STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday April 16

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday April 16, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 280
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2642 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2367 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2658
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.

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON April 15, 2008

Dow... 12,362.47 +60.41 (+0.49%)
Nasdaq... 2,286.04 +10.22 (+0.45%)
S&P 500... 1,334.43 +6.11 (+0.46%)
Gold future... 932.00 +3.30 (+0.35%)
30-Year Bond 4.41% +0.06 (+1.47%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.57% +0.07 (+1.91%)








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: Revisiting Some Radioactive Ideas:

What's next for U308? - Part II
BY FRANK BARBERA, CMT

While we all know that China is ascending as the world's premiere growth economy, with GDP growth rates scaling low double digits, the forward view for China has many serious concerns. Within China today, Oil and Natural Gas supplies are running low, with China now the second largest imported of Crude Oil behind the United States. For China, a decade of rapid fire industrialization and urbanization is threatening rolling blackouts and flicking factory lights. All over the country, old style coal fired power plants belch pollution on a scale seen almost nowhere else in the world. Last year, China became a net importer of coal for the first time. For the world’s most populated nation, 16 of 20 major cities top the list of the world's most polluted.

To attempt to combat what seems like a looming environmental catastrophe, China’s leadership is reaching out to employ as much alternative energy as possible. Within this realm, no alternative is more front and center than nuclear energy, with China’s leaders traveling the world to arrange contracts for nuclear reactors, technology and fuel. As things presently stand, China has already announced plans to construct 30 nuclear power plants committing over 60 billion dollars with a goal of having much of this power on line by 2020. With China, a team of leading scientists have suggested that by 2050, the People’s Republic will require nearly 300 gigawatts of nuclear power, a figure which could entail as many as 200 power plants dotting the landscape. While many of these may end up being large scale Western style power stations, China is also considering the potential for building a large number of smaller so called, pebble-bed reactors, which owing to their unique physics do not have the same potential for a Chernobyl or Three Mile Island fiasco. These small scale power plants have not been seen by western eyes, but are said to use a bath of inert Helium to cool the uranium, with total generation of 10 megawatts, enough for a small town.

.....

While the market for Uranium prices has been ‘thin’ to say the least, and to that end, much technical analysis hasn’t mattered as much as it would with a more actively traded commodity, with the pull back in U308 over these last few months we see that the 12 month RSI for U308 has now retraced back to the neutral 50 level. This is precisely the kind of routine correction which would be considered normal within the confines of a continuing bull market advance. In our view, we believe that prices are likely to stage a recovery rally in the months ahead, possibly moving back up to retest resistance at the former highs in the low $100 dollar range. It may even be a year or two, perhaps during the next synchronized global economic recovery, before U308 breaks out cleanly to new highs, but new highs likely lie ahead before this decade is out.

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

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

08:30 CPI Mar
Briefing.com 0.3%
Consensus 0.3%
Prior 0.0%

08:30 Core CPI Mar
Briefing.com 0.2%
Consensus 0.2%
Prior 0.0%

08:30 Housing Starts Mar
Briefing.com 1015K
Consensus 1010K
Prior 1065K

08:30 Building Permits Mar
Briefing.com 975K
Consensus 970K
Prior 984K

09:15 Industrial Production Mar
Briefing.com 0.1%
Consensus -0.1%
Prior -0.5%

09:15 Capacity Utilization Mar
Briefing.com 80.4%
Consensus 80.4%
Prior 80.4%

10:30 Crude Inventories 04/12
Briefing.com NA
Consensus NA
Prior NA

14:00 Fed's Beige Book

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

[UpInArms]

16. U.S. housing starts down 36.5% year-on-year - weakest since March 1991

01. U.S. housing starts down 36.5% year-on-year
8:30 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

02. U.S. March housing starts weakest since March 1991
8:30 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

03. U.S. March housing starts weaker than 988,000 expected
8:30 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

04. U.S. March housing starts down 11.9% to 947,000
8:30 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

Ah'm gonna pick up whar my daddy lef' off - GWB (campaign 2000)

[UpInArms]

17. U.S. March CPI up 0.3% vs. 0.0% in February

02. U.S. March CPI up 0.3% vs. 0.3% expected
8:31 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

03. U.S. March core CPI up 0.2% vs. 0.2% expected
8:31 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

[UpInArms]

25. U.S. CPI core up 2.4% in past 12 months

04. U.S. CPI core up 2.4% in past 12 months
8:45 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

[UpInArms]

26. March Building Permits in at 927k vs 984k in Feb

Apr 16 8:30 AM Building Permits Mar

report 927K
briefing.com thought it would be 975K
the market anticipated it would be 970K
and last month it was 984K

and the wonderful world of spin just failed to put it out anywhere but on the calendar page - no news on CBSMarketwatch ticker, no news on Reuters

these folks are getting slimier by the day

:grr:

[UpInArms]

27. U.S. Feb. industrial production down rev 0.7% vs 0.5% prev

I refuse to headline this month's "up" number in light of the fact that they keep revising those numbers into the negative the following month.

03. U.S. Q1 industrial production down 0.1%
9:15 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

04. U.S. March capacity utilization rises to 80.5% vs 80.3% Feb.
9:15 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

05. U.S. Feb. industrial production down rev 0.7% vs 0.5% prev
9:15 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

06. U.S. March industrial production up 0.3% vs down 0.1% est.
9:15 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

[UpInArms]

65. U.S. economy has weakened since mid-March: Beige Book

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-economy-has-weakened-since/story.aspx?guid=%7B9819A470%2D35D0%2D462A%2D8D70%2DDCDFC0B2787E%7D&dist=msr_1

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Economic conditions have weakened across the nation, according to the Federal Reserve's most up-to-date report released Wednesday. Consumer spending has fizzled out, labor market conditions are worsening, and manufacturing activity is treading water, according to the Fed's Beige Book collection of anectodal information from its 12 regional banks. At the same time, inflation appears to be strengthening, the report said. There is no sign of pickup in housing and credit conditions were seen as worsening. Banks are tightening standards at the same time consumer demand is weakening for loans. One bright spot is that foreign visitors are flocking to the U.S. to take advantage of the low value of the dollar relative to the currencies of major trading partners.

05. Foreign tourists are one bright spot in economy: Fed report
2:03 PM ET, Apr 16, 2008

06. Inflation outlook worsening, Fed Beige Book finds
2:03 PM ET, Apr 16, 2008

07. Consumer spending has softened, Fed report says
2:02 PM ET, Apr 16, 2008

09. U.S. economy has weakened since mid-March: Beige Book
2:01 PM ET, Apr 16, 2008

10. Loan standards tighten, consumer demand slows: Beige Book
2:00 PM ET, Apr 16, 2008

[Roland99]

73. Dow responds by going up 215pts as of about 3pm.

:eyes:

[Birthmark]

75. Inflation is worsening?

Gee, does the Fed have a guess as to why inflation is worsening? :sarcasm:

[ozymandius]

3. Oil hits new record as investors flee the falling dollar

Oil prices are surging to record highs as the weakening U.S. dollar drives investors to dump money into commodities.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose 67 cents Wednesday to $114.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. On Tuesday, the contract had risen to $114.08.

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

[ozymandius]

4. Oil Prices Hit a New High, and So Does a Gallon of Gas

Oil prices surged to a new high on Tuesday, reaching $114 a barrel, as scattered pipeline interruptions and a weak dollar agitated a tight global market.

Crude oil futures jumped $2.03, to close at $113.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices have gained more than 18 percent since the beginning of the year, and have increased 125 percent since early 2007.

Rising oil prices are helping to drive up the cost of gasoline. Retail gasoline has hit a record $3.39 a gallon on average nationwide, according to AAA, the automobile club. That’s more than 50 cents higher than a year ago. Diesel prices have posted even bigger gains. Diesel now averages $4.12 a gallon, according to AAA, $1.18 more than last year.

The immediate impetus for the moves in recent days has been a string of interruptions in pipeline operations in the Midwest and in Nigeria, as well as a shutdown of Mexican export terminals in the Gulf of Mexico because of bad weather. While small, these interruptions underline how sensitive the market is to the slightest disruption.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/business/16oil.html?_r=1&ex=1365998400&en=d0c095b642ea7b48&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&referer=sphere_related_content&referer=sphere_related_content&oref=slogin

[ozymandius]

5. Iran questions need for OPEC to cool oil prices

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's oil minister on Wednesday questioned the need for OPEC to hike production to cool surging oil prices, snubbing calls for more crude from its Western foes, the United States and Britain.

.....

"Why should OPEC try to lower prices? ... Let America and Britain continue demanding," Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran when asked about the calls from consumers for OPEC to act.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday urged producers to open the taps to counter high prices, echoing a call by the United States.

.....

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has also said there is no shortage of supply. As well as a weak dollar, it points to issues like speculative trading and political tensions for price rises.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080416/bs_nm/iran_oil_dc_4

[donkeyotay]

52. I saw Byron Dorgan, who would make a great president, on C-Span

And he was pointing out that bush is still filling the strategic petroleum reserve at these prices, even though it's 97% full.

DORGAN LEADS CALL TO STOP FILLING STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE
Friday, March 14, 2008
CONTACT: Justin Kitsch 
or  Brenden Timpe
PHONE: [phone]

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) led a group of all 51 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus calling on President Bush to “bring some relief to American families who are suffering from high energy prices” by immediately suspending putting oil underground into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Dorgan said it is not in the nation’s interest for the Department of Energy to put nearly 70 thousand barrels of oil underground every single day while the price of oil is hovering around $110.00 per barrel.

. . .
 
“The SPR is already 97 percent full, and we believe it serves as an important economic and national security buffer. But, according to the Department of Energy, we already exceed our International Energy Program commitments to maintain at least 90 days of oil stocks in reserve,” wrote the Senators. “With oil and gas prices at record highs, it makes no sense to take more oil off the market and sticking it underground.”

http://dorgan.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=294849

Add that super consumer to this one:

The Pentagon v. Peak Oil
How Wars of the Future May Be Fought Just to Run the Machines That Fight Them
By Michael T. Klare

Sixteen gallons of oil. That's how much the average American soldier in Iraq and Afghanistan consumes on a daily basis -- either directly, through the use of Humvees, tanks, trucks, and helicopters, or indirectly, by calling in air strikes. Multiply this figure by 162,000 soldiers in Iraq, 24,000 in Afghanistan, and 30,000 in the surrounding region (including sailors aboard U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf) and you arrive at approximately 3.5 million gallons of oil: the daily petroleum tab for U.S. combat operations in the Middle East war zone.

Multiply that daily tab by 365 and you get 1.3 billion gallons: the estimated annual oil expenditure for U.S. combat operations in Southwest Asia. That's greater than the total annual oil usage of Bangladesh, population 150 million -- and yet it's a gross underestimate of the Pentagon's wartime consumption.
. . .

And foreign wars, sad to say, account for but a small fraction of the Pentagon's total petroleum consumption. Possessing the world's largest fleet of modern aircraft, helicopters, ships, tanks, armored vehicles, and support systems -- virtually all powered by oil -- the Department of Defense (DoD) is, in fact, the world's leading consumer of petroleum. It can be difficult to obtain precise details on the DoD's daily oil hit, but an April 2007 report by a defense contractor, LMI Government Consulting, suggests that the Pentagon might consume as much as 340,000 barrels (14 million gallons) every day. This is greater than the total national consumption of Sweden or Switzerland.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174810/

Yes, wars may be fought just to be able to keep on fighting them. Only one of the diminishing dividends of feeding the beast.

[UpInArms]

18. May crude up 21 cents at $114 a barrel on Nymex

01. May crude up 21 cents at $114 a barrel on Nymex
8:36 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

[Ilsa]

35. "Oil price holding firm above $114" -- BBC

Oil price holding firm above $114 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7349852.stm

The price of oil has moved back above $114 a barrel as the market awaits crucial US inventory figures.

US light, sweet crude oil rose to a fresh high of $114.46 after initially easing a little on Wednesday, while Brent crude gained 54 cents to $112.27.

snip

[ozymandius]

80. Regular gasoline just hit $3.49/gal in the poor neighborhoods.

The best price I found on the way to work was $3.35/gal.

[Roland99]

87. Wholesale Gas at $2.95/gal

:wow:

[ozymandius]

6. Wholesale prices soared in March

WASHINGTON - Inflation at the wholesale level soared in March at nearly triple the rate that had been forecast as energy prices kept rising and food costs posted a much bigger jump than anticipated.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that wholesale prices rose by 1.1 percent last month, the largest increase since a 2.6 percent rise last November. The November gain in the Producer Price Index was the biggest one-month jump in 33 years.

Analysts had expected a much more moderate 0.4 percent rise in wholesale prices for the month. However, food costs, which had fallen by 0.5 percent in February, leapt by 1.2 percent last month, propelled upward by big gains in vegetables and beef and the biggest increase in rice prices in more than five years. Those were far higher increases in food prices than expected.

......

The surge in energy and food costs is coming just as unemployment is rising and many economists believe the country has fallen into a recession, developments that have taken a toll on President Bush's approval ratings. Seven out of 10 Americans now disapprove of Bush's handling of the economy, an all-time high, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080415/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

[ozymandius]

7. Merrill Lynch (MER) Write-Offs: The Economic Crisis Is No Longer Behind Us

Mack of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Fuld of Lehman (NYSE: LEH) have both expressed the opinion that the worst of the Wall St. earnings crisis may now be in the past. The head of UBS (NYSE: UBS) also thinks his bank's worst news is out.

All of that is true until it isn't. Word is spreading that Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) may take write-offs of $6 billion to $8 billion for the last quarter. According to The Wall Street Journal, Merrill made bigger and bigger bets on the CDO market as 2007 went on. The net result, writes the paper, "would bring its total (write-downs} since October to more than $30 billion." That is a lot of money, even for Merrill Lynch.

.....

Looking forward in hope may give some short-term comfort to those who do not know any better. Insiders know something different. Credit default swaps rose 37% from the first half of last year to the second and hit $62.2 trillion. That is a lot of capital bet on negative news.

http://www.247wallst.com/2008/04/merrill-lynch-1.html

[DemocratInSoCal]

10. Tell The Fucking Truth You Mother Fuckers!!!!!

These BASTARDS are going to be using the word "UNEXPECTED" in a few months, when things get worse.

And these ASSHOLES have high paying jobs? What a Fucked Up country we truly are.

[ozymandius]

12. Honestly!

I look at all this crap going on - just as memory races back to the halcyon days when Paulson and Bernanke said that the "subprime" crisis was well-contained. Some slobbering fools believed them and went on their merry way making the situation worse by trading in poison.

News flash: This is not a subprime crisis. It's a CDO crisis. If it were merely a subprime crisis the containment might be an option. However, in thsi case, we have Big Shitpile: shit packaged as bond-grade securities.

Now I really have to go...

[54anickel]

22. Remember the good old days when the housing bubble was simply a bit of froth? Merely

tiny bubbles....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/09/AR2005060901615.html

Lawmakers Struggle to See Beneath the 'Froth' in Greenspan's Testimony

By Dana Milbank

Friday, June 10, 2005; Page A09

snip>

Greenspan's is perhaps the only voice in the nation who could force Democrats and Republicans to do something about an out-of-control federal budget, entitlement programs and trade deficits before the retiring baby boomers crush the American economy. As the Fed chairman put it, in typical Greenspanese, "there is a not-insignificant probability that we have already committed under existing law and presumed demographics far more in real resources than we can actually deliver without significantly undermining the very base of the economic system." That's the Greenspan equivalent of a primal scream.

But instead of a real scream, Greenspan's hedging and dodging, delivered in avuncular and academic tones, left his listeners to take what they wanted from his testimony, much as they did in 2001 when they embraced his endorsement of tax cuts but ignored his suggestion that the cuts be rescinded if deficits develop. At yesterday's hearing in the Rayburn Building, it was the best of times and the worst of times.

The committee chairman, Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.) declared the economy "on solid footing," and found homeownership "at record highs" and low inflation.

The ranking Democrat, Reed, up next, described "a disappointing economic recovery," widespread "economic insecurity" and growing inequality.

It took Sen. Jim DeMint (S.C.), a freshman Republican, to comb through Greenspan's riddles. "Today, you have described our short-term economic situation as steady, as sound," DeMint told Greenspan. "But reading between the lines, I think what you have said about a long-term scenario, I think if we contemplate that for a few moments, it seems very alarming."

Indeed, woven through Greenspan's fuzz were ominous threads. He said the growing wage inequality "is not the type of thing which a capitalist democratic society can really accept." He observed that "a significant amount of domestic production is essentially owned by foreigners." He said the education of American students is "well below the median in the world." And he found "modest if any progress" preparing for the baby boom retirement.

Trying to put all that together, DeMint wondered, "is it fair to say that there should be a greater sense of urgency on this panel and in Congress in dealing with our education situation, our entitlements?"

Huh? What did that freshman repuke just say? "...in dealing with our education situation, our entitlements?"

DOH!!! Nearly let the cat outta the bag, didn't he! Looking at his wikipedia "resume", I can certainly see he's going places!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_DeMint

DeMint was ranked by National Journal as the most conservative United States Senator in their March, 2007 conservative/liberal rankings.<1> He was again ranked as the most conservative Senator in 2008.<3>

DeMint believes openly gay individuals and single mothers should not teach in public schools.<[2>]

DeMint favors banning all forms of abortion. Superscript DeMint introduced a bill that would address the decline in IPOs in the U.S. by clarifying the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability legislation. He also introduced a hybrid tax reform plan that would attempt to simplify the tax code.

DeMint would require all illegal immigrants currently in the United States to return to their home countries to apply for legal reinstatement.

DeMint was strongly supported by the fiscally conservative political group Club for Growth. He has been strongly praised by the group for anti-pork activities in the 109th Congress.

DeMint, a Presbyterian, has strongly endorsed Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon.

DeMint lodged an anonymous objection <3>to stall a bipartisan bill to aid Hurricane Katrina and Federal Flood victims that supporters hoped would have been waived through unanimously as the Senate prepared to leave for a two-week recess. Under Senate rules, DeMint’s objection was enough to shelve the legislation at least until lawmakers return April 10, 2007, but most likely until later. His office confirmed that he placed the hold on the bill.

On Tuesday, May 29, 2007, DeMint asserted that WMDs are only yet to be found in Iraq. He then went on to blame troop deaths on Democrats, saying, “I believe a lot of the casualties can be laid at the feet of all the talk in Congress about how we’ve got to get out, we’ve got to cut and run.”

Senator DeMint was a vocal supporter of Louisiana Senator David Vitter during the time when his prostitution scandal became public, and has been said to be a strong behind-the-scenes supporter of Idaho Senator Larry Craig, pressing his Republican Senatorial colleagues to avoid making negative public comments about Craig until his legal situation is resolved.

On February 6, 2008 Jim DeMint was joined by Saxby Chambliss, Tom Coburn, John Cornyn, James Inhofe, and David Vitter in the Senate to introduce the Semper Fi Act of 2008 which would strip federal funding from Berkeley in response to the Berkeley Marine Corps Recruiting Center controversy.<4> The bill would strip the city of $2.1 million and would instead earmark it for the Marines.

[AnneD]

62. I think we have our theme song for today....

Tiny Bubbles...

Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
In the wine (in the wine)
Make me happy (make me happy)
Make me feel fine (make me feel fine)


Tiny bubbles (tiny bubbles)
Make me warm all over
With a feeling that I'm gonna
Love you till the end of time


So here's to the golden moon
And here's to the silver sea
And mostly here's a toast
To you and me


So here's to the ginger lei
I give to you today
And here's a kiss
That will not fade away


Ahhh I can just taste that frozen adult beverage...

[Warpy]

46. Information management

That's how they're keeping those mink lined offices, by parceling out the bad news in small enough bites that we don't choke on it and panic.

The truth is that the house of cards collapsed last August. The stock market has seen a slower collapse over the last 5 years and has lost over half its value due to the fall in the dollar and rising inflation. Banks and brokerages are going to be trying to shore up their assets any way they can now that the smoke has dissipated and the mirrors are shattered. That means credit will cost more, be harder to get, and that lenders will play hardball getting it all back.

Those across the board rate hikes on credit cards are just the beginning, folks.

The corporate liars know all this. Now you do, too.

[donkeyotay]

54. Another case of Political Tourette's Syndrome

Tourettes, named for a French neurologist, involves grimaces and involuntary noises, sometimes coprolalia or the use of foul language. In the cases spotted here, it is normally associated with politics and the recognition that the fucking asshole bastards running and ruining the country are getting away with it.

Welcome to the ward, DemocratInSoCal.

[Tansy_Gold]

49. Addicts do not recover if you give them more of what they're addicted to

"According to The Wall Street Journal, Merrill made bigger and bigger bets on the CDO market as 2007 went on."

Excuse me, Mr. Merrill, but sometimes when you BET, you LOSE. And you have to be prepared to pay up on your losses. You can write a marker, or you can borrow enough from your friends to cover your ass, but eventually, the bill comes due. And eventually your friends get tired of supporting YOUR habit, or they just get tapped out and tell you, Merrill, ol' buddy, ol' pal, you gots yourself a big problem, and I just can't help you no more.

What was the old John Houseman line in the Smith Barney commercial? "We make money the old fashioned way. We EARN it." That was not, of course, ever the truth. "Earning" in the Smith Barney lexicon, shared by all the investment bankers and stock brokers and hedge fund managers, means "selling someone else on a get-rich-quick scheme and swindling them out of their earned money, even if they swindled someone else out of it." Then, when they had suckered in enough marks, they got even greedier and bet AGAINST the house.

This is the sign of an addiction. These firms are sick. They, not the subprime borrowers, not the students with defaulted loans, not the laid-off auto worker with a pocketful of maxed out credit cards, are the cause of the collapse of the "economy."

I've said it before and I'll say it again: We have the resources -- financial, physical, technical, mental -- to recover even from the most disastrous economic collapse. Yes, some of the manufacturing equipment is gone, but we have the know-how to replace/restore it. But we can't do a damn fucking thing until we cut out the economic lung cancer that has metastasized into a watermelon-sized tumor that is suffocating us and spreading to the remaining healthy parts of the body.


Tansy Gold

[Hugin]

56. Nice lead in to today's Market Tone Tune... "6-Million Dollar Man Theme" -- from da TeeVee.

"we have the know-how to replace/restore it." I find myself wondering... Yeah, but, for how long? And in addition,
such a thing as 'replace/restore' would not be free, it would require investment.

[ozymandius]

8. Bankruptcies Rise for Firms 'That Should Have Failed' (Update1)

April 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. corporate bankruptcies are accelerating as the economic slowdown compounds the end of easy credit.

The filing by Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. April 11 followed those of three other airlines and companies in restaurants and retailing this year. Increased levels of distressed corporate debt signal that failures will accelerate, says Lynn LoPucki, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles law school who studies bankruptcies.

The amount of distressed corporate bonds jumped to $206 billion April 11 from $4.4 billion in March 2007, according to a Merrill Lynch & Co. index of bonds yielding at least 10 percentage points more than Treasuries. The share of leveraged loans considered distressed was 16 percent at the end of March, the highest since 1997, says Standard & Poor's, based on loans trading below 80 percent of their face value.

"Money was so easy, companies that should have failed were kept alive," said Rick Cieri, a bankruptcy lawyer at Kirkland & Ellis in New York. He said bankruptcies will include businesses "with severe operational problems" and too much debt. "Companies may well be sicker when they enter Chapter 11."

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aaTdhmzxnz1k&refer=exclusive

[54anickel]

39. See now if I were to use sort of republican redneck logic, I'd be saying

something along the lines of "those damned corporate welfare dudes, driving big 'ol caddies livin' high on the hog - let 'em go get a real freakin job or they can pound sand".

Of course then I'd suddenly realize that cousin Leroy was an airplane mechanic, his brother Jeff was a pilot and my sister used to fling chow at the Tropicana and her kid sold cheap Chinese trinkets at Claire's. Then I'd start sounding like these guys.....from your article

snip>

``It is a disruption of the use of resources, and the costs of redeploying them are huge,'' said LoPucki, who keeps a Web site and wrote the 2005 book, ``Courting Failure: How Competition for Big Cases is Corrupting the Bankruptcy Courts.'' ``People need to look for new jobs. Someone needs to take physical assets and recycle them. All the organizational work that went into the construction of the enterprise is lost.''

snip>

``They have no way to avoid default,'' said George Godlin, an analyst at Moody's Investors Service in New York, speaking of Frontier. ``They will continue to lose money in this environment, and the only way they can cease to lose money is by stopping operating.''

[ozymandius]

79. Sometimes you read something that has an impact like a hammer between the eyes.

the only way they can cease to lose money is by stopping operating

Amen to that. How efficiently put. Give that man a Blue Ribbon.

[Tansy_Gold]

47. "Money was so easy, companies that should have failed were kept alive"

Maybe that should be

"Money was so easy, COUNTRIES that should have failed were kept alive."


The failing of the U.S. economy has been a long time in the making. This is not a sudden, unexpected, unforeseen cataclysm, but a carefully engineered collapse. This has been a controlled demolition, so only the targeted structure -- the working and middle classes who were acquiring more and more of the earnings /sic/ pie -- would fall, leaving the demolishers intact.

I'm very bitter today. It has nothing -- or at least very little -- to do with the aftermath of taxes, but more to do with the general attitude around me. Oh, not here on DU, but in the real world, or what passes for it these days.

I haven't read much of DU today, and I no longer even have time to watch much of the news (aka Olbermann, since he's the only one I can stomach any more), so I have little clue what's going on in the world besides questions about a sex tape of Marilyn Monroe.

AND THIS IS NEWS WHY???????????????????????????

Shouldn't the economy that affects each and every one of us, including Keith Olbermann, get some attention?

And am I the only one -- maybe not -- who thinks the comments that because he is a black man, Obama cannot possibly be an elitist are in themselves racist? Are blacks any less capable of being elitist or egalitarian than anyone else? GMAFB!

I am off to do something constructive today, like maybe find a job or sell some artwork or write a novel.


Tansy Gold, who has done all of the above in the past and surely ought to be able to do so again

[ozymandius]

9. Goldman makes the short list

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Goldman Sachs recently provided a glimpse of one of the rarest occurrences on Wall Street: an analyst recommended that clients bet against a company by selling its shares short. In this case, the company was struggling Seattle thrift Washington Mutual (WM, Fortune 500), which happens to be a Goldman client.

Goldman's short call last Friday made headlines in part because Goldman had just earned millions of dollars in fees for arranging a costly $7 billion recapitalization of WaMu. Five years ago, Goldman and other major investment banks paid over $1.4 billion to settle charges brought by then New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer that they tainted their research to curry favor investment banking clients. The settlement has yielded a mixed bag: the most egregious conflicts of interest have waned, but aggressive calls to sell a stock are still uncommon.

.....

Wall Street traders made a real distinction between a standard sell call and a short recommendation. According to traders, a "sell" or "avoid" rating implies that the company's stock is sharply overvalued or is facing some bad news for a prolonged stretch. But advising clients to short a stock is, in the words of one hedge fund trader, like "Yelling at the world: 'There is a major problem here - get out!'"

http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/15/news/companies/boyd_goldman.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008041604

[ozymandius]

11. Time to say bye-bye.

:donut: :donut: :donut:

My classroom awaits. See you folks this afternoon.

:hi:

[UpInArms]

13. dollar watch

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

Last trade 71.426 Change -0.592 (-0.82%)

Proof of Why the US Government Wants a Weaker Dollar

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/Proof_of_Why_the_US_1208296017927.html

The US dollar has recovered on the heels of stronger economic data. The Empire State manufacturing survey jumped almost 23 points in March while foreign purchases of US securities increased more than expected in February. Although some economists argue that one month of stronger manufacturing data does not equal a recovery, the market is nonetheless pleased to see the weaker US dollar finally lead to some positives for the US economy. In addition to the Empire State manufacturing survey, the strong earnings from Johnson and Johnson is one of day’s biggest stories. Interestingly enough even though sales have increased in all 3 of its units, if not for the weakness of the US dollar, drug sales would have actually declined. Revenues increased 7.7 percent in the first quarter with currency moves contributing a whopping 5.1 percent to growth. With earning season upon us, the dollar’s weakness could help to boost revenue for many multinational corporations. The companies that will benefit the most are the ones that are heavily reliant on international sales because exports will be boosted by the weakness of the greenback. Johnson and Johnson is not the only company to have benefitted from exchange rate fluctuations. Last month, Nike Inc said that strong overseas sales and beneficial currency rates pushed its profits up 30 percent. Earlier this year, IBM reported an 8 percent increase in sales in 2007 but acknowledged that the increase would have been only 4 percent if exchange rates were excluded. Meanwhile producer prices grew 1.1 percent last month. With oil and food prices skyrocketing, strong inflationary pressures are not much of a surprise. Although the growth in core prices was more tepid, with companies like Kimberly Clark raising the price of Huggies Diapers and Cottonelle products, it will only be a matter of time before core prices rise as well. Consumer prices are due for release tomorrow along with housing starts and industrial production; we expect these reports to be dollar positive.

(emphasis mine)

...more...

Euro Flies Through 1.5900 As CPI Stays Hot - Can it Hit 1.60?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio2/Euro_Flies_Through_1_5900_As_1208340728047.html

Hotter than expected CPI data out of the Eurozone propelled the euro through the 1.5900 level in early European trade as focus returned to inflation which will likely continue to dictate a restrictive monetary policy from the ECB for the time being. The data printed at 3.6% versus 3.5% as food energy and clothing costs all rose more than expected. With ECB mandated to control price pressures rather than manage growth, today’s number essentially assured the market that Mr. Trichet and company will remain hawkish keeping rates at 4% for the foreseeable future.

The policy of the ECB stands in stark contrast to Fed’s actions. US monetary officials saddled with a massive credit crunch and a serious recession in the housing sector that looks to spread to the economy as a whole, have basically ignored the inflationary numbers, persistently lowering US rates since last year. As result the EURUSD rallied continuously on interest rate differentials and now stands within striking distance of the 1.6000 level.

The question going forward is just how much momentum will the pair have if it breaks through 1.60? Currency markets always tend to take prices to extremes, and if monetary officials do not intervene then the possibility of a run on the dollar becomes quite real. Therefore, the 1.60 level may prove to be the key battle ground between the bulls and the bears that may determine the near term direction for the pair.

For the time being the EURUSD is trading on pure momentum and only a combination of hotter than expected US CPI data and better than forecast Housing and Industrial Production reports could curtail its ascent. If US economic data shows a modicum of strength, the market may rethink its dovish stance on Fed policy. If, on the other hand, today’s numbers prove to be weak, the EURUSD could take out 1.60 before the day is done.

...more...

[54anickel]

28. So are they gonna get another tax-break to repatriate those overseas earnings? Wonder

what sort of Orwellian name it'll get this time around. Or will they just simply amend the Jobs Creation Act yet again? :eyes:

[DemReadingDU]

14. National Century trial, Columbus Ohio, pleading for freedom

Note: The hearing is scheduled today at 9AM.

4/16/08 Convicted executives plead for freedom before prison

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Attorneys for four executives accused of plotting an escape to Aruba to avoid sentencing in a corporate fraud case say the government's evidence is based on an unreliable informant.

Prosecutors insist the defendants, arrested earlier this month, should stay in jail until sentencing on their convictions in the $1.9 billion fraud case.

U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley scheduled a hearing Wednesday to determine whether to allow the defendants to be released on bond pending sentencing.

The case dates to November 2002, when FBI agents raided the headquarters of National Century Financial (other-otc: CYFL.PK - news - people ) Enterprises in the Columbus suburb of Dublin as part of a corporate fraud investigation.

At the time, the company described itself as the country's largest health care financing company. A 27-count federal indictment accused several executives of moving money between accounts to cover up shortfalls, lying to investors and fabricating data in a company computer system.

In December, the government announced a new indictment alleging company founder Lance Poulsen tried to bribe a key government witness to offer favorable testimony.

The corporate fraud trial went on without Poulsen, and a federal jury found five defendants guilty March 13. Over prosecutors' objections, Marbley agreed to let the five remain free until sentencing.

Later that month, a jury convicted Poulsen and acquaintance Karl Demmler of conspiring to bribe former National Century executive Sherry Gibson.

On March 28, the government announced that one of the five co-defendants, Arizona resident Rebecca Parrett, had disappeared. A warrant was issued for her arrest.

The following week, prosecutors alleged an informant had tipped them of a plot under which the five co-defendants would escape to Aruba if convicted. The information, the tipster said, came from Poulsen.

Poulsen's attorneys deny he knew anything about such a plot and say the only mention of Aruba was speculation relayed to the informant from police, not Poulsen.

Attorneys for the four other defendants - James Dierker and Roger Faulkenberry of Columbus, Randy Speer of Peachtree City, Ga., and Donald Ayers of Fort Myers, Fla. - deny any such plot and will ask the judge to free their clients.

The defendants' attorneys say the informant is Robert Cihy, a felon under federal indictment on a charge of bank robbery who was in the same Chillicothe jail as Poulsen. They say he's an unreliable witness whose information should be discounted. Cihy's public defender, Jennifer Cordle, declined comment.

Parrett's attorney Greg Peterson says he does not know where Parrett is but is concerned about her well-being.

Dozens of people have written letters of support for Dierker, who continues to assert his innocence and plans an appeal. Among his backers is Sharen Jester Turney, the president and chief executive officer of Victoria's Secret, where Dierker worked in marketing until his arrest. He was a National Century marketing executive and then vice president of client development at the time of the company's 2002 collapse.

Turney was expected to be in court Wednesday.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/04/16/ap4894482.html


4/16/08 This is a timeline of major events in the trial
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/04/15/ap4892763.html


link backwards to previous articles...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3259519&mesg_id=3259625

[UpInArms]

15. Thank you all

for all of the kindness and well wishes that you offered me on my b-day -

you are - everyone of you - the best!

:grouphug:

:loveya:

[JNelson6563]

20. So sorry I missed it Bunky!

And you're one of my fav Marketeers too! Shame on me.

I hope you had a great day. :toast: Many more to come!

Cheers,
Julie

[UpInArms]

24. you were there in spirit

no day at the SMW is without you in some way

:hug:

:toast:

[54anickel]

31. Ab-so-lut-a-blee!!! Though gotta wonder if that spirit isn't getting weighted down by all them-thar

jewels sewn into the robe. B-)

Miss ya Julie! Still working the mitten revolution?

[JNelson6563]

57. And bars of gold even!!

;-)

Still working on the revolution, of course. Managing a couple of races this cycle, keeps me out of the brokerage houses anyway. They hate when I sit outside their offices and tell all their stock-owning clients that the end is near and they should run for their lives away from the markets. haha

:toast:

Julie

[AnneD]

72. They hate to see me in their waiting room too.....

I ask questions and expect results....what a quaint notion.

[JNelson6563]

58. And bars of gold even!!

;-)

Still working on the revolution, of course. Managing a couple of races this cycle, keeps me out of the brokerage houses anyway. They hate when I sit outside their offices and tell all their stock-owning clients that the end is near and they should run for their lives away from the markets. haha

:toast:

Julie

[54anickel]

64. Good to hear the revolution is still alive and well, and as always thank you

for all your efforts in that area. Probably is best that you stay away from those brokerage houses, could get trampled one of these days. I hear the exit doors are pretty narrow. :hi:

[54anickel]

32. DOH! Replied in the wrong place - please see post 31 Julie - I'm too damned

lazy to cut 'n paste it where it belongs. :P

:hug:

[TalkingDog]

19. The Foreclosure Bill Gives Welcome Tax Breaks to.....Big Business.

What? you expected them to help out the little guy?

http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=16263

snip:
The U.S. Senate proclaimed a fierce bipartisan resolve two weeks ago to help American homeowners in danger of foreclosure. While a bill that senators approved last week would take modest steps toward that goal, it would also provide billions of dollars in tax breaks - for automakers, airlines, alternative energy producers and other struggling industries, as well as home builders.

The tax provisions of the Foreclosure Prevention Act, which consumer groups and labor leaders say amount to government handouts to big business, show how the credit crisis, while rattling the housing and financial markets, has created beneficiaries in the power corridors of Washington, D.C.

[donkeyotay]

59. It's starting to remind me of the medicare bill. It started out with

"Oh, we have to help our seniors afford medicine," and ended up a corporate welfare boondoogle. More from your link:

Congressional Democrats are also hearing from consumer advocates and other groups who say that the Senate bill does little to help Americans in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure.

“The Senate legislation gave corporations and Wall Street billions in tax breaks,” Terence M. O’Sullivan, the president of the Laborers International Union of North America, said at a news conference on Tuesday to denounce the bill.

“Tax breaks for corporate home builders won’t help stabilize the housing market, won’t create jobs and won’t prevent a single foreclosure,” he continued. “If anything, this multibillion-dollar windfall will make things worse.”

Even Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and the main author of the Senate bill, said the measure did not live up to its name and that he wanted changes. But other lawmakers, and the lobbyists who seek to influence them, also recognize a golden opportunity when they sense that the political winds virtually guarantee a bill’s passage, and the housing crisis is just such a time. (emphasis added)

[DemReadingDU]

21. Network - "Mad As Hell And Can't Take It Any More"

video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dib2-HBsF08


Where's the outrage today?

Network was made in 1976
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074958/

[TalkingDog]

23. JPMorgan Earnings Drop 50% on Writedowns, Reserves

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUc_KaKixF.k&refer=home

snip:
April 16 (Bloomberg) -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., the third- biggest U.S. bank, said profit fell 50 percent after $5.1 billion of writedowns and provisions linked to bad home-equity loans, financing for leveraged buyouts and subprime mortgages.

snip:
``Our expectation is for the economic environment to continue to be weak and for the capital markets to remain under stress,'' Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, 52, said in the statement.


Hey, but there IS good news:
snip:
``No bad news is good news,'' said Charles Bobrinskoy, vice chairman of Ariel Capital Management LLC in Chicago, which owned more than 611,000 JPMorgan shares as of Dec. 31. ``In this environment being able to post earnings as they did is I think all-in good news.''

[UpInArms]

42. Prime mortgages "are getting worse": JP Morgan CEO Dimon

01. Prime mortgages "are getting worse": JP Morgan CEO Dimon
9:50 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

[UpInArms]

29. Student Loan Corp. to suspend lending at certain schools

16. Student Loan Corp. to suspend lending at certain schools
9:06 AM ET, Apr 16, 2008

how appropriate that toon is today

:(

[saigon68]

45. Is there a list of them?

[UpInArms]

84. no list - but here's more bad student lending news: Sallie Mae posts 1st-quarter net loss

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1632411420080416

NEW YORK, April 16 (Reuters) - Sallie Mae, (SLM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) the largest U.S. student loan company, posted a first-quarter net loss on Wednesday, hurt by losses on derivatives, and said it cannot continue lending at a profit in the current environment.

Sallie Mae, formally known as SLM Corp, posted a first-quarter net loss attributable to common shareholders of $132.8 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with net income of $107 million, or 26 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Sallie Mae is under pressure from several sides now, and its difficulties threaten to create a full-blown student lending crisis.

The company's financing costs have risen amid the credit crisis. Also, student loan laws passed last year cut subsidies to lenders, pushing many to scale back their lending or to leave the business altogether.

Sallie Mae Chief Executive Albert Lord said in a statement, "It has become obvious that we can only meet the enormous student credit demands we are seeing at Sallie Mae if there is a near-term, system-wide liquidity solution."

...a bit more...

[DemReadingDU]

30. Stressed Banks Underreporting Libor Rates

4/16/08
The Wall Street Journal reports on another sign of how bad the credit crunch has gotten: banks fudging on what they are reporting as their short-term cost of interbank borrowing, out of fear of revealing how stressed they are. So the Libor becomes less useful as a guide. That in turn means that the so-called TED spread (the difference between three month Libora and ninety-day Treasuries), which is one of the preferred measures of stress in the interbank markets, is understated by as much as 30 basis points. So just imagine what this chart looks like if you add that amount to, say, the 2008 data points (chart courtesy The Financial Ninja). It goes from ugly to uglier:

more...
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/04/stressed-banks-underreporting-libor.html

4/14/08 The TED Spread, LIBOR and EURIBOR = Scary Bad
That stubborn financial system stress isn’t going away…
more...
http://benbittrolff.blogspot.com/2008/04/ted-spread-libor-and-euribor-scary-bad.html


Bankers Cast Doubt On Key Rate Amid Crisis
more...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120831164167818299.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news


additional info about the Ted Spread
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3264046&mesg_id=3264165

[Hugin]

34. This looks like an answer to jdog's question yesterday...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3268929&mesg_id=3269166

Hmm... 'Under-reporting', isn't that like lying or fraud? Naw, I guess not. :shrug:

[DemReadingDU]

40. Under reporting Libor rates! Must be really bad out there

:(


edit to add link from Paul Krugman's blog

4/16/08 Understated spreads?

The WSJ has an interesting, slightly scary article about LIBOR. It includes a nice chart showing the three waves of the financial crisis as indicated by the TED spread, and the failure of even the Fed’s huge interventions to bring things back to normal:

But the big news in the WSJ piece is that LIBOR may be higher than reported, and the spread even worse than it looks, because banks aren’t honestly reporting the interest rates they have to pay:

The concern: Some banks don’t want to report the high rates they’re paying for short-term loans because they don’t want to tip off the market that they’re desperate for cash. The Libor system depends on banks to tell the truth about their borrowing rates.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/understated-spreads/

[UpInArms]

33. The Billionaires Club: Hedge-fund managers get biggest payday in history

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/hedge-fund-managers-tally-up-biggest/story.aspx?guid=%7B3499197C%2DA8CD%2D473A%2D87CE%2DED1CFB14FCC5%7D

AMMAN, Jordan (MarketWatch) -- Top hedge-fund managers had the greatest payday in the modern history of finance during 2007, according to Institutional Investor's Alpha magazine.

The publication released its seventh annual ranking of the top-paid managers on Wednesday.

The top spot in Alpha's 2007 rankings went to John Paulson of Paulson & Co., who took in a record $3.7 billion. Paulson gained attention by his investment strategy to short the subprime mortgage market.

According to Alpha, the top 25 managers averaged $892 million in earnings, up 68% from the $532 million they earned on average in 2006. Five managers earned more than $1.5 billion -- a reflection of how much the industry has grown and how much money was to be made in high-powered finance, even in a year of crisis.

The magazine counted managers' share of fees plus gains on their own capital but excluded money that some managers made by selling their firms or taking them public. The managers typically take 2% of the assets under management as a fee, plus 20% of the profits of the fund.

<snip>

Following Paulson, the top five managers as ranked by Alpha were: George Soros of Soros Fund Management, who earned $2.9 billion; James Simons of Renaissance Technologies Corp., $2.8 billion; Philip Falcone of Harbinger Capital Partners, $1.7 billion; and Kenneth Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, $1.5 billion.

...more...

[donkeyotay]

61. Somebody, probably wee, insignificant people and their silly pension funds

got the other side of the trade (And the managers' "earnings" only represent 20%). Paulson & Co., where have I heard that name?

TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2008
Greenspan to Join Hedge Fund Paulson & Co. as Adviser

In keeping with Greenspan's tutelage at the knee of Ayn Rand, he has exercised his right not to be constrained by propriety or other rules that govern little men and has gone and sold himself to what is no doubt the highest bidder, Paulson & Company. Paulson is famous for its spectacular big against subprime this year, and its Paulson Credit Opportunities fund was up 410% through August.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2008/01/greenspan-to-join-hedge-fund-paulson-co.html

[UpInArms]

36. 9:35 EST and it's shooting to the moon - YeeHaw!

Dow 12,471.49 109.02 (0.89%)
Nasdaq 2,316.21 30.17 (1.32%)
S&P 500 1,347.45 13.02 (0.98%)
10-Yr Bond 3.587% 0.017

NYSE Volume 97,623,898.438
Nasdaq Volume 78,489,023.438

08:58 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +10.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +22.3.

08:34 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +8.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +20.2. Futures hold their gains as two economic reports hit the wires. The March Consumer Price Index rose 0.3% month over month, and the Core CPI (Ex Food & Energy) rose 0.2%. Both were in-line with expectations. Separately, housing starts fell 11.9% to 947K (consensus 1010K) and building permits fell to 927K (consensus 970K) from 948K. Building permits and housing starts are at the lowest levels since 1991.

08:05 am : S&P futures vs fair value: +7.6. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +19.8. Futures point to a higher start, with the Nasdaq 100 set to outperform. Better than expected earnings from three Dow components are fueling the bullish bias. Intel reported first quarter earnings of $0.29 per share, excluding a $0.04 charge related to restructuring and asset impairment charges. The adjusted earnings per share results were $0.04 better than the consensus of $0.25. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reported earnings of $0.68 per share, which topped expectations by four cents. Coco-Cola (KO)said it earned $0.67 per share in the first quarter, which is four cents better the consensus estimate. Also lending a hand is news that Wells Fargo (WFC) topped estimates by three cents.

[Hugin]

37. Gee... I wonder what's causing it today?

More working people dumped on the street, kicked to the curb, thrown under a bus?

Gasoline prices at a record high?

They found some more pixie dust?


Maybe, it's because Teh Pope is in town...

Whatever it is, I'm sure it's irrelevant to the real economy.

:eyes:

[TalkingDog]

38. Global Economic Outlook Improved in April, Led by U.S., Asia

Bloomberg's survey of Bloomberg users says: Yay! You kissed the boo-boo, put a band-aid onnit and it went away!!!

Are these people psychotic?

snip:
Confidence in the global economy improved for the first time in five months in April after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates to avert a recession, a survey of Bloomberg users on five continents showed.

The Bloomberg Professional Global Confidence Index rose to 14.5 from 13.1 in March. The measure increased to 18.5 from 17.6 in the U.S. and to 11 from 7.5 in Asia. It declined in Western Europe. A reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment.

The Fed lowered its key rate by 2 percentage points this year, the fastest pace of cuts in two decades, after a slump in the housing market pushed up credit costs worldwide. At the same time, China's economy, the biggest contributor to world growth, expanded more than 10 percent for a ninth straight quarter, a government report showed today. While the European Central Bank has pumped money into the banking system, it has resisted lowering rates because of accelerating inflation.

``The U.S. is further through this cycle and looking at mild acceleration in the second half,'' said Aurelio Maccario, an economist at Unicredit MIB in Milan, who took part in the survey. In Europe, ``there is worse to come.''

[Hugin]

41. Huh? '14.5 from 13.1 in March' coupled with...

"A reading below 50 indicates negative sentiment"

What does this indicate? A more positive, yet, very strikingly negative sentiment?

Is there a point being made here?


Dang, SPIN... SPIN... SPIN...

[Demeter]

44. Are These People Psychotic? Good Question!

It's a con game, and these are the con men. They are tap dancing wildly to distract the rubes while the pickpockets roam freely and the parking lots are emptied by carjackers.

It's the Last Hurrah before the curtain rings down on an era that will live in infamy.

[AnneD]

43. Morning Marketeers....

:donut: and lurkers. I have come up with a really good cost saving measure. Instead of having a cup of coffee first thing this morning-I listened to the news and by the time I had finished listening to it-I needed to pop some blood pressure meds.

There was a story about folks trying to pass a bill to allow bankruptcy judges to set interest rates on homes for people losing their homes in bankruptcy. Seems the judge can reset the loan on your yacht and your vacation home, but not a primary residence. They gave a heart breaking story about a guy that had a brief period of medical difficulty and fell behind. The back took his traditional mortgage and reset it to an arm and now are refusing to help him now that the arm resets. Now he and his 6 other family members are out a home that they had paid for 13 years on-in Ca. I smell a rat on this one but that is beside the point. Banks are opposed to this but if they refuse to deal with bankruptcy's-consumers need some real protection.:grr::nuke:

Another local story, we will be burying a local soldier that died recently in Iraq. It was his 5th...YES FIFTH TOUR OF DUTY. I guess you stop loss 'em til you kill em. And when I hear them talk about 'successful surge' and yet they are stopping the pullouts...:grr::nuke:

I hate to say this but Obama DID use the right word-I am a bit bitter.

Things are getting tighter and tighter, even here in Houston. I told you about Hubby and myself being threatened with layoffs. We will be cutting our spending even further just in case and will accelerate our debt payoffs. I spoke to Mom about how they made it through the depression and actually picked up some tips. She laughed when I told her about some of my nefarious deeds when I was broke (stealing toilet paper, lightbulbs, condiments)-seems she had done the same things when we were little.:rofl: She also said that she had at some point had some women tell her in confidence what they had done to keep a roof over their heads and food in their children's bellies-remember this was before minimum wage. Mom said she never judges women harshly for doing what they had to do to take care of their family. It was an illuminating conversation-far more than the news.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Demeter]

48. Send Me Good Wishes As I Go To Tilt Windmills at 2 PM

It's only a matter of my daughter's life and and my freedom.

Excellent cartoon, one of the best. If there's anything left I'll post later or tomorrow.

[Hugin]

50. Good luck...

Hope it turns out for the best and you get that windmill.

[Tansy_Gold]

53. All good wishes heading your way, Demeter

:thumbsup:

[AnneD]

70. Thanks for the heads up...

will call in the big guns...

[UpInArms]

71. best to you Demeter

:grouphug:

:fingerscrossed:

[TalkingDog]

51. News from the trenches: An occurance and nature's economic object lesson

I was sitting at the computer enjoying my daily dose of SMW when I hear my dogs barking. Although we only have neighbors on one side of us and 300 acres of Energy Co. land on the other side (so they probably aren't disturbing any people), I'm always attentive to them barking.

They've been known to tree cats (that aren't ours), coons, possums and the occasional dust up with a skunk. Which, surprise, has decreased in frequency with every subsequent encounter.

I tromp downstairs go onto the side porch and see Claire (the WonderDog)



standing in the middle of the road, barking. Claire has never been a barker, except when she's got something tree'd Then, she'll bounce on her forelegs or try to climb the tree, throw back her head and howl. We think she's got some coon-hound in her.

I shush her and she stops for just a second until she hears Mr. Spot



barking up in the woods. Then she starts bouncing and barking. Given it took us a year before we ever heard her bark once, this she is an exceptional amount of excitement. So, I walk through the yard, up the drive and go to stand beside her. She thinks I'm there to pack up so she starts walking up the road toward the sounds.

I wait, just to see if there are noises in the woods. I whistle for Mr. Spot, call him and at that, Claire starts walking up the road again, barking. Okay, okay...I get it. Timmy's fallen down the well and he can't get out.

I hear Mr. Spot barking. I hear woods rustling and I call and whistle, call and whistle. Finally he comes out of the woods onto the road, tongue hanging out, looking for all the world like he's been running deer.

Then spying me, he whirls, runs back up the road, head up, ears forward. The same body language he uses when he's running off an intruding dog or protecting me. Claire follows suit.

Well, here I am, in my green plaid PJ's, slippers, cereal bowl in hand, in the middle of the road. I can't go back, get dressed and then investigate. So I trudge up the hill with a fair certainty (and a tiny smidgen of hope) that there won't be any cars at this time of day.

Claire stays on the roadside, while Mr. Spot runs down into the brush. I see a bushy amber tail raise up, wagging, coming toward Mr. Spot. And unlike his usual super macho bravado, which has kept many a dog off our property over the last several year, he turns and moves back toward me. Then back to the amber thing.

I'm thinking: Coyote.
I'm thinking: Crap. What if it's rabid? How badly would a ceramic bowl hurt him? Could I stab it with the spoon. I'd probably have no luck gouging at the eyes.....

Then, after a minute where I can't see or hear any activity, Mr. Spot runs back to me and I see that he is bleeding on his flank. A puncture wound. I stand up and see the, yes, coyote head up, lopping toward the road. I call out: Hello, Coyote. His eyes snap to mine and his ears flick back. He turns quickly and runs away.

I get the doggies home. Claire insists on staying in the yard. Mr. Spot comes inside so I can check and tend his flank.

Well, I find a deep puncture on the left flank and one small one on the right, several facial nicks and a puncture. His throat is not damaged, but does have some indications of raking as does his right foreleg. I'd say he got his ass beat.

Dogs don't really recognize coyotes as "not dog". To Mr. Spot the amber bushy-tailed thing that was the size of a dog, with the look of a dog and the actions of a dog, in his mind, must be a dog.

But coyotes are not dogs. There may be kinship, but they are another creature entirely. They don't fight the way dogs fight. They fight for different reasons than dogs. Dogs are trying to protect a known territory. Or they are trying to set the pack order. Mr. Spot was engaging the coyote with Dog Rules in mind.

The coyote was hunting or scouting and his reasons for fighting were much more feral. Given that, he reacted, in Mr. Spots mind, in wholly unexpected and unpredictable ways.

We are dogs. We know where our next meal is coming from. We seek to adjust or maintain our status. We seek to keep and protect what is ours and if possible gain more.

The creature we are dealing with in the financial realm may look like a dog and have the size of a dog and the actions of a dog. But make no mistake; it is not a dog. It is feral because we have not attended it or given it structure or training. It has gone wild. And now it is reacting, in the Market Doggy's minds, in wholly unexpected and unpredictable ways. Not at all dog-like. Not at all.

Bitten squarely on the ass. Indeed.

[DemReadingDU]

55. That is quite an adventure for this morning

I'm glad the coyote turned and run, but please keep and eye on Mr. Spot. Since he was bit by the coyote, maybe Mr. Spot should be checked at the vet for rabies.

[Hugin]

60. Very good Talking Dog!

I do worry when one wanders into danger in their plaid PJs, tho. This is the very reason I'm always fully clothed in heavy duty outdoor gear and armed to the teeth at all times. But, you see... I do it so the rest of you don't have to... Well, that, and I'm a psychopath. But, you get the picture.

Please, take care!

[SpiralHawk]

63. rabid republicon coyotes on the loose

Great post - thank you.

All that rises shall fall again.

[AnneD]

74. A good story with ....

hopefully a happy ending. When I lived in the mountains of New Mexico I learned 1)never go out and check that noise coming from the dumpster at night. In Houston it would be a rat, raccoon, or possum in Cloudcroft-it was most likely a bear 2)use the peep hole 3)always walk your animals in a leash-if they are attacked-it may be the only way to get them back (it saved a friends chihuahua when it was set upon by coyotes-she literally jerked it out when they opened their mouth for a better grip). 4)Always carry a walking stick-they look sharp and are smart-especially when you need to fend something off. 5)keep your vet on speed dial-same with a back up vet too.

Funny how we can all be deceived by looks.

[bain_sidhe]

77. Fantastic analogy

Or is that a metaphor? I always get the two mixed up.

Well, anyway, I enjoyed the story, and hope Mr. Spot comes out of his encounter ok. I only wish I could be so hopeful that the rest of us will come out ok from our encounter with the financial coyotes. I fear not... even for those of us who haven't been sucked in to the whole HouseATM scam, there are still pensions and medical debts to consider.

[AnneD]

66. Senators say they won't let student loan market sink

WASHINGTON — Under pressure from industry, key senators on Tuesday assured Sallie Mae, Wall Street investors and college administrators that the government will help revive the distressed market for securities made from student loans.

The student lending industry and investors are pressing Congress for help, and Democratic leaders say a potential crisis in access to money for education should be averted by action in the way that the mortgage foreclosure disaster was not.

"It is our obligation not to let a single person go" without being able to secure an education loan, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., declared at a hearing by the Senate Banking Committee.

It would be "unpardonable to let what happened in housing" occur with regard to student loans, he said.

Schumer, an influential lawmaker, is often attuned to Wall Street's concerns. Sallie Mae, formally SLM Corp., and the big financial institutions that bundle mortgages and student loans into securities and trade them wield hefty lobbying clout on Capitol Hill. They are urgently asking the government to step in to provide relief.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5704031.html

If they wanted to avoid the same problems that is happening to the housing market.....they would regulate and cap the interest on some of these private loans. They should be gov backed. The terms on these private loans are worse tham ARM's. Kids are being sold into wage slavery.:nuke: I talk to my daughter weekly on this.

[AnneD]

67. Mortgage industry told to take its lumps

WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats and President Bush will agree on a bill to help half a million or more struggling homeowners get into lower cost mortgages, but it won't be through the bankruptcy courts, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee predicted Tuesday.

Efforts to let bankruptcy judges rewrite mortgages for strapped borrowers won't make it through Congress this year, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., told the Associated Press in an interview.

But if the mortgage industry refuses to participate in his plan to let such borrowers refinance into government-backed loans, Frank said, the industry can expect tougher regulation in the future.

"If they're an obstacle to this, there's going to be a serious effort legislatively to reduce their role," said Frank, who plans to meet with mortgage servicers Wednesday.

Servicers will have to take losses on distressed loans "whether they like it or not," he said.

more......

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5704029.html

[Hugin]

68. Good for Rep. Frank!

He's been in the thick of the fight lately. :thumbsup:

[AnneD]

69. Phishing expedition goes after CEO whales

SAN FRANCISCO — An e-mail scam aimed squarely at the nation's top executives is raising new alarms about the ease with which people can be deceived by online criminals.

Thousands of executives across the country have been receiving e-mail messages this week that appear to be official subpoenas from the U.S. District Court in San Diego.

A link embedded in the message purports to offer a copy of the entire subpoena. But a recipient who tries to view the document unwittingly downloads and installs software that secretly records keystrokes and sends the data to a remote computer over the Internet. This lets the criminals capture passwords and other personal or corporate information.

The tactic of aiming at the rich and powerful with an online scam is referred to by computer security experts as whaling. The term is a play on phishing, an approach that usually involves tricking e-mail users — in this case the big fish — into divulging personal information like credit card numbers.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5704221.html

:nopity: I think I have found the perfect white collar crime to land me in jail in my old age (when they take away social security). I would have fun coming up with that one. Three hots and a cot and free medical care. My needs are simple. :rofl:

[kickysnana]

76. The rise and fall of the Roman pottery industry

DU crostpost

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x143363#143412

[Tansy_Gold]

78. Interesting, interesting

Maybe we should start a DU directory of essential skills and who has them?

[ozymandius]

81. I can make beer.

:toast:

[Tansy_Gold]

82. Well, Ozy, I'm sure that's useful to someone. . . .

:evilgrin:

[Hugin]

83. Yes, as a matter of fact...

I happen to -drink- beer. :o


Usefulness is in the eye of the beholder! :thumbsup:

[UpInArms]

85. end of the numbers - ponies for everyone except the ones that have dollars and use fuel

Dow 12,619.27 256.80 (2.08%)
Nasdaq 2,350.11 64.07 (2.80%)
S&P 500 1,364.71 30.28 (2.27%)
10-Yr Bond 3.696% 0.126

NYSE Volume 4,261,013,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,148,321,000

4:20 pm : On Wednesday, the stock market surged 2.3% after investor sentiment was lifted by positive earnings surprises from several major corporations. All ten economic sectors posted a gain. At the same time, crude oil and the euro spiked to fresh all-time highs.

Intel (INTC 22.13, +1.22) was one of the most influential stocks on Wednesday, and was by far the most actively traded issue. The tech bellwether reported adjusted earnings of $0.29 per share, besting the consensus estimate by four cents. Intel gave a reassuring outlook, which helped calm the market’s fears over demand and margins.

Tech outperformed with a 3.1% gain, as did the Nasdaq 100 with an advance of 2.9%. The Semiconductor Index (SOX) surged 5.5%.

Financial firms also reported earnings that pleased investors. JPMorgan Chase (JPM 44.96, +2.84) topped expectations by four cents per share and Wells Fargo (WFC 29.01, +1.20) beat estimates by three cents per share. The financial sector gained 3.3% on the day.

Other companies that topped estimates include Coca-Cola (KO 61.15, +0.21), CSX Corp (CSX 59.89, +2.12), Abbott Labs (ABT 51.35, -0.56) and Johnson Controls (JCI 34.55, +1.92).

Although all of the above companies topped expectations -- a positive for the stock market -- not all reported strong earnings relative to last year. Intel’s net earnings fell 12%, JPM Morgan earnings were down 50% after $5.1 billion in write-downs and Wells Fargo's earnings fell 9.1%. Nevertheless, the market was pleased that earnings were better than feared.

The Dollar Index (-0.86%) posted a steep loss, with the euro climbing to an all-time high. This provided a lift to commodities (+0.8%), especially precious metals such as gold (+1.7%).

The gains in commodities helped boost the materials sector (+4.9%). Monsanto (MON 131.54, +8.86) also helped matters, as its stock surged 7.2% after Goldman Sachs raised their earnings estimates on the firm, according to Bloomberg.com

Crude oil hit an all-time high of $115.07 per barrel. The weak dollar, and an unexpected drop in crude inventories fueled the buying interest. As a result, the energy sector gained 2.7%.

Economic data were mixed, although the reports had a mostly muted effect on trading.

The March Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3% and core CPI (excludes energy & food) rose 0.2%. Both matched economists’ expectations. The inflation reading is outside the Fed’s comfort zone. However, it provided the market with some relief, as it was not as high as feared.

Housing data were poor. March housing starts plunged nearly 12% to the lowest level since 1991. Building permits decreased 5.8%, also falling to the lowest level since 1991. Traders have grown accustomed to the weak housing news, and shrugged off the data.

March industrial production unexpectedly rose 0.3% after falling 0.7% in February. Economists expected production to shrink by 0.1%. This counters all the manufacturing surveys for March that showed declines -- which clearly were wrong. The industrial sector (+2.5%) posted a decent gain as a result.

On Thursday, the market will have a barrage of earnings reports from 65 companies to sift through, including IBM (IBM 120.47, +3.30), Merrill Lynch (MER 44.89, +1.55) and Pfizer (PFE 21.10, +0.39).
DJ30 +256.80 NASDAQ +64.07 NQ100 +2.9% R2K +3.1% SP400 +2.9% SP500 +30.28 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 767/2137/2.12 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 531/2612/1.44 bln

3:30 pm : The major indices are climbing higher heading into the final half-hour of trade. After a volatile day of trade, crude oil topped $115 per barrel for the first time. The buying interest is being fueled by an unexpected drop in crude inventories and the 0.87% decline in the dollar.

The VIX -- which measures volatility over the next 30 days -- has fallen to its lowest level of 2008. It is down 8.4% to 20.87.DJ30 +219.26 NASDAQ +61.00 SP500 +26.18 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 777/2093/1.69 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 531/2591/1.02 bln

3:00 pm : The stock market climbs to fresh highs in a broad-based move. There has been a bullish bias since the opening bell.

Financials (+2.2%) in general are performing well this session, but that cannot be said for student lender SLM Corp (SLM 16.24, -1.20), also known as Sallie Mae. Its stock has shed 6.9% after being downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at Morgan Stanley. Sallie Mae is confirmed to report earnings tomorrow morning before the open.

The materials sector (+4.4%) continues to handily outperform the broader market. Agriculture chemical company Monsanto (MON 131.82, +9.14) continues its winning ways with its 7.5% advance this session. In the last five years, the stock's annual return is equivalent to 77.4%, compared to the S&P 500's 11.04% return.DJ30 +194.59 NASDAQ +55.88 SP500 +23.58 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 794/2061/1.52 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 563/2554/910 mln

[Roland99]

86. Much like the overall financial state of this country. It's fine at the top (globals)

but stinks like poo at the bottom (non uber-rich Americans)

[AnneD]

88. Good to see you out and about Roland

:grouphug: hope you are a smidge better.

[Roland99]

89. Thanks!

yeah...doing better.

But *slammed* at work the last few days, hence my lack of contribution up here of late.

I still check SMW on my phone when I can, though. :)