.CBT Soybeans Aug 08 1,262.50 2:14pm ET Down 24.50 (1.90%)

FCQ08.CME Feeder Cattle Aug 08 115.35 2:10pm ET Down 0.075 (0.06%)
PBQ08.CME Frozen Pork Bellies Aug 08 65.40 11:38am ET Down 3.00 (4.39%)
LHQ08.CME Lean Hogs Aug 08 82.775 2:30pm ET Up 0.525 (0.64%)
LCQ08.CME Live Cattle Aug 08 100.225 1:59pm ET Up 0.05 (0.05%)

CCU08.NYB Cocoa Sep 08 2,722.00 3:14pm ET Down 77.00 (2.77%)
KCU08.NYB Coffee Sep 08 140.20 3:14pm ET Up 3.50 (2.56%)
CTV08.NYB Cotton Oct 08 67.16 2:58pm ET Down 0.09 (0.13%)
LBU08.CME Lumber Sep 08 261.30 2:30pm ET Up 2.30 (0.89%)
OJU08.NYB Orange Juice Sep 08 97.50 3:14pm ET Down 2.15 (2.13%)
SBV08.NYB Sugar #11 Oct 08 13.89 3:14pm ET Up 0.49 (3.65%)
SEU08.NYB Sugar #14 Sep 08 23.75 3:17pm ET Down 0.03 (0.13%)

[dweller]

111. okay then

:wtf: is w/ propane?
0.00 (0.00%)

jus nuthin?
dp

[Hannah Bell]

112. i hope copper keeps going down; tired of metal theives.

[ozymandius]

90. When I was an audio engineer, I always became gravely concerned when something fixed itself.

Like today's market averages. They are obscene. The absence of (relatively) bad news does not make an abundance of good news. The sweet news about energy costs, of FOMC wording, and employment issues fail to justify the scale of lemmings leaping over the cliff today. Blind faith and phantom trades in the S&P pits, I guess. Alas, it is the way of the sucker rally. Sheep are scheduled to be shorn later this week.

Dow 11,615.77 Up 331.62 (2.94%)
Nasdaq 2,349.83 Up 64.27 (2.81%)
S&P 500 1,284.88 Up 35.87 (2.87%)
10-Yr Bond 4.0070% Up 0.0350
NYSE Volume 5,474,020,500
Nasdaq Volume 2,387,650,000

4:25 pm : The stock market posted its largest percent gain in four months on Tuesday in a broad-based rally that was aided by favorable wording in the Fed's latest directive, a drop in crude prices and a better-than-expected economic reading on the services sector.

All ten of the economic sectors posted a gain, with seven sectors advancing more than 2%. The S&P 500 surged 2.9%, with 91% of its components ending the session in positive territory.

The FOMC left the fed funds rate at 2.00%, and the discount rate at 2.25%, as expected. The Fed noted that there are both risks to inflation and growth. The FOMC said that although the economy grew in the second quarter, labor markets have "softened further" and financial markets remain under "considerable stress."

Most of the directive was very similar to June, when the Fed also kept rates unchanged. However, there were some subtle changes in the final paragraph.

In June the Fed said downside risks to growth remain, although they have "diminished somewhat" and that upside inflation risks have "increased." In the latest directive, the Fed said downside risks to growth remain, and inflation is a significant concern -- removing the comments related to diminishing downside risks and increasing upside inflation risks.

Traders took this as a sign that a Fed rate hike is not imminent, causing stocks to soar to their session highs in late afternoon trade. The FOMC decision does not deserve all the credit for the market's rally this session, as stocks were already up 1.9% prior to the announcement.

A portion of the buying interest this session was due to a 2.3% drop in the price of crude oil to $118.64 per barrel, which follows the previous session's drop of 3.0%. The drop in crude prices aided oil-cost sensitive areas, with consumer discretionary rallying 4.4% as retailers spiked 5.3%. Airlines got a large 9.4% boost, and transportation as a whole rose 4.9%. Conversely, the energy sector underperformed on a relative basis with a gain of 1.1%.

The financial sector (+5.1%) provided leadership throughout the session, indirectly benefiting from a healthy advance in European banks after Paris-based Societe Generale reported better-than-feared earnings. AIG (AIG 29.89, +3.20) led the surge higher with a gain of 12% after being upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS.

Earnings news was mixed as Procter & Gamble (PG 67.97, +2.15) topped expectations, while MGM Mirage (MGM 35.85, +4.85), Molson Coors Brewing (TAP 48.18, -6.25) and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM 25.88, -1.52) fell short of analyst estimates.

In terms of economic news, the July ISM Services report indicates business conditions aren't as weak as widely reported, although conditions are still not ideal. The reading rose to 49.5 from 48.2 in June, which topped the average estimate of 48.8. Since the reading is below 50, it reflects contraction in the services sector, although the number is moving in the right direction. DJ30 +331.62 NASDAQ +64.27 NQ100 +3.6% R2K +2.4% SP400 +2.1% SP500 +35.87 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1937/2.39 bln/884 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 2377/1.41 bln/752

[Ghost Dog]

92. As a one-time (pre-windoze) 'software engineer' (analysis, design, programming)

I can deeply empathise.

[DemReadingDU]

94. It is obscene, I fear something dreadful is going to happen

very soon

:scared:

[Pale Blue Dot]

102. If you go back to the SMW of exactly one week ago today

(or maybe it was yesterday) I predicted that there was going to be some really bad news by the end of the week, and I was right - the markets gave up all of their gains. The markets seem to rise at the beginning of the week in direct proportion to the level of bad news at the end of the week. If this holds again this week, :scared:.

[DemReadingDU]

98. Morgan Stanley says it has been hired by U.S. Treasury Dept

to advise it on how to help mortgage finance giants Fannie and Freddie

Breaking on money.cnn.com

no link yet
--------------------

What is this about?


edit to add link:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080805/housing_rescue.html

[skoalyman]

99. Just more news to smooth out fears so the market will shoot through the stratosphere tomorrow

:puke:

[ozymandius]

107. I think it means that Fannie and Freddie's problems are too big for them to fix

on their own.

[UpInArms]

108. and all the king's horses and all the king's men

could not put humpty together again

:hi:

[Robbien]

103. Regulators find huge error in Commodities Futures market and quietly slip in a fix

NEW YORK, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A quiet data revision that has boosted by nearly 25 percent the number of oil futures contracts U.S. regulators think are held by speculators is raising eyebrows in the energy trading community.

The revision means that speculators controlled 48 percent of the open interest in NYMEX crude oil futures and options as of July 15, compared with just over 38 percent under the previous classification.

"That's huge when you look at the numbers," said Phil Flynn of Alaron Trading in Chicago. It changes the whole way you look at the recent moves in this market."

The U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission announced on July 18 that it was reclassifying some trading positions that it had reported as commercial hedging positions as noncommercial speculative positions.
The data revision converted approximately 327,000 long and 330,000 short NYMEX crude oil futures and options positions into mostly spreading positions held by speculators.

The big shift is all the more surprising, oil traders and analysts said, since the CFTC apparently reclassified only one unidentified oil trader at the same time as the data revision.

. . .

The reclassification comes amid the collapse of energy trader SemGroup LP, which filed for bankruptcy on July 22 after suffering $3.2 billion in losses on oil futures and derivatives.

SemGroup has blamed its collapse on unauthorized speculative oil trading by its co-founder and former chief executive, according to a court filing by a SemGroup lender.

The SemGroup collapse coincided with a sharp fall in oil futures from their peak above $147 a barrel in mid-July.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7703185

Curiouser and curiouser

[UpInArms]

105. reclassified only one unidentified oil trader at the same time as the data revision

and SemGroup dies

hmmmm.....

(edited out an oopsie)

[Robbien]

106. The Brits weren't buying the story either

Nice to be able to read this story without the US spin. The SemGroup story has been in the US media but the articles hinted nothing about this fraud.

So how many other companies out there are listing their speculative commodity bets as non-speculative investments?

[Demeter]

110. No Speculation, My Eye

[UpInArms]

104. Hedge funds expand role as small business lender (loan sharking)

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSN0551309620080805?sp=true

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Hedge funds are known for playing many roles on Wall Street, but last-resort lender to small businesses that are turned down by banks is hardly one of them.

Yet with the credit crunch pushing many major U.S. banks to set tougher lending standards for small and medium-sized businesses, hedge funds have stepped in.

The money isn't cheap, with interest rates of 14 percent or more. But small businesses have few places to turn.

"A major void has been created in the marketplace by banks tightening their credit standards and trying to stabilize their balance sheets," said David Grin, co-founder of Laurus-Valens, a hedge fund with around $1.7 billion under management. "From the investment point of view, this is as good as it gets."

Laurus-Valens provides loans to public and private companies with average revenues of $30 to $50 million. The fund charges interest rates of about 10 percent to 11 percent, and takes equity stakes in the companies.

...more...

a small firm = annual sales of less than $50 million

:wtf:

[Wednesdays]

109. Well, the big implosion isn't happening just yet; Nikkei up 2.25%

NIKKEI 225
(Osaka: ^N225)
Index Value: 13,205.36
Trade Time: 10:00PM ET
Change: Up 290.70 (2.25%)
Prev Close: 12,914.66
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=^N225

Australia is up 2.47%

ALL ORDINARIES IDX
(ASX: ^AORD)
Index Value: 5,002.70
Trade Time: 10:23PM ET
Change: Up 120.70 (2.47%)
Prev Close: 4,882.000
http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=^AORD