STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday February 28

[ozymandius]

Wednesday February 28, 2007

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 691LONG DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2256 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1960 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1920
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 9
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 February 27, 2007

Dow... 12,216.24 -416.02 (-3.29%)
Nasdaq... 2,407.86 -96.66 (-3.86%)
S&P 500... 1,399.04 -50.33 (-3.47%)
Gold future... 687.20 -2.60 (-0.38%)
30-Year Bond 4.63% -0.10 (-2.18%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.51% -0.12 (-2.55%)






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

[ozymandius]

1. Today's Market WrapUp

Tracking the Perfect Storm
BY FRANK BARBERA, CMT

There is a blip on the long-range radar, something out there -- out there at extreme range -- yet now steadily closing the distance. Unable to be seen over the expanse of a long horizon, the object draws relentlessly closer bearing down on our position. As it approaches, we begin to feel the lashing winds and violent seas of a still developing ‘perfect storm.’ In advance of its approach, the palpable change is impossible not to notice with the complexion of a sunny day evaporating into a miasma of increasing winds and darkening skies. Like the approaching storm -- a weather system of immense size and power -- today’s violent decline in global financial markets is the signature of steadily darkening storm clouds and a BEAR MARKET in its early stages. Whoa, to the investor that ignores the message of such an unmistakable and powerful force. Bear markets take no prisoners cutting a path through investor portfolios strewn with wreckage and debris.

Over the last few weeks, all of our indicators have pointed to burgeoning trouble spots -- China, Mexico, Brazil, the Investment Banks, Homebuilders, the S&P itself and of course, the Sub-Prime Lenders. They are all actors in ACT I of a still unfolding 7 ACT play. The pain threshold and turbulence is only now just starting to increase, so for those with weak stomachs, now would be a good time to reach for the Dramamine and buckle in. In last week's report, I noted the S&P appeared to be in the final stages of completing a five-wave advancing wedge. In today’s action, that wedge formation broke down violently with prices moving down to test the 1380 to 1390 support zone near the lows of the day.

-cut-

At landfall, it will literally unfold all around us with a Housing Crisis – Check!, a Banking Crisis – Check!, and ultimately, a Currency Crisis – Check!. Check, Check, Check! On all three centers of gravity, the vortex will spin faster and faster, becoming ever more self-reinforcing like a maze of tumbling dominos. Only gold, and perhaps oil are likely to withstand, and indeed, thrive within this particular burgeoning onslaught. With today’s decline, the S&P is now down 1.34% for the year, with the NASDAQ down 4 points for the year and the DJIA down 1.98% for the year. So much for the barrage of daily new records repeated and repeated ad nauseam by the squawking parrots on cable TV. We will now undoubtedly be told that the market is “oversold” and sure, the market is becoming oversold on a “short-term” basis. Yet a quick glance at the Medium Term ARMS Index below, shows that even with today’s violent market decline, it is still a long, long way to Tipperary as the ARMS Index ended at a very neutral value of .95.

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

[Ghost Dog]

2. European shares pare losses, US futures up

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=londonMktRpt&storyID=2007-02-28T105252Z_01_L28708788_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-EUROPE-STOCKS-RECOVERY-URGENT.XML

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - European shares halved earlier losses on Wednesday to trade less than 1 percent lower as corporate news and re-emerging takeover talk boosted markets, and U.S. index futures rose.

At 1041 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of top European shares was down 0.95 percent at 1,491.86 points, up from an intraday low of 1,473.66.

French group Carrefour (CARR.PA: Quote, Profile , Research) rose 2.8 percent on market talk of a leveraged buyout, while Volkswagen (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile , Research) led German gainers with a 2.5-percent rise on strong results from its Audi unit.

"Should the markets have been down 3 percent yesterday? Probably not. So, it's just a matter of people adjusting to what's been going on since yesterday," a trader at a French brokerage said.

Dow Jones industrial average <DJc1>, Nasdaq <NDc1> and the S&P 500 <SPc1> futures were all up around 1 percent after a sharp slide in U.S. markets on Tuesday.

/.

[Ghost Dog]

13. ECB Weber: Further Euro-Zone Monetary Stimulus Unnecessary

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20070228\ACQDJON200702280641DOWJONESDJONLINE000582.htm
&selected=9999&selecteddisplaysymbol=9999&StoryTargetFrame=_top&mkt=WORLD
&chk=unchecked&lang=&link=&headlinereturnpage=http://www.international.na

FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- The euro-zone economy doesn't need an accommodative monetary policy anymore, and monetary stimulus must continue to be withdrawn, European Central Bank governing council member Axel Weber said in the text of a speech Wednesday.

"The euro-zone economy is on a solid and stable growth path, which no longer requires monetary policy accommodation," Weber said.

"Therefore, we must continue to withdraw monetary stimulus," he said.

/.

[Ghost Dog]

14. Euro Zone Economic Sentiment, Business Climate Improve In February

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20070228\ACQRTT200702280603RTTRADERUSEQUITY_0278.htm
&selected=9999&selecteddisplaysymbol=9999&StoryTargetFrame=_top&mkt=WORLD
&chk=unchecked&lang=&link=&headlinereturnpage=http://www.international.nasd

(RTTNews) - Euro zone economic sentiment indicator rose to 109.7 in February, the European Commission said Wednesday. In January, the indicator stood at 109.2. Economists expected a reading of 109.1. The consumer confidence indicator came in at minus 5 versus minus 7 in January. Economists expected consumer confidence to improve to minus 6. Meanwhile, industrial confidence indicator and service confidence remained unchanged.

In a separate communiqué, the Commission stated that the Business Climate Indicator improved to 1.56 from revised 1.39 registered last month. The indicator for January was revised down from 1.40. Economists were looking for a reading of 1.41.

[Ghost Dog]

28. German jobless rate falls in February

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-02/28/content_5784576.htm

BERLIN, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Germany's jobless rate dropped in February to the lowest in more than five years due to lighter economic prospect, official figures released on Wednesday showed.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell from 9.5 percent to 9.3 percent, the lowest since August 2001, according to the Nuremberg-based Federal Labor Agency.

The number of jobless people reduced 79,000 to 3.897 million, nearly doubling an expected drop of 40,000.

But by seasonally unadjusted terms, the jobless rate edged down compared with January by 0.1 percent to 10.1 percent, representing a drop of 24,000 jobless people to 4.222 million.

Experts attributed strong economic growth last year and mild winter weather to the fall of unemployment.

In the same month last year the jobless rate stood at 12.2 percent.

/.

[Ghost Dog]

29. Swiss Feb KOF economic indicator up at 1.79 points, at upper-end of forecasts

http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=3d7d855e-7dfc-491e-9b63-6e4a13d6455c

ZURICH (AFX) - The University of Zurich's Centre for Economic Research (KOF) said its economic barometer rose to 1.79 points in Feb, from a revised 1.74 points in Jan and 1.75 in Dec.

The figure reached the upper-end of economists' forecasts of 1.60-1.80 points.
The barometer points to the first signs of acceleration in growth from mid 2007 onwards, the centre said.

Therefore, the (recent) slowdown in GDP growth is likely to be only short-lived, it added.

/.

[Ghost Dog]

30. Poland: Production Grows Fast

http://www.warsawvoice.pl/view/14036

The Polish economy is growing rapidly, with expansion fastest in the industrial and construction sectors.

Last year was very positive for the Polish economy. It is estimated that the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 5.8 percent last year, the best result in nine years. In the last quarter of 2006, the growth rate was no less than 6.3 percent. The favorable economic situation has continued this year. According to data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS), industrial production was 15.6 percent higher in January 2007 than the same month of the previous year. Meanwhile, the building sector recorded even more impressive results with construction volume rising by as much as 60.8 percent year on year. Even the most optimistic had not expected such performance.

GUS data shows that manufacturers recorded the highest increase in output of all segments of the industrial sector-an average 20 percent year on year. Generally, production rose in 22 of 29 industries. The highest increases, of 33.6 percent and 32.5 percent respectively, were recorded by producers of metal products, and rubber and plastic products. Economists say that industrial output is on the rise because producers are receiving more and more orders. What is particularly encouraging is that exports are still growing fast, although until recently many exporters expected a slowdown in exporting activity this year. These expectations, however, have not come true so far.

According to economists of the Economy Ministry's Department for Analyses and Forecasts, the increase in the construction and assembly volume of some 60 percent year on year in January came as a result of favorable economic conditions. If seasonally adjusted, the increase amounted to 30 percent. "We estimate that in the first quarter of the year the rate of growth in the construction and assembly output could be close to 50 percent year on year," say the Economy Ministry's experts.

Considering the excellent results recorded by the industrial and construction sectors in January, the Economy Ministry now projects that first-quarter GDP growth rate may exceed 6 percent. And according to analysts at the Merrill Lynch investment bank, the first-quarter growth rate is likely to reach as much as 7 percent.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

31. Lithuania GDP growth 7.5 pct in 2006, up 6.9 pct in Q4

http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=6a7b4218-6d4c-4ebe-872f-9e2b71156a38

VILNIUS (AFX) - Lithuania's GDP grew by 7.5 pct in 2006 compared with the previous year, BNS newswire reported, citing the Statistics Department.
In the fourth quarter alone, the economy grew by 6.9 pct year-on-year, based on a revised estimate published today.
The previous fourth quarter estimate was 6.6 pct.

/.

[Ghost Dog]

32. Finnish industrial output down 1.1 pct yr/yr in Jan

http://virtual.finland.fi/stt/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=15117&group=Business

Finland's seasonally adjusted industrial output was 1.1 per cent lower in January than the year-ago figure, Statistics Finland (SF) said in a statement Wednesday.

"The growth in industrial output which continued all of last year stalled in January," the agency added.

The largest drop, almost eight per cent, was in electrical and electronics manufacturing.

/.

[Ghost Dog]

69. Trichet says ECB rates policy must be credible on price stability

http://www.forbes.com/markets/feeds/afx/2007/02/28/afx3472317.html

BRUSSELS (AFX) - European Central Bank (other-otc: CHPA.PK - news - people ) (ECB) president Jean-Claude Trichet said the bank's monetary policy must be credible in ensuring price stability.

'The decisive contribution the ECB's single monetary policy makes to the smooth functioning of economic and monetary union is to maintain price stability -- and be credible in the deliver in the future -- in the euro area as a whole,' Trichet said in a speech at the European Parliament.

...

The ECB's governing council is widely expected to raise interest rates further next Thursday, citing the need to control inflation.

In figures published today, euro zone inflation for January eased to 1.8 pct from 1.9 pct in December. This tallies with the ECB's inflation target of below or close to 2.0 pct.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

33. UK Feb consumer confidence index down

http://www.businessworld.ie/livenews.htm?a=1650283;s=rollingnews.htm

Consumer confidence fell slightly in February, as Britons became more pessimistic about the UK's general economic situation, a leading pollster found today.

In its monthly survey, GfK/NOP said its main headline consumer confidence index fell one point to -8 from -7 in January, whereas analysts were not expecting any change in the index.

Although three out of the five subindices within the indicator fell, UK consumers found some comfort in the fact that the Bank of England did not raise rates in February, said Carol Bernasconi, divisional director at GfK/NOP.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

37. Airbus announces job cuts

http://uk.reuters.com/home
Breaking Reuters 2:20 p.m. GMT

Airbus to cut about 10,000 jobs over next four years, 1,600 in Britain, EADS says. More to come...

ed. see also:

BBC: Airbus confirms 10,000 job cuts

Troubled planemaker Airbus has announced it is to cut 10,000 jobs across Europe over the next four years.

France will be worst hit with 4,300 job losses. Germany will see 3,700 jobs go while the UK and Spain will see 1,600 and 400 jobs cut respectively.

Airbus boss Louis Gallois said the firm was "facing huge challenges" and "was not efficient enough".

Airbus has been struggling in the wake of production delays to its flagship A380 superjumbo project.

Mr Gallois said the weak US dollar had also made the changes necessary.

/.

CNBC vía DU 12:17 GMT: Union: Airbus to Sell 2 French Sites

[Ghost Dog]

63. European stocks hit 7-week low amid new sell-off

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=eurMktRpt&storyID=2007-02-28T164654Z_01_WEB2776_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-EUROPE-STOCKS-URGENT.XML

FRANKFURT, Feb 28 (Reuters) - European stocks fell for a second day on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected U.S. data sparked a fresh sell-off in global equities.

Oil majors and miners were among the top decliners around Europe as fears of an economic slowdown and falling demand in China cast a shadow over commodity markets, pushing down copper and crude oil prices.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> of leading European shares unofficially closed 1.36 percent lower, at 1,485.58 points, its lowest close since Jan. 10, but recovering slightly from an intraday low at 1,473.66 points.

Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE slipped 1.82 percent, while Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> was down 1.53 percent and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> fell 1.29 percent.

/.

[Ghost Dog]

3. (Earlier) Global slide continues as Asia dumps stocks

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/6d792e5e-c6e8-11db-8078-000b5df10621.html

Stock markets took another hit on Wednesday as European equities opened sharply lower, mirroring plunging indices across Asia and in the US.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 fell 1.3 per cent to 1,486.78, following a 2.9 per cent slide – its biggest single-day decline in four years – in the previous session.

In London, the FTSE 100 fell more than 1 per cent to 6,221.1, while the CAC 40 in Paris shed 1.7 per cent to 5,494.02 and Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax lost 1.4 per cent to 6,721.51.

Stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region opened weaker Wednesday morning, continuing a global slump from the previous day that saw US stock indices posting their steepest drop since the September 11 2001 terrorism attack.

In Asia, Japan led the falls in the region, as investors used the global slide as an excuse to lock in profits after a long bull run that sent the Topix index to a 15-year high earlier this week.

The Nikkei 225 Index, which was down by 700 points at one stage – its biggest single-session plunge since September 2001 – ended 2.9 per cent lower at 17,604.12, while the broader Topix shed 3.2 per cent to 1,752.74.

Chinese stocks, which recorded their biggest fall in a decade on Tuesday, steadied as the benchmark benchmark Shanghai Composite Index recovered 3.9 per cent to 2,881.07.

Malaysian stocks dropped, extending the biggest loss in almost six years, while Singapore opened sharply lower and Seoul shares were headed to their biggest fall since June 2004. Taiwan’s market was was closed for a holiday.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

6. Tokyo stocks tumble amid global sell-off

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e566de0e-c6d7-11db-8f4f-000b5df10621.html

Tokyo stocks endured a session of heavy losses as confidence was battered by the previous day’s sell-off in Shanghai and New York. Although the afternoon session saw some recovery for the morning’s worst-afflicted shares, the Nikkei ended trading more than 500 points down.

The rising yen, which surged against the dollar and euro on investor fears that the yen carry trade may be about to unwind, stoked concerns that Japanese exporters may lose the advantage they have gained from the currency’s recent weakness.

Brokers said that a second day of steep falls on New York posed the danger of turning a single day’s correction into a “potentially troubling trend”.

The panic-selling was at its most acute in the early moments of the morning session where shares were badly savaged immediately after the start of trading. Traders, confronted by the previous night’s massive sell-off on Wall Street and on other global exchanges, were sellers of Japanese stocks from the opening bell. The major indexes tumbled sharply within the first few minutes of trading, with the Nikkei 225 Index falling by 704 points at one stage – its biggest single-session plunge since September 2001.

At one stage, every single stock in the Nikkei 225 was in negative territory, though defensive stocks such as Japan Tobacco and larger players from the pharmaceutical sector staged modest recoveries in the afternoon. Nippon Meat Packers was one of only two Nikkei stocks that closed higher, up 3.78 per cent to Y1,481.

At the close, the Nikkei 225 stood at 17,604 – 515 points below Tuesday’s close and down 2.85 per cent. The broader Topix Index shed 3.23 per cent of its value to end the day 58.59 points lower at 1,752.74.

The morning’s 70-point collapse in the Topix triggered the Tokyo bourse’s “safety valve” mechanism that suspends trading in Topix futures if the drop is too hard and too sudden. Topix futures trading was suspended for 15 minutes from 9.07am. The TSE authorities also warned that if the Topix fell to 1,711 points – exactly 100 points below Tuesday’s close – a second mechanism would be triggered suspending arbitrage trading in all First Section shares. By the time the warning was issued, though, traders reported that “the worst of the correction” had already taken place.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

7. BOJ injects funds as call rates rise, shares drop

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070228:MTFH03484_2007-02-28_07-57-06_T274669&type=comktNews&rpc=44

TOKYO, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan injected ample funds to the money market on Wednesday to stem a sharp rise in overnight call money rates and help ease concerns as Tokyo share prices plunged following a tumble in global stock markets.

The BOJ pumped an additional 1.2 trillion yen into the market for a total of 2.2 trillion yen ($18.6 billion) through same-day funding operations, the first same-day cash injection since the central bank raised interest rates last week.

Overnight call rates eased after the BOJ's second funding operation, with lenders such as regional banks and others coming out in the market with offers, money market traders said.

"The second tender was effective in cooling call rates which are easing quite rapidly," said a senior trader at a foreign securities firm.

Overnight call rates fell to around 0.43-0.51 percent.

Earlier in the session, some foreign banks tapped overnight funds at 0.77 percent, well above the BOJ's policy target of 0.50 percent, while Japanese banks raised cash at around 0.55 percent.

/..

[Ghost Dog]

19. Japan's industrial output slips for first month in four

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/070228/afp/070228074453business.html

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's industrial output posted its largest fall in nearly three years in January as makers of automobiles and machinery reduced production, the government said Wednesday.

Output fell 1.5 percent from the previous month, the first fall in four months, although the decline was smaller than the market's average forecast of a 1.9 percent fall.

Sectors that led the decline included passenger vehicles, small cars and semiconductors, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said.

However, the ministry said that in general, "production is on a rising trend."

Analysts said the fall, the biggest since February 2004, showed an adjustment phase but said that continued growth in some high-tech products should limit the overall effects.

...

The ministry expected a 1.8 percent drop in February from the previous month, but forecast a rise of 2.4 percent in March.

/...

[ozymandius]

8. Did the U.S. catch China's cold?

The old saying goes (paraphrasing), "When the U.S. catches a cold, the rest of the world catches the flu." We have seen how market captains have rushed toward mergers - and to what goal?

Does anyone see evidence that yesterday's meltdown could have been caused by fewer partitions between world markets?

[Ghost Dog]

17. Oh yes, certainly. That's 'globalisation' (and instant communications).

And, certainly, it's above all China's markets which have been extremely feverish lately, with US and other global markets following (though Europe & Japan, I think, rather less so).

Here's one (risky) angle, out of the US, this morning:

A blow may be just a bruise in cash-rich markets



SINGAPORE (Reuters) - There is so much cash splashing around in the financial world, economists reckon, that it is almost impossible Tuesday's rout in global stock markets will herald the end of a five-year boom in risky assets.

Fed on a U.S. policy of low interest rates early this decade and now by Asia's export-oriented weak currency policy, the global investment binge has been inflating stocks, house prices and commodities.

But financial markets sold off on Tuesday. U.S. stocks posted their biggest slide in four years, other stock markets suffered big losses and the yen rallied as investors unwound trades funded by cheap borrowing from Japan.

No one could say for sure what triggered the selling. Traders said it could have been rumors of an interest rate rise or capital gains tax in China, tensions over Iran's nuclear plans or nervousness over U.S. economic data.

But economists were certain about one thing: investors would be back seeking risk and yield.

"The buy-on-dips mentality is going to continue and that is a sign that risk appetite remains intact. This is a small bruise," said Anantha-Nageswaran, head of research at Bank Julius Baer.

There were already signs of that on Wednesday. Safe-haven U.S. Treasuries were no longer in demand and Japanese margin traders were buying back dollars for yen (JPY=: Quote, Profile, Research). China's stock market rallied after shedding nearly 9 percent the previous day.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

10. China financials drop in HK amid global sell-off

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070228:MTFH04633_2007-02-28_08-47-32_HKG264479&type=comktNews&rpc=44

HONG KONG, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Shares in Chinese financial services firms, led by top life insurer China Life Insurance Co. (2628.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) (1398.HK: Quote, Profile , Research), fell more than 5 percent on Wednesday, in the wake of the biggest one-day drop in mainland shares in a decade.

Mainland insurers, which recently won approval to invest a wider range of securities, led the declines after Shanghai's main index <.SSEC> dropped 9 percent on Tuesday on rumours ranging from higher interest rates to new measures to curb speculation in the domestic A-share market.

"Those that are most vulnerable are the insurers, because they invest in the A-share market directly," said one Hong Kong-based analyst at a global investment bank.

Shanghai shares rallied to finish up 3.9 percent on Wednesday, with the domestically listed shares of ICBC (601398.SS: Quote, Profile , Research), Bank of China (601988.SS: Quote, Profile , Research) and China Life (601628.SS: Quote, Profile , Research) all recovering to trade higher.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index <.HSI> closed down 2.5 percent.

/...

[ozymandius]

15. Asian, European markets drop for 2nd day

TOKYO - Chinese stocks bounced back Wednesday after their biggest decline in a decade, but stock markets elsewhere in Asia and Europe fell for a second day amid investor jitters about possible slowdowns in the Chinese and U.S. economies.

Shares in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Australia and the Philippines all tumbled more than 2 percent after Wall Street suffered its worst day since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

But as the day progressed, several Asian markets trimmed big early losses, and analysts said the sell-off was most likely a temporary correction to cool overheating markets, although they warned that markets would likely remain volatile for awhile.

-cut-

Some investors used the drop as an opportunity to go bargain-hunting. Malaysian stocks, after falling as much as 8.2 percent, closed down 3.3 percent. Australian stocks closed down 2.7 percent after falling as much as 3.5 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070228/ap_on_bi_ge/world_markets

[ozymandius]

4. Today's Reports

8:30 AM GDP-Prel. Q4
Briefing Forecast 2.5%
Market Expects 2.3%
Prior 3.5%

8:30 AM Chain Deflator-Prel. Q4
Briefing Forecast 1.5%
Market Expects 1.5%
Prior 1.5%

9:45 AM Chicago PMI Feb
Briefing Forecast 50.0
Market Expects 50.0
Prior 48.8

10:00 AM New Home Sales Jan
Briefing Forecast 1085K
Market Expects 1080K
Prior 1120K

10:30 AM Crude Inventories 02/23
Briefing Forecast NA
Market Expects NA
Prior 3694K

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

[UpInArms]

25. 4th Quarter GDP revised down to 2.2% vs 3.5% (largest revision in 9+ yrs)

09. Largest revision to GDP in more than 9 years
8:30 AM ET, Feb 28, 2007 - 2 minutes ago

10. U.S. core inflation up 2.2% y-o-y vs. 2.3% previous
8:30 AM ET, Feb 28, 2007 - 2 minutes ago

11. U.S. Q4 inventory change subtracts 1.35% from GDP
8:30 AM ET, Feb 28, 2007 - 2 minutes ago

12. U.S. Q4 business investment -2.4% vs. -0.4%
8:30 AM ET, Feb 28, 2007 - 2 minutes ago

13. U.S. Q4 consumer spending up 4.2% vs. 4.4%
8:30 AM ET, Feb 28, 2007 - 2 minutes ago

14. U.S. GDP up 3.1% in past four quarters
8:30 AM ET, Feb 28, 2007 - 2 minutes ago

15. U.S. 2006 GDP up 3.3%, revised from 3.4%
8:30 AM ET, Feb 28, 2007 - 2 minutes ago

16. U.S. Q4 core PCE price index revised to 1.9% vs. 2.1%
8:30 AM ET, Feb 28, 2007 - 2 minutes ago

17. U.S. Q4 GDP revised down to 2.2% vs. 3.5%
8:30 AM ET, Feb 28, 2007 - 2 minutes ago

[Ghost Dog]

65. Hello, sorry, WHAT WAS THAT AGAIN?

Oh, core inflation under control. So that's all right then...

[Ghost Dog]

5. (Yesterday) NYSE curbs fail to arrest Dow’s tumble

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e131ed2a-c6b8-11db-8f4f-000b5df10621.html

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday suffered its steepest one-day decline in more than five years as hedge funds and other traders of large blocks of shares struggled to cope with curbs put in place by the New York Stock Exchange. Those curbs were designed to encourage orderly trading.

Such so-called “circuit breakers” have been used by the US stock exchange during previous sharp market declines.

These can potentially bring trading to a halt. But because the worst of the plunge on Tuesday took place after 2.30 pm, the NYSE did not halt trading. Instead, at 1.03pm the NYSE introduced what it calls a trading collar. Such measures are introduced in the event of a 180-point decline in the NYSE composite index, and ensure that all large block orders of the S&P 500 stocks must be “stabilising” for the remainder of the day – meaning that they can take place only after an “up-tick” in the stock. It will be removed at the start of trading today, but it remained in place until the close of trading on Tuesday.

Trading collars can be removed if the index moves back to within 90 points of the previous day’s close, but that did not happen yesterday.

“Normally, when circuit breakers kick in to stop us from selling, we get a bounce,” one trader said. “However, a whole queue of sell orders hit the system. That is not a good omen when the circuit breakers do not bring us back. We dropped in a matter of minutes. This is not supposed to happen.”

/...

[fasttense]

12. Someone here was saying that they never saw the market drop past 2%

at one time. Other countries did, but not the US. Perhaps these "trading collar" were the reason why. They worked until yesterday.

[ozymandius]

16. U.S. markets have dropped more than 2% in a single day.

We have seen drops slightly above 2% since 9-11 but never over 3% in a single day. I recall a week about two years ago when the Dow dropped over three percent over consecutive days - losing 100+ points in each trading session.

[fasttense]

20. Thanks for the clarification. n/t

[RawMaterials]

26. From CNN money Biggest point losses / Percentage declines

http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/28/markets/stockswatch2/index.htm?postversion=2007022808

[AnneD]

47. Morning Marketeers...

:donut: and lurkers. It was certainly and interesting day yesterday. For those of you that consider this a drop-let me tell you of the crash in 87. I actually had money in the market then. I had stock in the company I worked at-Pennzoil at the time they had a lawsuit against Texaco. I had just learned about stop losses and my stocks were going up every few days. I would raise my stop loss periodically. Well, it dropped and I cashed out a week before the crash. I was following Johnson and Johnson-a stock I really wanted. Their price before the crash was almost $130 per share-too rich for me. I got a quote the day after the crash and it was $80. Sadly they only sold in 100 share blocks-still too rich for me but what a deal at that young age. That was a great savings on a good company (about 60%).
But it also taught me something else. The market is far too risky to put all your retirement eggs in a 401K basket. Imagine loosing 60% of your retirement money-AS YOU ARE RETIRING. Overnight 60% of all that you scrimped and saved evaporates...overnight. And who is the thief guilty of this robbery? There were many lawsuits after this...folks couldn't get hold of their brokers over the phone, sell orders weren't executed in a timely manner. Computers and computer trading were new so there were all kinds of bugs.
Things have changes a bit since then and while spectacular-in the vast scheme of things a one day drop of 3% is not the first sign of a sinking ship. Am I blowing yesterdays' correction off-NO. This ship has been springing leaks for a while now. The numbers haven't been adding up and folks on this thread have been voicing growing concern for almost 2 years now.
I remember last week ask if the activity in the sub prime mortgage market (HSBC) was the first shoe dropping what would be the second shoe. I haven't decided if this market drop is the second shoe-but it certainly got these rah rah eCONomic cheerleaders attention.
Without decent truthful numbers to make intelligent decisions, we will have to watch our our assets.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[54anickel]

99. Holy SH*T!!!!! I missed an exciting one yesterday...Miss a day and

you miss a lot! I'll have to try and catch up....just no time for the computer these days. :-(

[Ghost Dog]

103. .

(yesterday: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2747783 )

:hi:

[54anickel]

104. Thanks GD, now I can easily catch up when I get a chance.

[ozymandius]

9. Oil prices continue to fall

SINGAPORE - Oil prices fell Wednesday amid a plunge in many global stock markets and expectations for lower demand from China, the world's second-largest oil consumer.

Still, continued tensions over Iran and expectations that the latest snapshot of U.S. inventories will reveal declines in refined products such as gasoline, diesel and heating oil, kept a fairly high floor under the market.

-cut-

Global stock markets tumbled Tuesday in the wake of a 9 percent drop in Chinese shares amid speculation that Beijing may take further steps to slow China's rapid growth — which could weaken demand for oil.

"The reaction to the fall in the Chinese stock market is really a short-term overreaction," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. "The Chinese economy will remain a major growth engine in the global economy. Perhaps what's more important is the health of the U.S. economy."

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

[ozymandius]

11. El Paso 4Q loss widens on costs

HOUSTON - El Paso Corp., the nation's largest natural gas pipeline company, on Tuesday posted a slightly wider loss in the fourth quarter than a year earlier as costs related to the sale of pipeline capacity offset gains in its core pipeline and exploration businesses.

But the company, which launched a restructuring 3 1/2 years ago, posted a full-year profit for the first time since 2000.

Quarterly losses after paying preferred dividends were $175 million, or 25 cents per share, versus a loss of $172 million, or 26 cents per share, during the same period in 2005. Per-share results in the 2005 period are based on about 40 million fewer shares outstanding.

-cut-

El Paso has undergone a massive restructuring in the past few years, as it shed billions in assets, including two refineries and a slew of power plants, to focus on running its pipeline network and exploration and production business.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070228/ap_on_bi_ge/earns_el_paso_1

[wordpix]

62. "countering [the downside] has been the strength of the gasoline market"

Keep buying those SUVs, sheeple, and keep supporting the oil barons and Iraq War

[ozymandius]

18. UPDATE 1-Home Depot expects profit decline in 2007

ATLANTA, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Retailer Home Depot Inc. (HD.N: Quote, Profile , Research) said on Wednesday it expects per-share profit to fall this year as the U.S. housing slump hurts sales and it increases spending on its stores.

The world's largest home improvement chain, which has an analyst meeting scheduled for 8:30 EST (13:30 GMT), forecast earnings per share would decline 4 percent to 9 percent this year.

It expects total sales to be flat or rise up to 2 percent in 2007. Sales at stores open at least a year, an important retail measure known as same-store sales, are expected to fall in the mid-single-digit percentage range.

nalysts on average, expect Home Depot to post a profit of $2.78 a share for 2007, which would represent a decline of about 3 percent from $2.86 a share a year earlier, according to Reuters Estimates.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2007-02-28T123324Z_01_N27424389_RTRIDST_0_HOMEDEPOT-OUTLOOK-UPDATE-1.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna

[ozymandius]

21. Oil Drops Because Plunge in Stock Markets May Portend Slowdown

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from the highest price this year as a global stock-market dip raised concern that economic growth may slow, trimming fuel demand.

European stocks headed for the biggest two-day decline in almost four years, extending an equity slump that has wiped almost $1 trillion off the value of world benchmarks. U.S. indexes tumbled yesterday, erasing 2007 gains, after a sell-off in China spread. U.S. durable goods orders dropped 7.8 percent in January on the biggest slide in business equipment demand in three years.

-cut-

Economic growth in China, where 9 percent of the world's oil is consumed, helped push crude prices to an all-time high last year. Chinese demand will jump 32 percent to 9.4 million barrels a day in 2011 from 7.1 million barrels in 2006, the International Energy Agency said Feb. 6.

``China has had an explosion of demand,'' said Antoine Leurent, an analyst at KBC Securities in Paris. ``If we have a problem in China, the provisions by experts for demand will be wrong because they've all anticipated strong growth.''

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=akmZslk5Y6y8&refer=news

[Ghost Dog]

36. Shanghai copper up, shrugs off equity falls

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20070228:MTFH02980_2007-02-28_07-34-14_SP99970&type=comktNews&rpc=44
Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:34am ET

SINGAPORE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Copper rallied one percent on the Shanghai Futures Exchange on Wednesday, shrugging off weaker global equity markets and overnight losses on the London Metal Exchange.

Shanghai copper for May delivery <SCFK7> was at 58,230 yuan ($7,524) a tonne at the close, versus 57,620 yuan on Tuesday.

"There are a lot of bargain hunters who are prepared to move in on any weakness. We saw that in Shanghai this morning, when it opened over one percent lower and then quickly bounced," said Peter Richardson, analyst at Deutsche Bank.

"Technically, a correction would be a healthy thing as the big move up of 17 percent from the lows needs to be confirmed, but if inventories in LME warehouses continue to fall the uptrend will re-assert."

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange <MCU3> was down $45 at $6,185 a tonne at 0708 GMT. Stocks fell 2,400 tonnes on Tuesday to 208,350, their lowest in four weeks.

"Copper will need a correction in order to confirm support levels. I believe London copper will test a base of around $5,900 to $6,000 a tonne," said analyst Cai Luoyi at China International Futures in Shanghai.

/...

[Roland99]

39. Gee, what are the odds yesterday's $0.25 gas price jump will reverse just as quickly?

:eyes:

[n2doc]

22. Couple of toons you might enjoy....

http://www.caglecartoons.com/images/preview/{14699928-2A3C-48BE-8E6C-69E4156EB1FB}.gif


http://www.caglecartoons.com/images/preview/{58ECF773-E655-40D9-BCC7-E148DD801CD2}.gif

[radfringe]

23. could shape up to be a lemming day?

BUY BUY BUY BUY SELL SELL SELL SELL?

[Ghost Dog]

38. That's usually the other way round?

:evilgrin:

[UpInArms]

24. dollar watch

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

Last trade 83.71 Change +0.25 (+0.30%)

Dow Down 400 Points, Dollar Falls to 12M Low against Yen - Is This a Major Pivot Point into a Recession?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/special_report/special_reports/Dow_Down_400_Points__Dollar_1172611317479.html

Over the past few years, the financial markets have become very speculative and highly leveraged. Today, we have seen the consequences of that aggressive risk appetite. On an intraday basis, the Dow hit a low of 12,086 which represents a drop of over 500 pips, and is the largest move that we have seen in at least 3 years. Risk appetite is plunging as investors bail out of nearly all assets. Even gold has not escaped the liquidation. Prices have fallen over $20 since yesterday’s close. The moves have been substantial and February 27, 2007 will either go down as a major historical turning point for the financial markets or an unparalleled buying opportunity.

The foreign exchange market has provided a great clue into what is behind this move. The Japanese Yen, which has long been the primary funding currency for a lot of these speculative investments has skyrocketed. The Yen is now trading at a 12 month high against the US dollar and is closing in on its year to date highs against many of the other major currencies. The 9 percent drop in the Chinese stock market is being quoted as the initial trigger for the drop, but the broadness of the liquidation suggests that we have just seen a major shift in investor risk appetite.

The first chart below shows the close correlation between the Dow (Red line) and USD/JPY (black line) over the past few months. For the most part, USD/JPY has even been a leading indicator for the moves in the Dow. The second chart is a more granular look at the price action. USD/JPY began drop to at 1am EST last night with virtually no retracement. The Dow gapped at the open, but for those watching USD/JPY, the continual drop in the currency pair foreshadowed the continual drop in the Dow.

...more...

US Dollar: Unwinding of Leveraged Bets Triggers Collapse in Financial Markets

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx_reports/daily_fundamentals/US_Dollar__Unwinding_of_Leveraged_1172617524237.html

US Dollar - The financial markets have taken a blood bath today with the Dow plunging over 400 points and the dollar hitting a 1 year low against the Japanese Yen. Risk appetite is plunging as investors bail out of nearly all assets. The moves have been very substantial and February 27, 2007 will either go down as a major historical turning point for the financial markets or an unparalleled buying opportunity. To read more about whether this is a major pivot point into a recession, read our Special Report on DailyFX.com. Having been the primarily funding vehicle for a lot of these leveraged bets, the Japanese Yen was a great leading indicator for today’s move. The 9 percent drop in the Chinese stock market is being quoted as the initial trigger for the drop, but the broadness of the liquidation suggests that we have just seen a major shift in investor risk appetite. The moves today represent concerns aboutUS growth. Durable goods orders dropped 7.8 percent in the month of January, which is the largest decline in 3 years. Excluding the volatile transportation component, orders fell by 3.1 percent. As we mentioned in yesterday’s Daily Fundamentals, the market’s reaction tends to be very volatile because of the underlying information provided by the ex transportation component. However by the end of the day, the headline number left a longer lasting reaction in the EUR/US – and this was exactly what we saw today. Even though consumer confidence hit a 5 year high and existing home sales increased by the largest amount in 2 years, the drop in durable goods orders was what mattered. As a component of GDP and a forward looking indicator for consumer consumption, the weak demand for big ticket items could trigger some concerns about the sustainability of the US recovery. The combination of low inflation, softer growth and problems in the sub-prime lending market will make it difficult for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates again this year. Both the Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal have extensive coverage about the problems in the sub prime mortgage market today. According to the WSJ, banks are holding the lowest level of reserves to cover bad loans since 1990. With approximately $600 billion more adjustable rate mortgages to be reset to a higher market rate this year, two thirds of which are sub-prime, the risks for delinquencies and foreclosures are substantial. The market’s risk aversion is so high right not that even if tomorrow’s GDP, Chicago PMI or new home sales figures surprise to the upside, it may only have limited impact on the dollar.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

27. Yen carry trade hit again but no knock-out yet

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUST30334220070228
Wed Feb 28, 2007 5:43AM EST

TOKYO (Reuters) - The yen's sharp but fleeting recovery as investors rushed to cover hefty short positions underscores just how much staying power the carry trade seems to have for now.

Traders were wary of a sustained shakeout in yen carry trades on Wednesday after stock markets in Asia slid following a rout in equities across the world, but yet again the yen's explosive recovery partially reversed not long after it began.

The carry trade, in which investors use low-yielding currencies like the yen as a cheap source of funds to buy higher-yielding currencies and assets, has flourished as global economic growth remains robust and financial market volatility has fallen to historic lows -- despite Tuesday's spike.

As the yen has steadily slid to a 21-year low on a trade-weighted and inflation-adjusted basis, the fear is that its weakness is a bubble in danger of collapse like in 1998, when the dollar fell 24 percent against the yen in two months on a massive unwinding of carry trades.

But for the long-expected demise of the carry trade to finally unfold, investors will have to seriously doubt whether global growth and the U.S. economy are holding up -- to the detriment of markets and subdued volatility, analysts said.

/...

Watch on Swiss Franc (CHF), Pound Sterling (GBP)

[Ghost Dog]

34. Forex Carry Trade Down But Not Out: Analysts

http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=b4ff6d7d-d0d1-4145-b7a7-cfe71b1992e2

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- With the low-yielding yen and Swiss franc flying high and high-yielders like sterling taking a plunge, it looks like a long-awaited rebalancing in the currency markets is underway.

Shaky emerging market assets, wobbles in U.S. data and concerns over the U.S. credit market have all pushed risk aversion significantly higher, threatening the long-standing carry trade, which favors high-yielding currencies over low-yielders.

But while the carry trade is down, it's not out. Currency strategists are all on high-alert for signs of a serious switch in currency market sentiment, but most are reluctant to press the panic button just yet. Indeed, some are advising clients to rebuild carry positions already.

"It's not at all too soon to reenter carry positions," said Monica Fan, global head of currency strategy at RBS Capital Markets in London. "We saw the selloff in the Australian dollar against the Swiss franc yesterday, and that's now an opportunity to add to longs. People have got to get a lot smarter about carry trades, but it's too soon to throw the baby out with the bath water and unwind carry positions, as that would cost investors a lot."

The Australian dollar, with interest rates of 6.25% forms a key carry trade against the Swiss franc, with its 2% rates. In line with the broad-based carry selloff, the so-called Aussie/Swiss rate tumbled by around 2% Tuesday. But by 1000 GMT Wednesday, the cross had already made up around half of the ground it had lost.

Fan said official Chinese statements that authorities would "ensure financial stability" have supported a rebound in Chinese equity markets, after they lost 9% Tuesday, and helped to support carry currency positions too.

Even analysts who are more cautious than Fan said that it's unwise to try to profit from a carry reversal just yet. "An immediate extension of this price action cannot be ruled out," said Todd Elmer, a currency strategist at Citigroup. "However, we recommend caution in chasing yen strength from present levels and we believe a further rally might represent an opportunity to adopt shorts, particularly against the high-yielding currencies," he added.

The yen's climb Tuesday was nonetheless impressive. The euro slumped from over Y159 to around Y156.30 over the course of Tuesday.That move was mirrored in dollar/yen, and other low-yielders like the Swedish krona and Swiss franc also made gains.

Similarly, the high-yielding New Zealand dollar fell from $0.7050 to just under $0.69, again holding steady from there, while sterling has fallen yet further against the dollar Wednesday.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

35. More Americans in deep poverty

DU: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x265674

:-(

[Ghost Dog]

84. US Government: 754,000 People Are Homeless

http://www.local6.com/news/11130452/detail.html
Emergency Shelters Typically 90 Percent Full, Report Says

WASHINGTON -- The nation has three-quarters of a million homeless people, filling emergency shelters through the year and spilling into special seasonal shelters in the coldest months, the government said Wednesday.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated there were 754,000 homeless people in 2005, including those living in shelters, transitional housing and on the street. That's about 300,000 more people than available beds in shelters and transitional housing.

The report is the government's latest attempt to count people who are notoriously difficult to track. The estimate is similar to one by an advocacy group in January.

The 2000 Census pegged the number of homeless people at 170,700, but it was widely considered an undercount. In 1996, the Urban Institute used data collected by the Census Bureau to estimate there were between 640,000 and 840,000.

Housing officials hope the new report will serve as a starting point to more accurately measure changes in the homeless population.

"Understanding homelessness is a necessary step to ending it, especially for those persons living with a chronic condition such as mental illness, an addiction, or a physical disability," HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson wrote in the report.

/...

[Roland99]

40. 9:40am - WHEE! Back to the plus side!

DJIA 12,285.62 +69.38 +0.57%
Nasdaq 2,415.72 +7.86 +0.33%
S&P 500 1,406.52 +7.48 +0.53%
Dow Util 479.98 +0.50 +0.10%
NYSE 9,134.53 +55.12 +0.61%
AMEX 2,121.29 +16.26 +0.77%
Russell 2000 791.21 -1.45 -0.18%
Semcond 473.01 -14.98 -3.07%
Gold future 672.30 -14.90 -2.17%
30-Year Bond 4.68% +0.05 +0.97%
10-Year Bond 4.55% +0.04 +0.91%

[Ghost Dog]

46. Stocks Open Higher As Investors Go Bargain Hunting

http://www.cnbc.com/id/17369396

U.S. stocks opened higher as investors went bargain hunting following the market's biggest selloff since 2001.

"I think yesterday was a one-off," Gordon Charlop, President of Walter J. Dowd, told CNBC. "We were expecting a correction. Everybody was waiting for it. I think we'll get back to business as usual and be in good shape."

"The question now is how deep is this correction going to be," said Bill Strazzullo, Chief Market Strategist at Bell Curve Trading. "I think it's going to be at least a couple of days before we sort out the extent of the damage. Given the size of the move and the speed of the move, we know there are an awful lot of traders off-side. I think you want to be cautious now."

/ahem. careful now. steady as she goes...

[saigon68]

41. And we're off 9:47 EST Dropping

Dow 12,228.34 Up 12.10 (0.10%)
Nasdaq 2,405.86 Down 2.00 (0.08%)
S&P 500 1,402.02 Up 2.98 (0.21%)
10-Yr Bond 4.5520%

[bicentennial_baby]

42. +25.93 Dow

[bicentennial_baby]

43. Back into the red we go

[Roland99]

45. Ayup...darn near a 100pt swing from its high

DJIA 12,191.40 -24.84 -0.20%
Nasdaq 2,395.35 -12.51 -0.52%
S&P 500 1,396.65 -2.39 -0.17%
Dow Util 476.27 -3.21 -0.67%
NYSE 9,077.15 -2.26 -0.02%
AMEX 2,117.10 +12.07 +0.57%
Russell 2000 785.25 -7.41 -0.93%
Semcond 473.01 -14.98 -3.07%
Gold future 672.10 -15.10 -2.20%
30-Year Bond 4.66% +0.03 +0.67%
10-Year Bond 4.53% +0.02 +0.42%



edit: now it's almost back to flatline. It's all over the map this morning. Hunting for a direction.

[AnneD]

50. If you have ever had a garage sale you know that...

the serious bargin hunters are in your driveway before you finish breakfast. Let's see how it goes today. Put your trays in the upright position and fasten your seat belt-it's going to be a bumpy ride!

[Roland99]

52. what? No airbags?

:scared:

[AnneD]

53. air bags....

cost you extra;)

[Roland99]

56. “Razzle-frazzle- frackin-fricken!”

:)

[saigon68]

44. In the red 9:48

Dow 12,194.37 Down 21.87 (0.18%)
Nasdaq 2,398.09 Down 9.77 (0.41%)
S&P 500 1,397.74 Down 1.30 (0.09%)
10-Yr Bond 4.5480%

[Roland99]

48. New-home sales plunge 16.6% to 937,000

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/us-new-home-sales-fall-166/story.aspx?guid=%7B7A2A4137%2D1955%2D424E%2DACA2%2DD05A324BD8C9%7D&dist=

Sales of new homes plunged 16.6% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 937,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

It was the lowest sales pace in four years, and was the biggest percentage decline in 13 years.

Sales are down 20.1% compared with January 2006. New-home sales are down more than 50% year-on-year in the West, the largest percentage drop in the region since 1981.

The decline in sales was much sharper than expected. The median forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch called for sales to fall to 1.08 million annualized.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

49. Charmin Squeezably SOFT Landing nt

[Ghost Dog]

64. Wall Street boosted by Bernanke

http://mwprices.ft.com/custom/ft2-com/html-story.asp?dateid=39141.466099537-890720593&guid={505EC99B-A594-4E32-A7DC-F63F345FBDB5}

Wall Street stocks edged higher on Wednesday in choppy trading as investors pondered how to respond to one of the biggest point falls since 2001. The market opened up on encouraging signs from global markets and after some volatile trading eventually moved higher on reassuring words from Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman. But the sharpest fall in new home sales in 13 years somewhat tempered the more positive mood and sent shares in homebuilders lower. Materials groups and companies exposed to the Chinese market remained on the defensive, although sharp losses stabilised in morning trading. Meanwhile, defensive sectors such as tobacco and household consumer products performed well. The S&P 500 Index was 1.2 per cent higher at 1,415.27 at mid-morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 1 per cent up at 12,342.34. The technology-led Nasdaq Composite rose 1 per cent to 2,431.17. In a sign of that nervousness was beginning to ease, the Vix Index, a measure of market volatility nicknamed Wall Street’s “fear gauge”, fell 15.8 per cent to 15.41. It jumped more than 60 per cent on Tuesday. In testimony to Congress Mr Bernanke said that there had been no material change to the Fed’s outlook on the US economy of late and said that the problems with subprime mortgages were relatively contained. He could see no single trigger to the sharp falls in equities. This calmed rising fears among investors about the health of the economy and credit markets that drove the markets down on Tuesday. “It was inevitable that there would be some kind of correction, whether it was caused by subprime mortgages or some other factor,” said Scott Wren, senior equity strategist at AG Edwards. “We are looking at this as an opportunity.”

Beaver vs. Greenspun: seconds out, round two...

[Ghost Dog]

68. Fed chairman says markets working well

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BERNANKE_ECONOMY?SITE=FLPEJ&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that the administration and federal regulators are closely monitoring financial markets in the wake of the biggest sell-off in stock prices in more than five years but so far the markets appear to be "working well."

Facing his first market crisis since taking the top Fed job a year ago, Bernanke answered questions on Tuesday's market plunge with a calm, matter-of-fact demeanor, explaining developments in plain language without any of the famously opague language that his predecessor, Alan Greenspan, sometimes used.

In what might have been a reference to Greenspan, Bernanke testified at one point that there did not appear to be a "single trigger" to Tuesday's sharp sell-off, which saw the Dow Jones industrial average fall by 416.02 points.

...

But Bernanke let members of the House Budget Committee know that he didn't intend to assign blame.

"There didn't seem to be any single trigger of the market correction we saw yesterday," he said in response to a question. "I don't think it would be useful for me to try to parse the movement into the components associated with different pieces of news or pieces of information."

...

Despite Tuesday's market turmoil, Bernanke said he did not believe there had been a major change in the outlook for the economy. He repeated that the Fed expects "moderate growth" this year.

Bernanke said that the Fed along with the president's working group, which was formed in the wake of the 1987 stock market crash, had been closely monitoring market developments. He said that the markets "seem to be working well."

...

Bernanke's comments on the stock market decline occurred at a hearing where he delivered virtually identical warnings as he did in a Senate hearing last month about the need to deal with looming budget problems in the government's giant benefit programs of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

At the White House Wednesday, press secretary Tony Snow said that President Bush had called Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to get a readout on the stock market plunge. Asked what advice the president would give to investors, Snow said: "The president does not give advice to investors in the stock market."
/...

[Robbien]

70. Almost the whole time on CNBC Bernanke

kept pushing the idea of social security "reform".

A Dem Senator (I didn't catch his name) said "well besides the fact that you think Grandma's SS check is too big . . ."

ha!

[Ghost Dog]

72. Thanks. Thought so. See toon above. Hah! indeed!!!

[Roland99]

51. 10:47am - BUY! BUY! BUY! (DJIA up 125)

DJIA 12,341.45 +125.21 +1.02%
Nasdaq 2,431.69 +23.83 +0.99%
S&P 500 1,415.49 +16.45 +1.18%
Dow Util 482.65 +3.17 +0.66%
NYSE 9,171.47 +92.06 +1.01%
AMEX 2,119.83 +14.80 +0.70%
Russell 2000 797.06 +4.40 +0.56%
Semcond 473.82 +0.81 +0.17%
Gold future 667.30 -19.90 -2.90%
30-Year Bond 4.69% +0.06 +1.19%
10-Year Bond 4.58% +0.06 +1.37%


"Everything is coming up rooooses!"

[Ishoutandscream2]

55. Jesus H Christ

The roller coaster is getting me dizzy.

[JNelson6563]

54. This smells like over-compensation

Just sayin'....

Nice job keeping us up on all the news Marketeers. You guys really rock! :toast:

Julie

[Roland99]

57. 11:33am - Maintaining just under triple digits

DJIA 12,306.61 +90.37 +0.74%
Nasdaq 2,420.75 +12.89 +0.54%
S&P 500 1,410.89 +11.85 +0.85%
Dow Util 481.46 +1.98 +0.41%
NYSE 9,141.26 +61.85 +0.68%
AMEX 2,117.25 +12.22 +0.58%
Russell 2000 794.03 +1.37 +0.17%
Semcond 476.46 +3.45 +0.73%
Gold future 668.00 -19.20 -2.79%
30-Year Bond 4.68% +0.05 +0.99%
10-Year Bond 4.56% +0.05 +1.09%

Quite the drop in gold, eh?

[AnneD]

58. Say, we haven't had a theme song in a while...

I would like to suggest

It’s Only A Paper Moon

Said it is only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea,
But it wouldnt be make believe
If you believed in me.

Say it is only a canvas sky
Hanging over a muslin tree,
But it wouldnt be make believe
If you believed in me.

Without your love,
Its a honky-tonk parade.
Without your love,
Its a melody played in a penny arcade.

Its a barnum and bailey world,
Just as phony as it can be,
But it wouldnt be make believe
If you believed in me.

[Roland99]

60. To continue the theme, here's some Gillian Welch

Paper wings, all torn and bent
But you made me feel like they were heaven sent
Paper wings, not real at all
But they took me high enough to really fall
Your paper kisses, faded too soon
Just like a paper rose, beneath a paper moon
Paper wings, paper wings
Oh how could I expect to fly with only paper wings

BRIDGE
Angels singing, didn't you hear
If only I'd listened close, when they whispered in my ear

Paper wings, paper wings
Oh how could I expect to fly with only paper wings
I tried to fly but found that I had only paper wings

[Tace]

59. BREAKING: Earthlings Are Officially The Most Stupid Race Of Beings In This Galaxy (Mogambo)

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

Feb. 28, 2007 -- Total Fed Credit, the magical fairy-dust stuff of which money is instantly made when it is borrowed from a bank, bumped up last week by $4.5 billion, taking us to $851.7 billion. That comes out to about $8,517 for every non-government worker, like me, in the country!

snip

-- To lighten the mood, I now turn to a report from the Mogambo Inter-Galactic News Service (MIGNS), from whence comes the news that Earthlings are now, again, officially, the most stupid race of beings in this galaxy. The title was wrested from us (by an ugly species of what looked, to me, like a bunch of slugs with tentacles) on Tri-Gamma Nebulon that tried to use phlegm and slime (of which they had plenty!) as currency.

Well, without getting too much into the ugly subsequent details, let me just sum it up by saying that once that revolting floodgate of almost-unlimited money was opened, it was off to the inflationary races, and soon they had to resort to using other bodily wastes as sources of more money, which about where I lost all interest in the whole report, as the photos were plenty disgusting enough: Tentacles, disgusting liquids and repulsive unidentified glistening semi-solid globs everywhere! As my children say whenever I take off my shoes, "Ewwww! Gross!"

Anyway, soon swimming in phlegm, slime and various bodily wastes, they soon switched to a "fiat excretions and fractional-reserve banking" scheme. That's when their inflationary fate was sealed, and now comes the news that their economy has just collapsed. Game Over Player One.

On a happier note, Earthlings can now be justifiably proud of being the most stupid beings in this whole quadrant, as they have worked so hard for the honor at keeping this same essential scheme going. On this planet, of course, we use also fiat currencies and fractional-reserve banking, but now with (fanfare of trumpets) derivatives, which has just as much "Ewww! Gross!" factor when you are attuned to the cosmic vibrations of the Universal Laws Of Economics. Ommmm.

Of course, Earth will suffer the same disgusting, horrifying inflationary results as the slug-people, only here, at least, you are not up to your knees in filthy, stinking crap, which was, according to the Official Judge's Scoring Report, the only thing that kept us from winning in the first damned place.

more

http://www.worldnewstrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1353&Itemid=10029

[Roland99]

61. This part is pretty much the blinking neon sign of AH-OOOGAH!!

Well, you don’t have to believe me, and I would have no respect for you if you did because even I don't believe half the crap I say, but perhaps you will be more convinced when I tell you that reader Bill L. sent what he characterizes as, "When the Ghost of Rothbard Flushes the Big Economic Toilet." Mr. Murray Rothbard, legendary big thinker, writer and real heavyweight in the Austrian school of economics, is credited with saying, "The evolution of synchronized easy money world wide will be first increasing finance/stock bubbles and then, when these let go, a great destruction of paper wealth in a gigantic finance/stock crashes. These will likely be synchronized world wide. That destruction of paper wealth will be highly deflationary. First, as stock prices drop, for example, the valuations will drop like a stone, and trillions of dollars of paper money will literally disappear like smoke."

To prevent that from happening now, the Federal Reserve and the government, who have willingly painted themselves into this terrifying corner, now realize that it is now entirely incumbent upon them to frantically manipulate fiscal and monetary policy with desperate, reckless abandon, so that somebody, anybody, everybody is given access to more and more money from the Federal Reserve, to be used to keep bidding the prices of stocks and bonds up, and up, and up! And houses, too! It's just that simple!

So to whom to give the money? If you give the money to the poor, see, they will spend it on food and imported consumer items, worsening both the inflation in food prices and the trade deficit.

But (and pay attention here, as this is the crux of the matter), give the money to the rich (!), who are already wasting huge fortunes of cash throwing outrageous parties with drunken, giggly Hollywood starlets running about willy-nilly, having food fights with caviar, and who have so damned much money already that the only thing that they CAN do with more money (with a minimum of hassle) is give it to their financial advisors to invest it in something, like stocks and bonds and bigger houses.

And the few paragraphs right before that one.

[Ghost Dog]

98. Heh heh. No shortage of shortages!

...

And stepping away from sterile statistics, we get the same thing from Sprott Asset Management when they say, "In the real world, by all indications, the Malthusian shortages that began a few years ago with the most recent synchronized global economic expansion are continuing in earnest as we head into 2007. Nowhere is this more evident than in the rampant cost increases (a.k.a. inflation) that the companies we analyze are experiencing."

George Ure, of the famous UrbanSurvival.com site, hears us talking about shortages, especially of the Malthusian kind, and he reports that his web bots looking for Internet references to "shortage" and scarcity have, "for the first time since I started tracking, passed the 20-thousand hits level." So, two guys have noticed shortages appearing! Shortages are up!

...

Mr. Sprott sends a nervous glance over at me to see how I am taking this news about inflation. My breath is shallow and rapid, but I am not actually screaming in fear or even twitching visibly. Thus emboldened, he goes on, "The largest companies in the world in the mining and energy industries are all stating, with nary an exception, that the cost estimates they made a few years back for some of their biggest projects are now grossly understated."

Reader George P read these same remarks from Sprott, and he thought that this line was most remarkable; "We’ve heard estimates by knowledgeable sources that global money supply grew 18 percent last year –- so shocking as to be almost unbelievable."

And if you are the least bit conversant with the bountiful plethora of examples in the historical record of what happens from such cancerous growth in a money supply, then your heart is undoubtedly beating like a trip-hammer, although you are unsure exactly why.

If you are more educated than most, and are completely familiar with what happens, then you are naturally thinking that although you have an Uzi in each hand, a Bowie knife between your teeth, are sitting on your weight in gold and silver, wearing a tinfoil hat and some cool shades, you still feel exposed and defenseless! And you need more of each!

The Mogambo reassuringly says, "That's right! It's that damned terrifying!"

/...

[Eugene]

66. Bernanke Says Markets Working Well

Associated Press
Bernanke Says Markets Working Well
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER 02.28.07, 11:16 AM ET

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that
the administration and federal regulators are closely monitoring financial
markets in the wake of the biggest sell-off in stock prices in more than
five years but so far the markets appear to be "working well."

Bernanke said there did not appear to be a "single trigger' to Tuesday's
big drop, which saw the Dow Jones Industrial average fall by 416.02 points.

Testifying before the House Budget Committee, Bernanke also said there
had been no major change in the outlook for the economy, reiterating that
the Fed expects "moderate growth" this year.

-snip-

http://www.forbes.com/topstories/home/feeds/ap/2007/02/28/ap3471779.html

[Roland99]

67. Keep your eyes on the watch. You are getting very sleepy. Veerrrrry sleeeepy.

[citizen snips]

71. Sprint Nextel's 4Q Revenue, Profit Rise

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Sprint Nextel Corp., the nation's third largest wireless carrier, said Wednesday that fourth-quarter profits rose 33 percent on stronger revenue, but the company continued to lose high-quality subscribers.

The company, based in Reston, Va., with operational headquarters in Overland Park, Kan., reported earning $261 million, or 9 cents per share, during the October-December period, compared with $195 million, or 7 cents per share, a year earlier.

The fourth quarter earnings were one penny better than that expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Revenue for the quarter rose 6 percent to $10.44 billion from $9.79 billion, surpassing analysts' prediction of $10.39 billion.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/earns_sprint_nextel.html?.v=14

[citizen snips]

73. Merck Raises 2007 Profit Outlook

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Merck & Co. on Wednesday forecast a healthy first-quarter profit well above analysts' expectations for the recovering drugmaker and boosted its profit for all of 2007, citing strong revenues in the current quarter.

The news helped push up shares 98 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $44.16 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, amid a market rally.

The Whitehouse Station-based company said it expects to post first-quarter earnings per share of 58 cents to 64 cents, or 63 cents to 67 cents excluding restructuring charges. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial on average were expecting only 60 cents, excluding charges.

Merck, the maker of osteoporosis treatment Fosamax and Singulair for asthma and allergies, also said it expects earnings per share of $2.55 to $2.65 for the full year, excluding restructuring charges. That's up from its Jan. 30 forecast of $2.51 to $2.59 per share, excluding 10 to 15 cents worth of restructuring charges. Analysts were anticipating a profit of $2.62, excluding charges.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/merck_outlook.html?.v=9

[citizen snips]

74. Homebuilders Fall on New-Home Sales Data

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares in the homebuilding sector continued to slide Wednesday after new data showed the housing slump continued in January and a major retailer said the sector won't improve until later this year at the earliest.

The Philadelphia Housing Sector index was off 1.35 points to 239.66 in midday trading, as most of the major builders were down by more than 1 percent.

On Tuesday, the index plunged 2.6 percent, although that was less severe than the 3.9 percent drop in the S&P 500 index, a leading measure of the broader U.S. market.

The housing index remains up slightly for the year, as investors have been betting the 18-month slump has ended and a recovery is in the offing.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/housing_snap.html?.v=1

[wordpix]

90. small starter homes in terrible shape going for $425K-450K in Norwalk, CT

Not exactly the "Gold Coast" but close to it

[citizen snips]

75. Market Spotlight: More Cash From Corn

NEW YORK (AP) -- Peak prices in corn futures have helped create a bull market for companies that sell seeds and tractors, process grains and make ethanol -- all are preparing for rising demand during the spring planting season.

The record-high corn price, fed by the growth of ethanol as an alternative energy, is prompting farmers to sow their soybean and wheat fields with corn instead, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which projects acreage dedicated to corn will rise sharply over the next three years. Companies that supply corn farmers with seeds and equipment say they stand to benefit from that shift.

Ethanol makers are swallowing an increasingly large piece of the total crop, although livestock still ate up a slim 51 percent majority last year, according to a report by Standard and Poor's. The ethanol industry consumed 18 percent of the crop in 2006, up from 14 percent in 2005, and is the third-largest consumer of U.S. corn after the feed and export markets.

"Right now, increasing corn acres is kind of the rising tide that is going to float all boats," Carl Casale, executive vice president of Monsanto Co.'s North American commercial business, told analysts and investors at a Morgan Stanley conference last week.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/market_spotlight_corn_planting.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

76. Kenneth Cole Shares Rise on Results

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Kenneth Cole Productions Inc. rose Wednesday, after the footwear and clothing maker said its fourth-quarter profit rose 7 percent, ahead of analyst expectations.

After the market closed Tuesday, the company reported net income that beat analysts' expectations by a penny and forecast first-quarter earnings of 15 cents to 18 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect a profit of 17 cents per share.

Shares on Wednesday rose $2.68, or 11.7 percent, to $25.53 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Analysts, however, continue to believe there could be a better entry point for the stock.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/kenneth_cole_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

77. L-3 Upgrade Sends Shares Surging

Shares of defense company L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. on Wednesday gained more than 4 percent in afternoon trading after an analyst upgraded the company's stock, saying it had underperformed peers.

JP Morgan Securities Inc. analyst Joseph B. Nadol III upgraded the New York-based company's stock to "neutral" from "underweight." He explained that L-3's stock prices has risen just 1 percent since last February, while its peers have risen 23 percent, on average.

The company has also lagged the S&P 500 Index by 7 percent, Nadol said.

Shares of L-3 climbed $3.41, or 4 percent, to $87.79 in Wednesday afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. A day earlier the company's stock fell roughly 1.5 percent amid falling share prices around the world.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/l_3_communications_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

78. Sector Snap: Defense

NEW YORK (AP) -- J.P. Morgan on Wednesday downgraded the stock of the defense sector's bellwether, Lockheed Martin Corp., while upgrading two other major players: Boeing Co. and L-3 Communications Holdings Inc.

Lockheed Martin was downgraded to "Underweight" because J.P. Morgan says it expects a decline in overall growth in the sector over the next decade.

Lockheed, General Dynamics Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp. and Raytheon Co. outperformed the S&P 500 by 17 percentage points in 2006 and 7 percentage points in 2005, said Joseph B. Nadol, the J.P. Morgan analyst who put out research notes with the stock grade changes.

"It will be more difficult for defense stocks to outperform again" in 2007, Nadol wrote in his note on Lockheed

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/defense_sector_snap.html?.v=1

[wordpix]

91. "It will be more difficult for defense stocks to outperform in '07"---yeah, if Congress does its job

Stopping the wars that never end, that is.

[citizen snips]

79. Chips Snap: Semiconductors Back in Green

NEW YORK (AP) -- Chip stocks edged up in Wednesday's trading, returning to the green after suffering bloody losses in Tuesday's trading.

While a number of semiconductor stocks saw steep declines in the wake of Tuesday's market meltdown -- PMC-Sierra Inc., for example, fell 8 percent, and Lam Research Corp. fell 4 percent -- the stocks made modest gains on Wednesday.

PMC-Sierra was up 6 cents at $6.78 on the Nasdaq, while Lam Research climbed back up 5 cents to $44.73.

Among the biggest gainers in Wednesday's session were Sigma Designs Inc., whose shares jumped $1.09, or 4 percent, to $28.16 in midday trading on the Nasdaq. Sony Corp. said it would ramp up production of certain digital televisions that are compatible with Sigma Designs' Internet video module, according to R.W. Baird analyst Tristan Gerra.

"We believe Sony has high volume expectations for these connected TVs. Sony is likely to strike deals with major movie studio and Internet providers, and we believe IP connection will become a standard feature on digital TVs," Gerra wrote in a note to investors.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/sector_snap_semiconductors.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

80. Procter & Gamble Shares Rebound

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of personal-products maker Procter & Gamble rose on Wednesday after an analyst noted that the company fell 5 percent on Tuesday and said any dip in share price should be taken as a buying opportunity.

Banc of America analyst April Scee, who rates Procter & Gamble "buy" said that Tuesday, when the Dow industrials fell 416 points, Procter & Gamble shares fell 5 percent, while similar companies, including personal care product makers Kimberly-Clark Corp., Colgate-Palmolive Co. Avon Products Inc., and others, fell about 3 percent on average.

"The most defensive name in the group shouldn't be hit disproportionately," Scee wrote in a note on Wednesday. A defensive stock is a company whose business peformance and sales are not highly correlated with changes in the economy, and are seen as good investments in a volatile market.

"We'd use weakness as a buying opportunity," Scee wrote. "We believe the stock will rebound quickly."

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/procter_gamble_mover.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

81. Treasuries Fall as Bernanke Expects Economy to Gain Momentum

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Treasuries fell for the first time in four days as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the economy may strengthen by midyear.

The 10-year note's yield erased half of yesterday's decline, which came as a rout in global stocks and bonds strengthened demand for the safest debt. Bernanke told the House Budget Committee financial markets seem to be working well and the central bank still expects the U.S. economy to gather momentum.

``Bernanke said the Fed is not reducing its view of economic growth,'' said Andrew Brenner, co-head of structured products and emerging markets in New York at Man Securities Inc. ``We're seeing a big back-up in bonds.''

The 10-year note's yield rose more than 6 basis points, or 0.06 percentage point, to 4.57 percent at 1:40 p.m. in New York, according to New York-based bond broker Cantor Fitzgerald LP. The price of the 4 5/8 percent security due in February 2017 fell 1/2, or $5 per $1,000 face amount, to 100 13/32.

more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601009&sid=a_8eEzO1JoCc&refer=bond

[citizen snips]

82. Emerging-Market Bonds Rise, Rebounding From Yesterday's Tumble

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market bonds rose, rebounding from a tumble sparked by China's stock market slide yesterday, as investors said the rally in commodity prices will keep propelling growth in developing nations.

Emerging-market bond yield spreads today narrowed 12 basis points, the biggest drop since Feb. 10, 2006, to 1.81 percentage points, after surging 21 basis points yesterday, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Plus index. The spread is now 17 basis points above the record low of 1.64 points on Feb. 22. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

``There's a bit of a recovery,'' said Silvia Marengo, who manages $130 million of emerging-market bonds at Clariden Bank in London. ``The situation has not changed. The fundamentals are the same. Emerging markets is a commodity story.''

Crude oil, the biggest export of developing economies such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico and Nigeria, remains above $60 a barrel.

more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601009&sid=adgT_dA64qvU&refer=bond

[citizen snips]

83. GE to Buy Large Share of Colombian Bank

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- GE Money, a unit of General Electric Co., will acquire a large share of Colombia's Banco Colpatria Red Multibanca SA, for about $228 million as part of a larger effort to control nearly 50 percent of the bank.

In a statement filed with the Colombian stock regulator, Banco Colpatria -- Colombia's ninth-largest bank in terms of assets -- said GE Money will purchase 39.29 percent of the bank's shares in two stages.

GE Money will buy about 16.48 percent of the shares in the first stage, and an additional 22.81 percent of the shares in a second stage, which won't take place before Jan. 1, 2008, according to the statement.

According to analysts, the offer values the bank's total worth at $580 million. Buying 39.29 percent will cost GE Money about $227.9 million.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/ge_bank_colpatria.html?.v=1

[Roland99]

86. Preparing to help the BFEE stash their cash?

[wordpix]

92. helping the drug cartels and BFEE, both?

[citizen snips]

85. Sector Snap: Trucking and Railroads

NEW YORK (AP) -- Transportation stocks traded mixed Wednesday, with some in the railroad and trucking sectors inching higher despite analysts' pessimism and negative data.

The transportation sector, including railroad and trucking companies, is considered a harbinger of economic prospects, and was among the hardest hit when the market plummeted Tuesday, following a nearly 9 percent drop in Chinese markets and comments by former Fed Chief Alan Greenspan that the U.S was headed for a recession.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average slipped 172.96 points, or 3.4 percent, to close at 4,863.76 Tuesday, mirroring the Dow Jones Industrial average, and was down 0.86 at 4,862.90 in afternoon trading.

Negative economic news continued Wednesday, with the Commerce Department reporting the economy grew 2.2 percent in the final quarter of 2006, far short of its preliminary 3.6 percent estimate, and slightly below analysts' prediction for 2.3 percent growth. The department also said new home sales dropped 16.6 percent in January -- the largest fall in 13 years. The continued housing slowdown hurts transportation companies, since there is less demand for shipping construction equipment, furniture and materials.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/shipping_sector_snap.html?.v=1

[Roland99]

87. 3:06pm - Settling into a small gain

DJIA 12,274.88 +58.64 +0.48%
Nasdaq 2,418.28 +10.42 +0.43%
S&P 500 1,407.11 +8.07 +0.58%
Dow Util 479.03 -0.45 -0.09%
NYSE 9,125.75 +46.34 +0.51%
AMEX 2,117.17 +12.14 +0.58%
Russell 2000 795.05 +2.39 +0.30%
Semcond 474.02 +1.01 +0.21%
Gold future 672.50 -14.70 -2.14%
30-Year Bond 4.67% +0.04 +0.84%
10-Year Bond 4.55% +0.04 +0.82%

[citizen snips]

88. U.S. Stocks Rebound From Plunge; P&G, Sprint, Merck Lead Gains

Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks rebounded from their biggest plunge in four years as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke reassured investors the economy is poised to grow and strategists advised investors against selling equities.

Shares of consumer, telephone and health-care companies, whose earnings are less reliant on swings in the economy, led the advance. Procter & Gamble Co. climbed the most in seven months for the best performance in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Sprint Nextel Corp. rose after its sales beat analysts' estimates, while Merck & Co. gained on a higher profit forecast.

European and Asian stocks slumped, while emerging markets had their steepest two-day drop in eight months in the wake of yesterday's U.S. selloff. In all, more than $1 trillion of global stock market value was wiped out over the last two days. The Dow average is headed for its worst month since April 2005.

``People are poking around amidst the rubble of yesterday's market collapse, looking for good things to buy,'' said John Carey, who manages about $12 billion at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston. ``The consumer economy here in the U.S. is still pretty strong. The longer-term picture continues to be encouraging.''

more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601084&sid=aFQqtmJtex.E&refer=stocks

[citizen snips]

89. Real Estate Fund Continue Their Advance

NEW YORK (AP) -- If location is the golden rule of real estate, then many who invest in real estate mutual funds might at times feel as if they've stumbled upon a great deal in the fanciest building in town.

A big acquisition in the commercial real estate market has led some observers to speculate that demand will continue for companies that invest in real estate.

Known as real-estate investment trusts, or REITs, these companies have shown at times returns greater than 25 percent per year in recent years. REITs, which frequently invest in commercial real estate or larger residential projects such as apartment buildings, have dodged the financial wrecking ball that has left cracks in some parts of the housing market.

In early February, the Blackstone Group, a power hitter in the private equity world, acquired Equity Office Properties in a $23 billion buyout. The bidding war that erupted over the company, whose properties included choice commercial skyscrapers, spurred talk that other REITs might be snapped up by private equity companies looking for places to spend their vast sums of cash.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/of_mutual_interest.html?.v=1

[wordpix]

93. maybe this is why real estate is so expensive in the Northeast & midAtlantic--I'm in the housing

market looking to relocate and I can't afford to buy into the former blue collar town of Norwalk, CT because small 1950's starter homes in bad shape are going for over $400K.

[citizen snips]

94. Sector Snap: Sprint Leads Telecoms Up

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Sprint Nextel Corp. rose sharply Wednesday after the wireless carrier posted a 33 percent jump in its fourth-quarter profit and received an upgrade from a Citigroup analyst.

Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins upgraded Sprint to "Buy" from "Hold," and said the company is in a better position to restructure its marketing and operations, generate momentum in net customer additions, and remain a potential merger or acquisition candidate.

Reston, Va.-based Sprint's shares rose 97 cents, or 5.3 percent, to $19.43 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded between $15.92 and $24.40 in the past 52 weeks. It lost 5.5 percent on Tuesday amid a worldwide stock selloff.

Rollins said he sees the next two to three months as a "buying opportunity" for Sprint shares, with the prospect of a recovery in the second half of the year for its CDMA services. CDMA, or code-division multiple access, is a type of digital wireless technology.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/telecom_sector_snap.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

95. Grains, Soybeans Rise

CHICAGO (AP) -- Soybean and grain futures finished higher Wednesday on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Wheat for March delivery rose 4 1/4 cents to $4.74 1/2 a bushel; March corn rose 14 1/4 cents to $4.25 1/4 a bushel; March oats rose 3 3/4 cents to $2.53 a bushel; March soybeans rose 9 3/4 cents to $7.73 1/4 a bushel.

Beef futures decreased while pork futures ended mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

April live cattle fell .40 cent to 97.05 cents a pound; March feeder cattle fell .15 cent to $1.0160 a pound; April lean hogs rose .33 cent to 67.75 cents a pound; March pork bellies fell 1.13 cent to $1.0202 a pound.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/board_of_trade.html?.v=5

[citizen snips]

96. Chinese issues rise; Net stocks move higher

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Internet stocks finished Wednesday's trading mostly higher, a day after Tuesday's tumultuous fall.

The Dow Jones Internet Index added 0.4% to end the day at 100.49. The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) was up 0.3% at 2,416.13.

Most Chinese issues were trading broadly higher Wednesday, after getting pounded the day before and leading the entire sector sharply lower.

Chinese Internet service provider Netease.com Inc. (NasdaqGS:NTES - News) added 1.5% to reach $20.40, as investor weigh an upgrade of the stock to buy from hold by Wendy Huang of China Evo Securities. She upgraded the stock after the company posted better-than-expected fourth quarter results.

Also, Chinese online games provider The9 Ltd. (NasdaqGM:NCTY - News) added 4.5% to $34.01.

Meanwhile, three of the four bellwethers were all trading higher, buoyed by a higher estimate for Internet ad spending through 2010 from Jefferies & Co. analyst Youssef Squali.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/cbsm/070228/84593bec475a4895b1d3c15499dccbcd.html?.v=2

[citizen snips]

97. Oil Prices Rise As Demand Worries Fade

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices rebounded to another two-month high Wednesday, as traders brushed off Tuesday's stock market plunge and refocused on declining product inventories.

Iran's persistent refusal to suspend its nuclear program has also been a driving force behind the energy market's six-day advance.

The U.S. government reported Wednesday that stockpiles of gasoline and distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, dropped last week by a larger amount than analysts had forecast. Gasoline and distillate inventories are lower than they were at this time last year.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 33 cents to settle at $61.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude initially fell as low as $59.92 in electronic trading on the worry that U.S. and Chinese fuel demand growth could slow. As that concern faded, crude rallied to end higher for the sixth straight session at its loftiest settlement price since Dec. 22, when crude finished at $62.41 a barrel.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/oil_prices.html?.v=22

[citizen snips]

100. S&P 500 Leaders & Laggards: HSP, WPI

NEW YORK (AP) -- Hospira Inc. lifted the Standard & Poor's 500 Index Wednesday as the markets rebounded from Tuesday's plunge.

The Lake Forest, Ill. injectable-drug maker reported a surge in fourth-quarter profit, and Hospira's stock jumped $2.41, or 6.7 percent, to finish at $38.31 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The S&P 500 index was up 7.78 points to close 1,406.82.

Futures exchange Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. said trading on Tuesday reached record trading volume, lifting shares $28.16, or 5.5 percent, to $539.15 on the Big Board.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/apfn_s_p_500_laggards.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

101. DJIA Leaders & Laggards: PG, MCD

NEW YORK (AP) -- Procter & Gamble Co. recorded the biggest gain on the Dow Jones industrial average Wednesday after an analyst predicted that the consumer products maker will fare well in a weak stock market.

The index climbed 52.39 to 12,268.63.

Shares of Procter & Gamble gained $2.24, or 3.7 percent, to close at $63.49 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Walt Disney Co. rose $1.15, or 3.5 percent, to end at $34.25 on the NYSE, recovering some of Tuesday's losses along with other companies in the media sector.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/djia_laggards_close.html?.v=1

[citizen snips]

102. Nasdaq 100 Leaders & Laggards: BEAS JOYG

NEW YORK (AP) -- Analysts upgraded business software maker BEA Systems Inc. on Wednesday, which helped lift its shares to the highest gain on the Nasdaq 100.

The Nasdaq 100, which includes 100 of the biggest nonfinancial securities traded on the Nasdaq, rose 5.33 points to 1,761.60. The Nasdaq composite gained 8.27 points to 2,416.13.

BEA Systems added 46 cents, or 4 percent, to $11.92. The stock finished higher after several analysts upgraded the stock citing the stock price, following a recent sell-off due to a disappointing outlook from the software maker.

Communications network operator Level 3 Communications Inc. gained 24 cents, or 3.8 percent, to end at $6.57, reversing much of Tuesday's decline.

more...
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/nasdaq_100_laggards_close.html?.v=1

[54anickel]

105. Fed Chairman Says Markets Working Well

Bernanke Says Markets Appear to Be Working Well With No Big Change in Economic Outlook

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070228/bernanke_economy.html?.v=18

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke faced his first market crisis with a calm, matter-of-fact demeanor that won praise from lawmakers and economists alike.
Rather than the famously opaque language that predecessor Alan Greenspan sometimes employed, Bernanke answered lawmakers' questions with plain vanilla statements Wednesday that seemed to calm investor anxiety.

Testifying the day after the market's 416-point plunge, Bernanke told the House Budget Committee that the Fed was monitoring market developments but had seen nothing that would cause it to change its positive outlook for the economy.

Discussing market operations, he said, "They seem to be working well, normally."

In what might have been a reference to Greenspan, Bernanke said there did not appear to be just one cause for Tuesday's sell-off.

The possible causes suggested by analysts ranged from a record drop in China's Shanghai index, a surprisingly weak U.S. manufacturing report and weekend comments by Greenspan that raised the possibility of a U.S. recession by year's end.

more....


Got Leo Sayer on the brain now....

An then somebody grabbed me, threw me outta my chair
Said before you can eat, you gotta dance like fred astaire

You know I cant dance, you know I cant dance
You know I cant dance, you know I cant dance
I cant dance

I am a man of the road -- a hobo by name
I dont seek entertainment, just poultry and game
But if its all the same to you, then yes I will try my hand
If you were as hungry as me then Im sure you would understand

Hmmm
Now wait a minute
Let me see now

Of course I can dance of course I can dance
Im sure I can dance, Im sure I can dance..
I can dance

I can dance
I really hit the floor
Ah feels good
Look at me dancin

I did a two-step, quick-step and a bossa nova
A little victor silvester, and a rudy valentino
You should a seen me movin, right across the floor
Hand me down my tuxedo, next week Im comin back for more

I can dance -- oh yes! I can dance
Look at me dancin the floor movin
I feel good -- I can dance
I can dance, I can dance, I can dance.


on edit...whoopsie, guess it's old news - see GD's post further up thread. Saw the 6:30pm posting note on the article and thought it was new. :blush:

[Ghost Dog]

107. One Man Band lyrics by ROGER DALTREY

¿Who?
http://www.tsrocks.com/r/roger_daltrey_texts/one_man_band.html

Everybody knows down ladbrook grove,
you have to leap across the street.
You can lose your life under a taxi cab,
you gotta have eyes in your feet.

You find a nice soft corner and you sit right down,
pick up your guitar and play.
Then the police come and says move along,
so you move along all day.

I'm a one man band
nobody cares or understands.
Is there anybody out there who could lend a hand.
To my one man band.

For three days now I haven't eaten at all
my my I must be getting so thin.
Soon my cap won't be large enough
to drop a half a crown in.

So hey there mister don't you look so sad
don't look so ill at ease.
I can play you any song you chose
to cheer up the life you lead.

Oh I'm a one man band
nobody sees nor understands.
Is there anybody out there who could lend a hand
to my one man band.

And oh oh oh look at the rain falling
oh oh oh look at the rain

Nobody hears the minstrel boy, as he sings his tale of woe.
Nobody sees him disappear,
and nobody sees him go.
So hey there mister don't look so sad,
don't feel so ill at ease.
I can play you any song you chose,
to cheer up the life you lead.

Oh I'm a one man band
nobody sees nor understands.
Is there anybody out there who could lend me a hand,
to my one man band.

Oh I'm a one man band
nobody cares nor understands.
Is there anybody here who could lend a hand,
to my one man band

I'm a one man band
I'm a one man band
Ooo one man band
Ooo I'm a one man band
Oh I'm a one man band
Ooo one man band

Copyright © TSRocks

So. Tokyo's morning session just ended. Will probably provide general report tomorrow. Personally (I was planning to buy a couple of things) I had a hard time of it. My service no way would let me get near the really heavy-interest stocks (you know, Toyota and the like) - for one reason or another, I guess. So I had to content myself with a couple or five picks from lower down the list (a couple of which are still unfulfilled.) Hmmm. ¿Is it that I'm beginning to enjoy the adrenaline kick from all this risk?

--> Another note to self: must order some seeds from Amsterdam, plant, observe growth, wait, wait, prune, harvest smoke, relax. :smoke:

Well, so it's like 3:30 AM my local time and time to crash.

ed. ) <- 'nother damn' missing closing bracket (once a (C) programmer...)

[54anickel]

106. Capturing the close for the files....

Dow 12,268.63 52.39 (0.43%)
Nasdaq 2,416.15 8.29 (0.34%)
S&P 500 1,406.82 7.78 (0.56%)
10-yr Bond 4.5500% 0.0370
30-yr Bond 4.67% 0.04
NYSE Volume 3,911,222,000
Nasdaq Volume 2,727,544,000

4:20 pm : With many believing that the stock market had gotten ahead of itself, it appears Tuesday's drubbing may have been the long-overdue consolidation that had been talked about for some time. As a result, a sense that yesterday's corrective activity was an overreaction, which plays into our reiteration that market fundamentals overall remain moderately bullish, triggered enough bottom-fishing interest to help stocks bounce back.

Even though the market was poised for a rebound before Fed Chairman Bernanke began speaking before the House Budget Committee at 10:00 ET, there's no question that his ensuing thoughts about Tuesday's sell-off helped provide the reassurance investors needed to stay the course long enough to recoup some of the market's meltdown.

After all, the spate of economic data hitting the wires before Bernanke even took the podium today was disappointing on the whole. At 8:30 ET, Q4 GDP was revised lower, as expected, checking in at 2.2%. The advance read a month earlier showed the U.S. economy grew at a 3.5% pace. At 9:45 ET, the Chicago PMI fell to its lowest level (47.9%) in February since April 2003, serving as a reminder that the manufacturing sector is struggling. Then at 10:00 ET, new home sales in January plunged 16.6%, the biggest drop in 13 years, adding insult to the ongoing injury that is housing.

Be that as it may, Bernanke surprisingly answered questions pertaining to yesterday's plunge and did so with a slew of remarks that helped participants look past the day's disappointing economic reports, rising interest rates and higher energy prices. Nine out of 10 sectors posted gains.

Bernanke reassured investors, saying "there didn't seem to be any single trigger'' for Tuesday's sell-off. He also noted that financial markets "seem to be working well" and there has been "no material change" in the Fed's expectation for the U.S. economy. In fact, he said today's downward revision to Q4 GDP is "more consistent with our overall view of the economy'' than the original report and that there's a "reasonable possibility" that the economy will show signs of strengthening as the year progresses.

The Fed Chairman also put to rest concerns about sub-prime mortgage lending spreading into the broader economy and said he sees no liquidity problem. Both items contributed to yesterday's widespread panic, and have provided an added sense of comfort for bargain hunters believing the sell-off was overdone.

Further underscoring renewed bullishness were notable declines of 15.5% and 11.5% on the VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) and the VXN (CBOE Nasdaq Volatility Index), respectively. Both "investor fear gauges" erasing some of the heightened anxiety priced into yesterday's session, amid aggressive put buying, suggests a short-term bottom is being formed as sellers began to cover some of their short positions. DJ30 +51.91 NASDAQ +8.27 SP500 +7.73 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1370/1685/2.50 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1123/2181/1.96 bln

3:30 pm : Buyers are showing some resolve going into the close, determined to declare victory in the wake of yesterday's widespread panic. Of the 10 sectors trading higher, Telecom (+2.2%) continues to lead the charge.

Wireless Services has been the day's best performing S&P industry group as investors applauded Sprint Nextel (S 19.48 +1.03) following up a 33% rise in Q4 profits by reiterating its forecast for a net gain in postpaid customers. The more notable support, though, is coming from a 1.2% advance in the more influential Consumer Staples sector, due in part to its defensive characteristics, as well as strength in the S&P 500's two most heavily-weighted sectors -- Financials and Technology. Both are up 0.8% after averaging a 3.7% decline Tuesday. DJ30 +88.86 NASDAQ +16.03 SP500 +11.71 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1283/1752/2.17 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1164/2105/1.72 bln

3:00 pm : With only an hour left in the trading day, buyers are jumping back in but not nearly enough to make a significant change in the standings. Keep in mind, the market's exaggerated late-day plunge occurred exactly 24 hours ago.

The Dow is currently up a respectable 0.5%, but that's well off its best levels of the day (+1.1%). The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are rising in synch with the Dow and logging similar gains, amid above average volume, which further suggests that program trading is behind today's broad-based recovery efforts. It is also worth noting that tomorrow is the first trading day of a new month, which is typically a strong day for stocks as new fund flows hit the market. Today's huge volumes suggests that some of those inflows may be hitting the market a day or two earlier than anticipated. DJ30 +60.29 NASDAQ +10.87 SP500 +7.18 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1320/1692/2.04 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1184/2088/1.61 bln

2:30 pm : As presaged in the last comment, the bulls were in good hands, assuming oil prices behaved. Crude recently rallying into the close and briefly eclipsing the psychological $62/bbl barrier has injected an added sense of uneasiness with regard to today's bounce.

Even though the commodity has since pulled back, sellers are using oil's uptick as a catalyst to sideline some buyers. DJ30 +37.17 NASDAQ +8.01 SP500 +6.02 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1234/1760/1.90 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1081/2177/1.50 bln

2:00 pm : Not much has changed since the last update as the major averages settle into a relatively narrow range. Crude recently turning positive, though, continues to prevent a more aggressive move to the upside for equities.

Fortunately for the bulls, oil's gains are modest at best and, so long as the April contract stays below $62/bbl for another 30 minutes heading into the close of trading on the NYMEX, the commodity's potential inflation characteristics will continue to take a back seat to Bernanke's upbeat commentary. As a reminder, the Fed at its last meeting did not even mention energy prices as an inflation risk.DJ30 +72.42 NASDAQ +13.35 SP500 +9.70 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1240/1749/1.80 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1080/2186/1.40 bln