STOCK MARKET WATCH, Tuesday 14 March

[ozymandius]

Tuesday March 14, 2006

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 1042 DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 1909 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 1609 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 1570
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54


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




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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON March 13, 2006

Dow... 11,076.02 -0.32 (-0.00%)
Nasdaq... 2,267.03 +4.99 (+0.22%)
S&P 500... 1,284.13 +2.55 (+0.20%)
30-Year Bond 4.77% +0.03 (+0.55%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.78% +0.02 (+0.42%)
Gold future... 547.50 +6.20 (+1.13%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Dollars and Loonie


PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

[ozymandius]

1. WrapUp by Rob Kirby

GOLDMAN ZEROS JAPAN

A news item was quietly reported – in Japan of all places - back on March 3, 2006 which I strongly feel is of the utmost importance. This piece involved a change in the way things are reported on the Tokyo Commodities Exchange (TOCOM). The changes are to take effect as of April 1, 2006 – no fooling.

Right from the Reuters News release,

TOKYO, March 3 (Reuters) - The Tokyo Commodity Exchange hopes to attract more foreigners and a wider range of investors, including institutions, with plans to bolster players' anonymity and list new products, a senior exchange official said on Friday. TOCOM, Japan's top commodity exchange, aims to discontinue its practice of disclosing daily outstanding positions for each member starting early in the next business year, which begins in April.

This is important and relevant because – like the Fed’s discontinuance of M3 Money Supply Reporting – it signifies the removal of another measure of transparency that promotes/ensures accountability on the part of all players in the financial system.

more...

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

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Reports

8:30 AM Current Account Q4
Briefing Forecast -$217.0B
Market Expects -$218.0B
Prior -$195.8B

8:30 AM Retail Sales Feb
Briefing Forecast -0.7%
Market Expects -0.9%
Prior 2.3%

8:30 AM Retail Sales ex-auto Feb
Briefing Forecast -0.1%
Market Expects -0.5%
Prior 2.2%

10:00 AM Business Inventories Jan
Briefing Forecast 0.1%
Market Expects 0.3%
Prior 0.7%

[UpInArms]

11. 8:30 Reports - Very Grim

8:30 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. 2005 CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT RECORD $804.9 BLN

8:30 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. RETAIL SALES UP 6.7% YR-ON-YR IN FEB.

8:30 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. FEB. RETAIL SALES EX-AUTO AND EX-GAS DOWN 0.3%

8:30 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. FEB. RETAIL SALES EX-GASOLINE DOWN 1.3%

8:30 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. JAN. RETAIL SALES REVISED TO UP 2.9% VS 2.3 PREV

8:30 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. Q4 CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT ABOVE $218 BLN CONSENSUS

8:30 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. Q4 CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT GROWS TO RECORD $224.9B

8:30 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. FEB. RETAIL SALES EX-AUTOS DOWN 0.4%, AS EXPECTED

8:30 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. FEB. RETAIL SALES DOWN 1.3% VS 0.8% EXPECTED

[UpInArms]

12. U.S. Q4 current account deficit grows to record $224.9 bln

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B046AD7F2%2D7382%2D4B19%2DB4BB%2DC4E8C57C1EB0%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. current account deficit widened by 21.3% to a record $224.9 billion in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. The deficit amounted to a record 7.0% of gross domestic product. The current account gap was wider than expected. Economists forecast the current account to rise to $218.0 billion in the fourth quarter. For all of 2005, the current account deficit grew to a record $804.9 billion, totaling a record 6.4% of GDP. It's the ninth annual record in the past ten years.

[UpInArms]

15. Deficit reaches $224.9 billion in Q4, or 7.0% of GDP

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B706EBC3A%2D757B%2D417C%2DB716%2DDFA02D3AB138%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The U.S. current account deficit widened by 21.3% to a record $224.9 billion in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

The deficit amounted to 7.0% of the nation's gross domestic product, also a record.

For all of 2005, the current account deficit grew to a record $804.9 billion, totaling a record 6.4% of GDP. It's the ninth annual record in the past ten years.

Economists had expected the current account deficit to reach about $218.0 billion in the fourth quarter. See Economic Calendar.

<snip>

The current account deficit is the broadest measure of the nation's economic balance sheet with the rest of the world. It encompasses both trade and capital flows.

...more...

[UpInArms]

33. U.S. current account deficit hits record

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8GBCOL04.htm?campaign_id=rss_full_topix_bwdaily&chan=db

MAR. 14 8:59 A.M. ET America's deficit in the broadest measure of international trade surged to an all-time high of $804.9 billion last year as the country went deeper into debt to foreigners.

The Commerce Department said the deficit in the current account was up 20.4 percent from the previous record of $668.1 billion set in 2004. The current account is the best measure of trade because it tracks not only goods and services but also investment flows between countries.

In other economic news, retail sales for February fell by 1.3 percent, the biggest setback in six months. There were big declines in sales of autos, clothing and furniture as cold weather during the month kept shoppers away from the stores.

<snip>

The 2005 current account trade deficit was a record not only in dollar terms but also as a percentage of the total economy at 6.4 percent of total economic output, up from 5.7 percent in 2004. The deficit for just the fourth quarter was also a record at $224.9 billion, up by 21.3 percent from the third quarter.

The unprecedented flow of American assets into foreign hands has raised economic anxieties that the United States is opening itself up too much to the rest of the world. Those concerns were evident in the political uproar over the purchase of operations at six major U.S. ports by a company owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates.

<snip>

If they began dumping their U.S. assets, it could send the value of U.S. stocks and bonds plunging, pushing up American interest rates and weakening the value of the dollar. If the disruptions were severe enough, it could push the country into a recession.

...more...

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

43. So What?

It's only a Deficit. Nothing to be worried about.

<sarcasm off>

[54anickel]

57. And we get the TICS tomorrow, things could get nasty for the buck

Dollar falls after record current account gap

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BDE02A4DE%2D6CBE%2D418C%2D8906%2D74E8B8E9F1CC%7D&tool=1&siteid=bigcharts&dist=bigcharts

snip>

Worries over the long-term structural viability of U.S. debt financing sent the dollar to multi-year lows in late 2004, although the greenback staged a bull run in 2005, fueled mainly by the Federal Reserve's string of interest rate increases.

So far, the U.S. has been able to finance its current account gap on very favorable terms, allowing U.S. interest rates to remain low and in the process fueling consumption and investments, but the ability of the U.S. to finance its ballooning deficits remains a significant concern, analysts said.

"We had an extremely bad current account deficit number this morning," said Kathy Lien, chief fundamental analyst at Forex Capital Markets. "Trade is going to be a very big focus this week. The huge number that we had for the fourth-quarter deficit brings it even more to the forefront because now we got clear structural deficiencies."

She said the U.S. Treasury International Capital System data on foreign capital flows to be released Wednesday will be closely scrutinized for indicators as to whether capital inflows into the U.S. were sufficient to cover the trade deficit, which rose 5.3% to a new monthly record of $68.5 billion in January.

"There's a very high likelihood that we had another deficiency this month. If that's the case, you can easily see the euro shoot up to 1.20, and the dollar collapse as a result," she said.

more...

[UpInArms]

13. U.S. Feb. retail sales down 1.3% vs 0.8 expected

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BE3F3BAA3%2DE939%2D4D76%2DB67E%2D11AC073C5817%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. retail sales fell a worse-than-expected 1.3% in February, the sharpest decline in six months, the Commerce Department estimated Tuesday. The sales declines were widespread across most kinds of retail outlets, including autos, gasoline, furniture and clothing stores. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for retail sales to fall 0.8%. Excluding autos, sales fell 0.4%, in line with expectations. Excluding gasoline, sales decreased 1.3%.

[UpInArms]

14. Retail sales fall 1.3% in Feb. Biggest drop in six months

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B4C386ABC%2D9D22%2D42A6%2DAAD0%2D56A1AD20721C%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. retail sales fell 1.3% in February, the biggest decline in six months, dragged down by weak auto sales, the Commerce Department estimated Tuesday.

Excluding autos, retail sales decreased 0.4%, the biggest drop since April 2004.
Excluding both autos and gas, retail sales decreased 0.3%. There were steep declines in furniture and clothing stores and lesser drops in gasoline and restaurants.

Economists were not expecting such a large decline in retail sales. The average forecast in a MarketWatch survey called for a 0.8% decline. Excluding autos, sales were expected to fall 0.4%. See Economic Calendar.

Sales cooled off in February compared with the previous month.

<snip>

Furniture-store sales decreased 4.0%, the sharpest drop since Feb. 2003.

Electronics-store sales fell 2.0%, also the biggest decline since Feb. 2003.

Gasoline station sales fell 1.6%, while clothing store sales fell 3.3%. Sales at general-merchandise stores fell 0.3%. Department store sales fell 1.4%.

Restaurant sales fell 1.9%, the biggest drop since 9/11.

...more...

[UpInArms]

21. March Retail Sales shaping up to be worse than February's

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T135603Z_01_NAT002037_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-RETAIL-REDBOOK-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - Sales at U.S. chain stores rose in the second week of March as changes in weather led to volatile day-to-day sales, a report said on Tuesday.

Sales at major retailers were up 2.7 percent on a year-over-year basis for the week ended March 11, following a 2.4 percent rise in the prior week, said Redbook Research, an independent company.

Sales at U.S. retailers so far in March were down 2.4 percent when compared with the same period in February, Redbook said.

...more spin at link...

[UpInArms]

38. Business Inventories Report - higher than expected (surprise!)

9:59 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. JAN. BUSINESS SALES UP 1.3%

9:59 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. JAN. RETAIL INVENTORIES UP 0.5%

9:59 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. JAN. INVENTORIES-SALES RATIO AT RECORD LOW

9:59 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. JAN. INVENTORIES-SALES RATIO FALLS TO 1.24 VS 1.25 DEC

9:59 AM ET 3/14/06 U.S. JAN. BUSINESS INVENTORIES UP 0.4% VS 0.3% EXPECTED

[UpInArms]

42. more info:

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7BA64DA161%2D65DA%2D4003%2D86EA%2D4CF9F74C05DD%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

excerpt:

Economists expected inventories to rise 0.3%, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch. See Economic Calendar.

Much of the data in Tuesday's report had been released earlier. The one main new piece of news was retail inventories, which rose 0.5% in January. Retail auto inventories rose 0.6%.

Retail sales increased 2.9% in January.

The inventory-to-sales ratio in retail fell to 1.43 in January from 1.47 in December.

Earlier Tuesday, Commerce said retail sales decreased 1.3% in February, partially reversing the strong gain in January. See full story.

...more...

[ozymandius]

3. Crude Oil Prices Fall but Gasoline Rises

SINGAPORE - Crude oil prices fell Tuesday, but refined products like gasoline and heating oil rose because of possible refinery problems in the United States.

-cut-

Oil prices dropped after surging $1.81 to settle at $61.77 the previous day on nagging concerns about unrest in Nigeria and the possibility of U.N. sanctions against Iran, the No. 2 producer within OPEC, for its nuclear ambitions.

In Nigeria, recent attacks by militants on pipelines and oil facilities have left the country's production down by about 400,000 barrels a day.

"We would expect the potential for further chaos in Nigeria to provide a floor for prices around $60 a barrel, and we expect Nigeria will continue to be a major issue in terms of supply security up to, and probably beyond, next year's elections," wrote Barclays Capital's analysts, led by Kevin Norrish, in a research note.

more...

[UpInArms]

16. Oil turns higher as Iran fears weigh

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B66157E5A%2DA65C%2D494F%2D9DDA%2D2CE4084C7732%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil prices reversed early losses Tuesday as traders weighed developments in Iran against the International Energy Agency's reduced outlook for world demand.

Front-month crude oil futures were last trading up 32 cents at $62.09 a barrel in electronic trading after earlier falling to a low of $61.27.

The IEA revised lower its demand forecast for 2006, to 1.49 million barrels of oil a day from 1.78 million, due to persistently high oil-product prices and increasing evidence of demand weakness in Southeast Asia.

"High oil-product prices are clearly having an impact on demand, most notably in Southeast Asia, which had been a key driver of global oil-demand growth," said the Paris-based agency.

"Initially it was thought that the region's oil product demand growth would rebound quickly following increases to administered product prices in several rapidly growing economies. It now appears that the impact of higher retail prices will extend well into 2006," it said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

17. Oil and gas prices help Petrohawk quadruple profit

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B42C10F7C%2D3FAD%2D4A70%2DAEE4%2D09589412FA6D%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Petrohawk Energy Corp. (HAWK) on Tuesday reported its fourth-quarter profit quadrupled with help from higher oil and gas prices. Net income reached $36.1 million, or 48 cents a share, which compares with net income of $9 million, or 26 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $108.1 million from $18.95 million.

[UpInArms]

39. April Crude @ $62.05 bbl - April NatGas @ $7.13 mln btus

10:01 AM ET 3/14/06 APRIL CRUDE CLIMBS 28C TO $62.05/BRL IN EARLY NY TRADING

10:01 AM ET 3/14/06 APRIL NATURAL GAS GAINS 12.3C, OR 1.8%, AT $7.13/MLN BTUS

[54anickel]

52. Oil anarchy threatens Iraq's future

http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=uri:2006-03-14T135729Z_01_L14264883_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENERGY-IRAQ-CORRUPTION.xml&pageNumber=0&summit=

LONDON (Reuters) - Rampant corruption and political anarchy have pushed Iraq's oil industry to the brink of collapse and may drive away the experts needed to save it.

Three years after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the country's oil exports have sunk to nearly half the level they were under former president Saddam Hussein.

Western-educated technocrats, who built up and ran Iraq's most vital sector, are in despair as rapid turnover at the oil ministry and state marketer have failed to establish authority.

snip>

Faced with a power vacuum at the ministry, which has had three different ministers in three years, the role of the once mighty State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) should be to provide continuity, but SOMO is also in flux.

snip>

Iraqi officials say the number of SOMO employees has tripled, but most new recruits have little experience of the industry that is the economic backbone of Iraq, home to the world's third biggest oil reserves.

more....

So, how long before Hellaburnin or some Carlyle Group entity steps in as the "White Knight" to fix all of this? :eyes:

[UpInArms]

76. April Crude closes @ $63.10 bbl

3:07 PM ET 3/14/06 APRIL CRUDE ENDS AT A MORE THAN 1-WEEK HIGH ABOVE $63/BRL

3:07 PM ET 3/14/06 APRIL CRUDE UP $1.33, OR 2.2%, TO CLOSE AT $63.10/BRL

[Roland99]

90. Guess that explains the $0.30 jump in gas prices today.

:(

[UpInArms]

78. April Unleaded Gas @ $1.866 gal (high since 2/1) April NatGas @ $7.167

3:11 PM ET 3/14/06 APRIL UNLEADED GAS ENDS AT ITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE FEB. 1

3:11 PM ET 3/14/06 APRIL UNLEADED GAS UP 12.27C, OR 7%, TO CLOSE AT $1.866/GAL

3:11 PM ET 3/14/06 APRIL NATURAL GAS ENDS AT ITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE FEB. 24

3:11 PM ET 3/14/06 APRIL NATURAL GAS UP 2.3% TO CLOSE AT $7.167/MLN BTUS

[UpInArms]

82. Oil Execs Deny 'Merger Mania' Forced Soaring Prices (? by Senators)

http://www.channelcincinnati.com/money/7995859/detail.html?rss=cin&psp=nationalnews

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers told oil executives Tuesday that a "merger mania" in their industry has significantly diminished competition and allowed soaring oil and gasoline prices.

"These price increases cannot be explained solely by increased cost of oil," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., as chief executives of the country's six largest oil and refining companies waited to testify at a Senate hearing.

The executives, in testimony before the Judiciary Committee hearing, defended the industry's consolidation arguing that large companies are needed to compete in oil exploration and in the global oil markets.

"We need U.S. energy companies that have the scale and financial strength to make investments, undertake the risk and develop the new technologies," argued Rex Tillerson, chairman of Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest publicly trade oil company, which reported $36 billion in profit last year.

<snip>

But senators, both Republicans and Democrats, questioned the industry concentration, especially in the refining and retail areas.

...more...

[ozymandius]

4. Stocks set for mixed start

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks were headed for a mixed opening Tuesday following as run up in oil prices remained intact.

U.S. stock futures were lower, but after taking fair value into account, it appeared the markets would open mixed.

short blurb

[ozymandius]

5. Mortgage rates up...affordability down

Interest rates are the highest in years, helping to make housing markets even more overvalued. See rankings for 299 markets.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Mortgage rates have hit their highest level in nearly four years, and that has a direct impact on home affordability...and home prices.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage stands at 6.37 percent, up from 5.58 percent last summer.

-cut-

Rates have a direct affect on affordability. For example, a jump in interest rates from 6 percent to 7 percent on a 30-year loan adds about 10 percent to a monthly mortgage bill. A homeowner who financed a loan of $200,000 at 6 percent would pay about $1,200 a month. At 7 percent, the bill would come to $1,330.

-cut-

California and Florida accounted for 18 of the 20 most overvalued markets, with Naples, Fla. leading the way. A median home in Naples now costs $367,100, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), nearly double what the study's authors estimate it should.

more...

[54anickel]

37. Speaking truth or crying 'wolf'?

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B0CF65944%2D4955%2D4F0B%2DACCB%2DD163F5758FAA%7D&siteid=mktw&dist

LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- Back during the '70s recession I was a real estate expert with Morgan Stanley. We helped banks and REITs work out billions of loser portfolios, reorganize, file bankruptcy, even advised the U.S. Dept of Housing & Urban Development on the collapsed Federal New Towns program. I've worked for developers and mortgage bankers, got degrees in architecture and city planning, taught commercial real estate at Cornell University.

But oddly, like the rest of America, most of the time I don't think about the housing bubble that's about to pop. We ignore the coming storm.

snip>

But "so what?" you say. You've heard it before. Right? Warnings reported month after month. For example, Talbott reminded me of an editorial in The Economist last summer: "Never before have real house prices risen so fast, for so long, in so many countries. Property markets have been frothing from America, Britain and Australia to France, Spain and China. Rising property prices helped to prop up the world economy after the stock market bubble burst in 2000 ... This is the biggest bubble in history."

Yes, the irrational exuberance of our failed stock market simply shifted over into a new irrational exuberance in housing. In five short years an estimated $30 trillion was added to housing prices worldwide, an unsustainable 75% increase to $70 trillion, largely due to then Fed chairman Alan Greenspan's cheap money policies.
Greenspan dismissed the global bubble, telling Congress it was just a little "regional froth." Happy-talk, while our housing and mortgage industry has been taking advantage of naïve home buyers and sellers with loose underwriting practices: Low-interest home equity loans, and interest-only, low-equity loans feeding housing price inflation.

Curse of Cassandra

My files are full of warnings from America's top economists predicting a housing market collapse and a widespread global disaster: Gary Shilling, Bill Gross, Jeremy Grantham, Robert Shiller, Robert Rubin and others take exception to the deceptive happy-talk of self-serving spinmeisters in Washington, Wall Street, realty brokers and homebuilders.

more...

[ozymandius]

6. Delta likely to kill pilot pension plan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bankrupt Delta Air Lines Inc. said Monday that it was in a "race against time" to restructure and that it was probable the company would terminate its pilots' pension plan to save money.

"It looks more likely than not," a lawyer for the airline, Jack Gallagher, said about pension prospects at an arbitration hearing on the fate of the pilots contract.

United Airlines and US Airways terminated their pension plans in bankruptcy. Northwest Airlines could also do the same in its restructuring. Pilots are the only major union at Delta, which sought bankruptcy protection last September, the same time as Northwest.

Some Wall Street analysts expect Delta and Northwest to dump some or all of their traditional pensions to lower costs and attract financing because bankruptcy law allows it and rivals have done it.

more...

[UpInArms]

7. daily dollar watch

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

Last trade 90.56 Change +0.14 (+0.15%)

Sustainability of Consumer Spending Comes to Question With Retail Sales Due

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/dailyfx-reports/daily-fundamentals/7302-sustainability-of-consumer-spending-comes-to-question-with.html

US Dollar
The US dollar sold off against all of the majors today and justifiably so. The cards are stacking higher and higher against the greenback as we head into what is expected to be a fairly volatile week. An article in the Wall Street Journal and an announcement by the U.A.E helped the Euro recuperate all of its non-farm payrolls induced losses. This weekend’s Wall Street Journal has picked up on an issue that we first brought up in our 2006 outlook, which is that a quarter of all adjustable rate mortgages are set to reset to market rates this year and next. This is estimated to amount to approximately $2 trillion worth of mortgages, with the majority being sub-prime mortgages, which have the highest default risk. Going into tomorrow’s retail sales report, we turn our focus to the major uncertainties impacting the sustainability of consumer spending. Not only will many mortgage payments increase by hundreds of dollars a month, consumers are also facing higher minimum credit card payments. At a time when the housing market is showing signs of slowing and oil prices have refused to break below the $60 a barrel mark, we wonder how much longer consumers can really continue to dip into their savings, which are already at record lows. Meanwhile in response to the failed Dubai Port deal, the U.A.E announced plans to shift 10 percent of their reserves to Euros. Nearly all of the U.A.E’s estimated $28 billion reserves are now in US dollars. Although 10 percent of that is a paltry amount considering the volume that goes through the FX markets on a daily basis, symbolically, it is very important. Reserve diversification is a topic that we expect to return to the headlines repeatedly over the next few years, especially since countries like Iran are talking about offering oil priced in Euros later this month. Yet these are all factors that are negative for the dollar over the long term. In the short term however, interest rates seem to be the market’s only focus. Friday’s solid triple digit non-farm payrolls report has some talking about 5.25 percent rates as the cap instead of 5.00 percent. This week’s data and Fed speak will be critical in helping the market get clearer insight on whether the Fed thinks that the economy has what it takes to justify overshooting interest rates. Finally, some focus has been on comments by Fed President Yellen. Typically seen as a very respected central banker, Yellen backed up Bernanke’s stance on shifting to an inflation target.

...more...

[UpInArms]

30. peeking at the buck

Last trade 90.40 Change -0.02 (-0.02%)

Settle Time 15:02 Open 90.41

Previous Close 90.42 High 90.61

Low 90.35 2006-03-14 09:34:27, 30 min delay

52wk High 92.63 52wk High Date 2005-11-16

52wk Low 81.47 52wk Low Date 2005-03-16

Open Time 19:00 Close Time 15:00

[54anickel]

56. Arab central banks move assets out of dollar

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article351127.ece

Middle Eastern anger over the decision by the US to block a Dubai company from buying five of its ports hit the dollar yesterday as a number of central banks said they were considering switching reserves into euros.

The United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, said it was looking to move one-tenth of its dollar reserves into euros, while the governor of the Saudi Arabian central bank condemned the US move as "discrimination".

Separately, Syria responded to US sanctions against two of its banks by confirming plans to use euros instead of dollars for its external transactions.

snip>

The governor of the UAE central bank, Sultan Nasser al-Suweidi, said the bank was looking to convert 10 per cent of its reserves, which stand at $23bn (£13.5bn), from dollars to euros. "They are contravening their own principles," he said. "Investors are going to take this into consideration will look at investment opportunities through new binoculars."

snip>

Syria has switched the state's foreign currency transactions to euros from dollars, the head of the state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria, Duraid Durgham, said.

Last week the White House told US financial institutions to terminate all correspondent accounts involving the Commercial Bank of Syria because of money-laundering concerns. Mohammad al-Hussein, Syria's finance minister, said: "Syria affirms that this decision and its timing are fundamentally political."

more...

And the buck continues to suck pond scum:

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

Last trade 89.97 Change -0.45 (-0.50% )

[UpInArms]

8. NYT ends weekday stock tables

http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060314.wnytstocks0314/GIStory/

New York — The New York Times will replace the six pages of stock tables it prints Tuesdays through Saturdays with daily spreads of graphics and charts containing financial information.

The newspaper, published by New York Times Co., said it will also bolster its website to provide more in-depth data about a particular stock than the newspaper currently provides.

The new format will debut April 4, the Times said Monday.

Readers also will be able to sign up for e-mail updates containing the closing prices of stocks and mutual funds or midday alerts about market changes that affect them.

The changes will save the paper money in newsprint costs but a Times spokeswoman, Diane McNulty, declined to provide a dollar figure.

...more...

[UpInArms]

9. Livedoor founder indicted again for covering up losses

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060314/bs_afp/japanitcompanyfraud_060314112711%3b_ylt=A9FJqaNrtBZExDMA1xGmOrgF%3b_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

TOKYO (AFP) - Livedoor founder Takafumi Horie and four associates were hit with fresh indictments for allegedly tricking investors to hide losses at the once high-flying Internet firm.

Japanese prosecutors said the five were accused of falsely reporting a 5.03-billion-yen (42.3-million-dollar) pretax profit for the year to September 2004 to hide actual losses of 310 million yen.

The brash ex-Livedoor president was first indicted on February 13 for alleged securities fraud and re-arrested on further charges just over a week later.

The Ferrari-driving Horie has denied any wrongdoing although the other four have admitted to the charges, according to the Jiji Press news agency. The 33-year-old entrepreneur has already left Livedoor and is now in jail.

The fresh indictments came a day after Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission filed a new criminal complaint against the scandal-tainted Internet firm and its former top bosses.

...more...

[UpInArms]

10. 70 percent of U.S. companies do not plan to increase staffing, survey

Spinning for a small minority - do they do that for any other segment of society in the headlines? hmmmm...

here's the crap as it was written: "30 percent of U.S. companies plan to increase staffing, survey finds"

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14094347.htm

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Thirty percent of U.S. companies intend to increase staffing levels in the second quarter this year, according to a survey of 16,000 employers prepared for release today.

The report marks the ninth straight quarter that more than 20 percent of the companies surveyed said they plan to add staff. It was 23 percent for the first quarter of this year.

The last time the reading topped 30 percent was in the third quarter of 2005, when 31 percent of companies surveyed said they planned to add staff.

Six percent of companies surveyed by the Milwaukee-based staffing firm Manpower expect to reduce employment in the second quarter, while 58 percent expect no change, the survey said. Six percent of companies were unsure of their plans, according to the survey, which began in 1962.

The trend shows a healthy, stable economy, Manpower said.

Manpower Chief Executive Jeff Joerres said a shortage of workers is forcing companies to be more competitive in their hiring practices.

``There is a shortage going on,'' Joerres said. ``Companies are looking for the exact talent they need, and they may be having a more difficult time doing that.''

...more...

Ahhhh! It was "Manpower Survey" - they are temporary employees - and ... wait!

``Companies are looking for the exact talent they need, and they may be having a more difficult time doing that.''

No training! No Costs! Only "exact talent" wanted!

[UpInArms]

18. Treasuries trim gains despite retail sales decline

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T134558Z_01_NYG000145_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-URGENT-REPEATS.XML

NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices trimmed early gains on Tuesday despite a pullback in February retail sales, amid views the sales decline will do little to alter expectations of strong first-quarter growth.

Retail sales fell 1.3 percent percent in February, compared with economists' expectations of a 0.8 percent decline. January's upwardly revised result of positive 2.9 percent helped the market trim gains and fuel views the Federal Reserve's plans to raise interest rates will not be altered by the February decline.

...a bit more...

[UpInArms]

19. Treasury prices shoot higher after plunge in retail sales

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B4A22155A%2D7B5E%2D492D%2D986D%2DCAABFF6859D3%7D&dist=newsfinder&symbol=&siteid=mktw

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Treasury prices shot higher in the early going Tuesday, sending yields below their recent highs, after the Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell a worse-than-expected 1.3% in February, the biggest drop in six months. However, excluding autos, sales dropped 0.4%, in line with expectations. The weak headline figure was viewed as a bright spot for the fixed-income market because it detracts from the case for the Federal Reserve to continue lifting rates. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note last was up 3/32 at 98-1/32 with a yield ($TNX 47.49, -0.26, -0.5% ) of 4.751%, down from 4.777% at Monday's close.

[UpInArms]

28. Printing Press Report: Fed adds reserves via overnight system repurchases

Hitting the Debt Ceiling has not stopped the printing press :eyes:

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T143212Z_01_N14342301_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-FED-OPERATIONS.XML

NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said that it was adding temporary reserves to the banking system through overnight system repurchase agreements.

The benchmark fed funds rate last traded at 4.50 percent, the Fed's target for the overnight lending rate on loans between banks.

Further details of the operations are available at: http://www.ny.frb.org/markets/omo/dmm/temp.cfm

[UpInArms]

49. Treasuries rally on talk (actually a "rumor") of consulting report

seems like verbal intervention and manipulation to me :grr:

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T152529Z_01_NYG000146_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-UPDATE-2-URGENT.XML

NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices rallied on Tuesday as a market rumor made the rounds that a report from a consulting firm suggested the Federal Reserve might soon stop raising interest rates.

Benchmark 10-year notes <US10YT=RR> jumped 14/32 for a yield of 4.72 percent down from 4.77 percent on Monday. Interest rate futures also rose sharply.

"There's chatter about the existence of a consulting report that supposedly says the Fed will stop raising rates either at 4.75 percent or 5 percent," said Tony Crescenzi, chief bond market strategist at Miller, Tabak & Co.

"It's an excuse to consolidate recent losses, although it it seems highly implausible that federal officials would want to signal their plans, through any channel."

"Chatter"???? Isn't that the word that is usually associated with terra! terra! terra! ?

[54anickel]

54. Heh-heh! Well, I guess in a way I can't blame them. They've got

to use whatever "tools" are available to them to plug the hole and bail the water that the sinking SS Minnow is rapidly taking on. If we're lucky, maybe we'll end up on some "uncharted desert isle".

Of course, our Captain and crew aren't nearly as competent as the Skipper and Gilligan.

[UpInArms]

20. Conservative groups again boycotting Ford over gay ads

http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0313ford-boycott13-ON.html

WASHINGTON - Nineteen conservative groups said Monday they would reinstate a boycott of Ford Motor Co., contending the automaker reneged on an agreement to stop supporting gay rights organizations.

The groups set up a Web site urging supporters not to buy Ford vehicles after the automaker said last December it would continue running advertisements in gay publications. The American Family Association, which is leading this latest effort, had originally called for a boycott of Ford last year but suspended it for six months at the request of some Ford dealers.

"Ford has the right to financially support homosexual groups promoting homosexual marriage, but at the same time consumers have a right not to purchase automobiles made by Ford," said AFA Chairman Donald Wildmon in a statement.

<snip>

The American Family Association says it has 2 million online members who have requested e-mail alerts about different issues and it sends a monthly news journal to 160,000 homes. Other groups joining the boycott include: Center for Reclaiming America, Coalitions for America and the Liberty Counsel.

...more...

Gee... I wonder if this makes those "conservatives" into "terrorists"?

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1142203810052&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News

excerpt:

Prosecutors didn't provide evidence they knew the perpetrators or had ever communicated directly with them. Rather, the six were convicted of running an Internet site that allowed others access to information that could be used in crimes.

[54anickel]

60. Oh for cripes sake! It's a business decision - what don't these people

understand about marketing? They use it themselves all of the time. GD freaks!
Here's a list of the 19 groups.

American Family Association
Center for Reclaiming America
Citizens for Community Values
Vision America
Free Market Foundation
WIN Family Services
Liberty Counsel
CatholicVote.org
Point of View Radio
Coalitions for America
Mayday for Marriage
RealMarriage.org
Judeo-Christian Council
Constituent Voice
Faith2Action
Coalition for Marriage and Family
ConservativeHQ.com
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
National Association of Marriage Enhancement
VCY America Radio Network


That second article sure points out the bias built into the Patriot Act.

However, earlier this month, Kjonaas and five others ranging in age from 27 to 31 became the first people convicted under a 1992 U.S. law — significantly beefed up after 9/11 — that defines as terrorists those who damage firms involved in the animal business.

Along with another case in Oregon, this one involving radical environmentalists, the New Jersey trial marks a significant step forward in the Bush administration's decision to bring the war on terror home for use against those it views as its new domestic enemies.

snip>

In mid-2002, under industry pressure, Congress quietly strengthened the animal enterprise protection act. Without formally changing its name, legislators also began to refer to it routinely as the "animal enterprise terrorism act."

In 2004, a senior FBI official told a congressional subcommittee that animal rights and environmental militants had become "the most active criminal extremist elements in the United States."


This GD mal-admin are the real terrorist that are damaging our economic interest - our jobs and livelihood, our constitutional rights, our way of life and liberty and diplomatic status around the globe. Basically, they're just taking this entire nation down the crapper while they line their pockets along with those of their business cronies.

[Roland99]

22. Job growth since 2003 Q4 (FLATLINED!)

Assuming 160,000 jobs/mo. need to be created for equilibrium.


Someone please correct me if the 160,000/mo. is inaccurate.

[UpInArms]

26. iirc, those spikes are when the gov has "revised" the numbers ...eom

[Roland99]

27. Note two of the biggest spikes occurred at the beginning of the Holidays

More seasonal hiring in Oct/Nov.

[Roland99]

36. I found two articles at Economic Policy Institute from early and late 2004

Mar. 2004
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_archive_03152004
(137,000 jobs/mo.)

Oct. 2004
http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/webfeatures_snapshots_10252004
(150,000 jobs/mo.)


Given population growth and the slight uptick in LFPR, 160,000 sounds like a fair assessment, to me.

[UpInArms]

23. Is rising US public debt sustainable?

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0314/p01s02-uspo.html

Maybe the national debt clock was retired too soon.

Between 1989 and 2000, the electronic display near New York's Times Square tracked the rise of the nation's red ink until it reached $5.7 trillion. When it shut down, the federal budget was running a surplus.

Today, the national debt totals $8.3 trillion, a level that could force Congress this week to raise the debt ceiling for the fourth time in George W. Bush's presidency.

<snip>

The current $8.3 trillion total debt tally includes two types of debt: the kind owed to the public (including foreign lenders), and the kind owed from some government entities to others. In the strange accounting of Washington, the current surpluses run by the Social Security program add to the national debt.

...more...

[54anickel]

59. WTF is this lame paragraph about....

But some of the shifts, good and bad, relate to unforeseen events. Clinton benefited from a lower burden of defense spending, and from surging tax receipts during a record economic expansion. Bush has faced unforeseen costs of hurricanes and security.

That last little sentences has me fuming so badly I don't even know where to begin! :nuke:

And doesn't this just give you warm fuzzies...

Within the range of possible budget paths forecast by the CBO, one scenario shows interest spending on government debt remaining at today's level of about 2 percent of GDP through 2050. But under a "high spending, low revenue" scenario, interest would cost 21 percent of GDP by 2050.

[ozymandius]

24. pre-open blather

08:57 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.8. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -3.0. Futures trade continues to signal a downside open for the stock market. As had been the case yesterday, rising energy prices are weighing on trade. At this point, crude is up 0.5% to $62.05 per barrel. Natural gas has gained 2.3%, gasoline is 1.4% higher, and heating oil has advanced 1.0%. Expectations for colder temperatures helped prompt the rebounds yesterday. Geopolitical tensions and supply concerns will continue to garner attention and support prices.

08:35 am : S&P futures vs fair value: -1.5. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -4.5. The February Retail Sales report has been released. Total retail sales declined a more than expected 1.3% last month, versus the 0.9% decline that analysts had expected. That followed a surprisingly strong 2.3% gain in January. Excluding autos, retail sales fell 0.4% in February; analysts had forecasted a 0.5% decline. Meanwhile, the Current Account checked in at -$224.9 billion versus the -$218 billion consensus estimate. Separately, Goldman Sachs (GS) delivered a blowout Q1 report over the past half hour. Its results appear to be tempering the effect of the weaker than expected retail sales data, and future trade is holding steady. The cash market remains headed towards a downside start.

[UpInArms]

25. US government urges Congress to raise debt limit this week

http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read.html?id=6527

WASHINGTON, March 13, 2006 (AFP) - The US government appealed to Congress Monday to raise the national debt limit by the end of this week or face a potential shutdown of federal operations for lack of cash.

"It's really the week this must be done because the Congress will be out of session at the end of this week," Treasury spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters.

Treasury Secretary John Snow has issued increasingly urgent warnings to Congress that the statutory debt limit of 8.184 trillion dollars is fast-approaching, and that the government will then lose its borrowing power.

Last week, Snow said new issues of federal debt instruments would only raise enough cash to keep government operations financed until mid-March.

"I must advise you that the Treasury has now taken all prudent and legal actions to avoid reaching the statutory debt limit," Snow wrote in a letter to senior Republican and Democratic members of Congress.

"I therefore strongly urge Congress to pass a debt limit increase immediately."

...more...


The estimated population of the United States is 298,770,194
so each citizen's share of this debt is $27,708.89.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$2.10 billion per day since September 30, 2005

[UpInArms]

50. US's Snow-Congress must raise debt limit this week

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T152847Z_01_WAT005062_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-SNOW-DEBT-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Tuesday Congress must act this week to raise the $8.18 trillion U.S. debt ceiling or risk losing the confidence of markets and investors.

"Timely action on the debt ceiling this week, before Congress leaves for recess, is critical to assure financial markets and investors that the integrity of the obligations of the United States will not be compromised, nor will even a risk of such compromise be countenanced," Snow said in remarks prepared for delivery to a conference organized by America's Community Bankers.

[54anickel]

29. Banks Pledge Fixes for Derivative Market

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wrap14.3mar14,1,6321227.story?coll=la-headlines-business

Dealers in the huge market for credit derivative contracts have committed to reducing 70% of trade confirmation problems by the end of June, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Monday.

The new target is part of a plan designed to fix the backlog of trade confirmations, which the New York Fed and other regulators have said adds additional risks to the murky credit derivative market, which grew to about $12 trillion in mid-2005.

The dealers also have committed to the development of a largely electronic marketplace, new processing standards for trades that cannot be confirmed electronically and a new procedure for settling contracts after a "credit event," such as a default.

Credit derivatives are used by investors, traders and others to hedge risks or bet on market trends. The fast-growing market has worried regulators, who fear that a lack of transparency could lead to a financial blowup.

more...

Hmmm, that gives them about 3-1/2 months...gotta wonder - what's the sudden rush? They've been yacking about this for well over a year.

[ret5hd]

41. my guess would be THIS phrase in your snip:

"...and a new procedure for settling contracts after a "credit event," such as a default."

my guess is they are expecting a relative deluge of these "events".

[UpInArms]

31. 9:39 EST markets attempt to imitate Alfred E. Newman

Dow 11,069.06 -6.96 (-0.06%)
Nasdaq 2,269.18 +2.15 (+0.09%)
S&P 500 1,284.15 +0.02 (+0.00%)
10-Yr Bond 4.745 -0.30 (-0.63%)

NYSE Volume 106,337,000
Nasdaq Volume 125,052,000

[UpInArms]

34. 9:48 EST all is terrific on Wall Street!

Dow 11,082.18 +6.16 (+0.06%)
Nasdaq 2,272.01 +4.98 (+0.22%)
S&P 500 1,285.96 +1.83 (+0.14%)
10-Yr Bond 4.741 -0.34 (-0.71%)

NYSE Volume 166,446,000
Nasdaq Volume 180,231,000

(adding blather on edit)

09:40 am : As expected, the equity market opened modestly lower. The market's inability to advance on a host of M&A deals yesterday has fostered the lack of buying interest today. February retail sales results and rising energy prices are underpinning the tone. Last month, retail sales fell 1.3%, versus the 0.9% decline that had been anticipated. Excluding autos, retail sales decreased 0.4% (consensus -0.5%). After rebounding sharply Monday, energy prices are extending their gains. Expectations for colder weather prompted the turnaround, and geopolitical tensions continue to support prices. A separate factor that is weighing on trade is Proctor & Gamble (PG). The company upped the low-end of its Q3 profit forecast by a penny, raised its dividend 11%, and said sales should be near the midpoint of its 20-23% forecast. However, its organic growth target (+5-6%) is slightly below its prior quarterly guidance of 5-7%. Some easing is bond yields and blowout earnings results from Goldman Sachs (GS) are offsetting factors. DJ30 -11.51 NASDAQ -1.81 SP500 -1.15

[54anickel]

32. Goldman's Lustrous Quarter

http://www.thestreet.com/_pbear/stocks/brokerages/10273485.html

Wall Street firms are making more money than even the most bullish investors predicted, at least based on the 64% profit gain posted by Goldman Sachs (GS:NYSE - news - research - Cramer's Take) in the first quarter.

The storied investment bank didn't just exceed analyst expectations, it crushed them, posting a 56% year-over-year gain in revenue. In the quarter, Goldman Sachs earned $2.48 billion, or $5.08 a share, up from $1.5 billion, or $3.35 a share in the year ago period. Total revenues were $10.3 billion.

snip>

The trading gains at Goldman Sachs, which includes trading for the firm's own account as well as making markets for its customers, came from stocks, bonds and commodities. In fact, equity-related trading revenue showed surprising strength in the quarter, rising 94% to $1.6 billion. Revenue from bond and commodities trading rose 50% to $3.7 billion.

To score those gains, Goldman Sachs stuck its neck out. The closely watched "value at risk" metric, which gauges how much money a firm could lose in a single day if all its trades went bad, was $92 million in the quarter, up from $65 million a year ago and $80 million in the fourth quarter of 2005.

One thing skeptics have been warning about in the recent years is that big Wall Street firms are putting too much of their own capital at risk to generate outsized trading profits. So far, Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs have shown those risks are worth taking, as they've generally posted strong trading gains for two straight years.

snip>

"To me, Goldman Sachs is a joke. You can't analyze them,'' says David Hendler, an analyst with CreditSights, who long has been critical of the amount risk the firm is taking on to generate trading profits. "They are a hedge fund, not a broker dealer. How do you know a big gain now won't lead to a big loss later on.''

more...

Do you believe they are taking risks with their own money? I'm thinking when it's their money on the table, they're betting on a sure thing. :shrug:

[UpInArms]

35. Those people only play with OPM

(Other People's Money)

:eyes:

[54anickel]

45. Yep, but they'll use their own when they've stacked the deck

Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms clearly benefit from a unique market perspective. Some critics say these firms, by acting as market makers, have a huge information advantage that allows them to make money at the expense of their wealthy customers.

And with the growth of hedge funds and their availablity to the "average Joe" it's no longer just the "wealthy customers" getting fleeced.

[UpInArms]

47. here it is from another article

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=ajXHbL9yQjkw&refer=top_world_news

excerpt:

Net income in the fiscal first quarter soared 64 percent to $2.48 billion, or $5.08 a share, Goldman said in a statement today. That's more than the New York-based firm earned in all of fiscal 2002 and exceeds by more than 60 percent the highest analyst estimate.

Goldman said strong customer demand for stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies and derivatives and ``favorable conditions'' for bets with its own capital fueled a 53 percent jump in trading revenue. Money management fees doubled as assets swelled to $571 billion, the most on Wall Street.

``It all went right, that's all you can say with a number like this,'' said Anton Schutz, who helps manage $275 million at Mendon Capital Advisors Corp., including call options on Goldman shares. ``I don't think they can sustain this.''

[54anickel]

51. Makin' hay while the sun shines

"With equity-based value at risk up 137% year over year, there should are few doubts about the future of institutional equities at Goldman,'' Hintz says. "Proprietary trading against the flow is the new name of the game.''

"Nearly all of our business produced record or near record results this quarter,'' said Henry Paulson, Goldman Sachs' chairman and CEO. "While we know that we cannot expect to achieve these results every quarter, we continue to see attractive opportunities and high levels of client activity.''



Nothing like knowing every hand on the table before you set up your own. They'll fold and cash in their chips long before those "attractive opportunities" start to vanish. House always wins. :eyes:

[specimenfred1984]

61. What's ""Proprietary trading against the flow"

Hi 54anickel,

Pardon my ignorance, what do they mean by the term ""Proprietary trading against the flow"? Is that shorting when the majority is long or the reverse? Or is it what I suspect it is, which is going in to slow markets and rigging them?

[54anickel]

65. I'm not sure, it just sounds pretty shady. Seems they are betting

against their clients best interests and coming out way ahead. The use of "proprietary" makes me tend to think of a hedge against a hedge. I'm not sure they'd be willing to put up their own money in an attempt to rig slow markets - I can't quite see how the term proprietary would fit into that scheme. :shrug:

It just sounds shady to me - they know where their clients are headed and that puts them a couple of steps ahead of the game. You don't suppose they are also steering their clients in a certain direction, do ya? Nah, that can't be happening - why that would almost seem unethical.

What was that term the Bush's used...something about fodder units?

[54anickel]

40. Wall Street Chiefs Cruising on Pay Gravy Train

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&refer=columnist_crystal&sid=aerZQJF48urM

March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Maybe you know the old Wall Street maxim: The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

Too bad it only applies to shareholders of the five-biggest publicly traded Wall Street firms, not to the chief executive officers. While investors have ridden the ups and downs of earnings and share prices, these CEOs have rolled along on the pay gravy train.

Let's start with the 2005 total pay of the current CEOs of the five firms:


Company - CEO - (millions)
Bear Stearns - James Cayne - $30.6
Goldman Sachs - Henry Paulson - $41.3
Lehman Brothers - Richard Fuld - $40.6
Merrill Lynch - Stanley O'Neal - $35.5
Morgan Stanley - John Mack - $38.6

Low $30.6
Median $38.6
Average $37.3
High $41.3

(Total pay consists of the sum of: 1)base salary; 2)bonus for annual performance; 3)my estimate for the present value at grant of stock options granted during the year, using the Black- Scholes model; 4)free share grants made during the year; 5)payouts during the year under other forms of long-term incentive compensation; and 6)miscellaneous compensation.)

When I first started writing a column for Bloomberg News in 2000, I reported on the 1999 pay of 439 CEOs of large market-cap companies. So let's put those pay figures alongside the 2005 pay figures just cited. (Not all the current CEOs were in their jobs in 1999.)

more...

[UpInArms]

44. Floating-Rate Note Sales Reach Record on Fed Outlook

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aS4fMmlezLT8&refer=top_world_news

March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Companies are selling floating-rate debt in the U.S. at the fastest pace ever as investors seek securities that will keep their value while the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.

Borrowers sold $62.9 billion of floating-rate notes this year and are on track to beat the 2005 record of $302 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The notes offer companies lower borrowing costs than debt with fixed coupons even after the central bank raised rates 14 times.

<snip>

The notes are in demand because investors expect the Fed to raise rates as many as three more times this year to 5.25 percent from the current 4.5 percent, futures trading shows.

Rising U.S. Treasury yields increased the average yield on investment-grade corporate bonds by 38 basis points to 5.74 percent, according to Merrill Lynch & Co. indexes, the highest since November 2002. Companies now pay about 88 basis points more than Treasuries to sell bonds.

<snip>

Credit-default swaps, the largest part of the $12.4 trillion credit-derivatives market, provide investors with insurance in case a company fails to meet its obligations or files for bankruptcy protection. A derivative is a financial obligation whose value is derived from interest rates, the outcome of specific events, or the price of underlying assets such as debt, equities, commodities and currencies.

...more at link...

[54anickel]

48. You know, I just don't get this whole idea. Investors are seeking

securities that will keep their value - to me that means they are looking for safety, shelter from the storm. Yet how can a derivative, which to me is some make-believe asset with no real value...its value is derived from some magic formula. The old "looks good on paper" cliche comes to my mind. :shrug:

[UpInArms]

46. Rudman reviews Fannie probe;portfolio beyond scope

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T150828Z_01_WAT005061_RTRIDST_0_CONGRESS-FANNIE-RUDMAN-URGENT.XML

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - Former U.S. Sen. Warren Rudman, hired by Fannie Mae to probe its $11 billion accounting problems, on Tuesday will tell a U.S. House panel the company's accounting, financial and internal auditing functions were inadequate.

In testimony prepared for the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, obtained by Reuters, Rudman outlines the major findings of his lengthy report, delivered last month. He says the company's former senior management adopted bad accounting primarily to smooth earnings results.

Rudman also notes in the testimony that the question of Fannie Mae's portfolio holdings, a contentious issue being considered now in Congress, was beyond the scope of his investigation.

...more...

Another do nothing investigation - beyond scope - can't look - no authority - no accountability - the GOPpiggie way!

[54anickel]

53. It works until it doesn't

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

snip>

Kenneth Solow and Michael Kitces appreciate that things don’t always work forever. Like asset allocation. In their article in the March issue of the Journal of Financial Planning, the duo dare to suggest that traditional allocation models might not fare so well in a secular bear market.

snip>

What makes Solow and Kitces question those assumptions is their suspicion that stocks are in a secular bear market. If that’s the case, stocks could provide returns well below 10% for years to come. In fact a secular bear market can last as long as a client’s time horizon. The last secular bear, for example, lasted from 1966-1981. And while investors are intrigued with Japanese stocks today, the Japanese bear market dragged on for almost 15 years.

Solow and Kitces understand that it is hard for investment professionals to shake the idea that stocks won’t deliver 10% over the next several years. But they remind advisors that 1982-2000 was an enormous growth period for the financial planning industry. It’s probably no coincidence that it was also a period of rising stock prices, thanks in large part, to rising PE ratios. Those 18-years of stock market history must seem long term to those who witnessed it, so plugging in 10% equity returns into asset allocation models can make perfect sense. The history of long term market cycles, our dynamic duo argue, has proven otherwise.

Still, the idea of plugging in sub-10% equity returns into an asset allocation model can sound ridiculous to advisors who quote Roger Ibbotson’s numbers in their sleep, whether or not they had Jack-in-the-Box tacos for supper. But the Ibbotson’s numbers, while accurate, require a disclaimer or two. Here’s a suggested one: Don’t bet on a repeat performance.

Ed Easterling, renowned chronicler of secular bull and bear markets and world class number cruncher, has some interesting insights into the Ibbotson equity numbers. In an article that appeared on this website last fall, Ed acknowledged that the annualized total return from stocks from 1926 through 2004 was sure enough 10.4%. And, yes, the period under consideration was “long term.” But Ed’s sharp eye noticed that stocks in 1926 were much cheaper than in 2004. PEs started the period at 10.4 and wound up at 20. That PE expansion accounted for 0.9% of Ibbotson’s 10.4% long term return from stocks. Since PEs are still high, investors banking on continued multiple expansion to drive stock market returns are more optimistic than American Idol competitors.

Similarly, Easterling notes that the dividend yield averaged 4.5% over Ibbotson’s measurement period. With yields today closer to 2.5% (at best), that’s another 2% we can lop off the 10.4% historic return. That takes our best case return below 8%. And if PEs contract, rather than remain at today’s elevated levels, annual returns will fall further, even if the period under consideration is a long one. The way Ed sees it, the only way for a new secular bull market to begin is to start from lower valuation levels. And that means slogging through a secular bear market to get there.

more...

[54anickel]

55. Going green; seeing green (Walmart going organic)

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0314walmart-ON.html

Wal-Mart's aisles are growing greener as it doubles the number of organic grocery products it sells and launches its own line of baby clothes made with organic cotton.

Demand for healthy-lifestyle products is changing the product mix at the world's largest retailer and spurring competition at both supermarkets and specialty grocers.

Industry watchers say organic groceries are gaining appeal with budget-conscious and affluent shoppers alike.

snip>

The retail giant will stock more than 400 organic products at its supercenters and neighborhood markets beginning in a few weeks. New items will be added to all categories of food from dry goods to produce, but the number of items sold at each store will vary.

George Baby, the line of organic-cotton infant clothes, will follow in June.

"We are really getting into the area of organics," said Stephen Quinn, senior vice president of marketing for Wal-Mart, at the retail conference held by Bear Stearns & Co. last week. "People feel better about organic food. The customer we're going after . . . is really interested in that intangible benefit that comes from organics."

more...

So just how organic will these products be by the time Walmart is done dictating the terms to their suppliers?

[Doctor_J]

58. Will DJIA 11,500 (or whatever) save Smirky and the GOP?

I would hate to have their carnage on the US and the world all hidden by the fact that the investor class had a few good months right before the elections...

[54anickel]

62. Speed up bird flu plans, warns IMF

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article351142.ece

Some countries have still not drawn up plans to cope with the "significant damage" to their economies that a bird flu pandemic would cause, the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday.

The IMF, a leading global financial watchdog, said a pandemic would trigger sharp asset-price falls, a slump in tourism and trade and lead to mass absenteeism from work.

snip>

The IMF said business continuity planning would become a critical component in preventing a crisis in the financial sector.

"However, in many countries, business continuity planning has not yet addressed the specific risks arising from a pandemic, particularly from possible high absenteeism," it said. "Perhaps because an avian flu pandemic may appear to be a low-probability event, many countries are only starting to develop a comprehensive approach to this threat."

snip>

It urged central banks to ensure there was adequate supply of cash in the economy while regulators should refrain from enforcing capital-adequacy rules that would be broken as asset prices plunged. "Market operations could become more disorderly in the case of a breakdown in the trading infrastructure, leading to limited or intermittent trading," it said.

more...


Nothing like pushing to line Rummy's pockets while at the same time tossing out the usual financial rules by authorizing the printing presses to run full-bore.

[Roland99]

63. 1:00pm Eastern - Stop, Yield!

DJIA 11,109.20 +33.20
Nasdaq 2,281.12 +14.09
S&P 500 1,290.21 +6.08
Russell 2000 732.22 +4.18
30 Yr Bond 4.70 -0.07
10 Yr Bond 4.69 -0.08

[ozymandius]

64. 1pm numbers and blather

1:03
Dow 11,109.72 +33.70 (+0.30%)
Nasdaq 2,281.45 +14.42 (+0.64%)
S&P 500 1,290.39 +6.26 (+0.49%)
10-Yr Bond 46.96 -0.79 (-1.65%)
NYSE Volume 1,108,383,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,045,245,000

12:30 pm : The yield on the 10-year continues to ease - it's now at 4.69%. The stock market continues to demonstrate relief over today's declines in borrowing costs. Treasuries were oversold heading into the session, and some relative disappointments on the economic front helped spur the correction. Volume is strong, and suggests that there is conviction behind the improvement. The long-end of the curve is faring especially well - with the 30-year up 29 ticks and down to a 4.70% yield. With respect to the two-ten year yield curve, it is presently out of inversion. The two-year (+03/32) is yielding 4.67%, below the 10-year's yield. As mentioned earlier, Thursday's CPI report is a potential catalyst. Much attention will rest on the core read, which is expected to reflect a 0.2% rise.DJ30 +31.46 NASDAQ +11.97 SP500 +5.68 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1191/1700/922.9 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1100/2007/662.6 mln

[54anickel]

66. Hurray!!! The yield inversion has just magically corrected itself, surely

that means nothing but good times ahead - right?... Right?.....

[UpInArms]

73. Treasuries soar on think-tank report, retail sales

That "Think-Tank" must have lots of clout!

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T185808Z_01_N14491953_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-BONDS-UPDATE-5.XML

NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury debt prices rallied on Tuesday on softer-than-expected February retail sales data and a report from a consulting firm saying the Federal Reserve may soon stop raising interest rates.

Selling began in overnight trade as Germany's ZEW investor sentiment came in lower than expected, capping concerns global interest rates would have to rise to cope with an economic pick-up around the world.

"We (saw) buying off the weak ZEW numbers out of Germany and off the think tank report that says the Fed may pause at the end of this month (with fed funds) at 4.75 percent and certainly will pause in May at 5 percent," said Andrew Brenner, head of fixed income at Investec U.S. in New York.

But traders said the market was also using the data and the report on the outlook for Fed interest rate increases as an excuse to push prices higher after nearly two months of selling that last week pushed benchmark yields to their highest in nearly two years.

Benchmark 10-year notes jumped 20/32 for a yield of 4.69 percent, down from 4.77 percent on Monday. Interest rate futures also rose sharply.

The report on the Fed, by Medley Global Advisors, said the Fed would almost surely raise official short-term rates at least one more time, to 4.75 percent, but perhaps not much more than that.

...more...

I wonder who is on that membership roster?

[54anickel]

79. I found this list

http://www.researchconnect.com/research_firm/firm_301.asp

Here's their own site:

http://www.medleyadvisors.com/visitors/visitors/whoweare.html


Sr management looks well connected to the Steet and DC Here's a few:

Richard Medley

Richard Medley, Founder and Advisor of Medley Global Advisors LLC, held a variety of high-profile positions in academia, on Wall Street and on Capitol Hill before founding the firm in 1997. He was a managing director and the chief political advisor at Soros Fund Management and also served as associate director of the Yale University Center for International Finance from 1995 to 1998. In the early 1980s, Dr. Medley was the chief economist for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs and Chief Economist for the Senate Democratic Leadership. He has taught at the Yale University School of Management, and is a featured speaker and panelist at numerous international conferences. Dr. Medley has a B.A. from Ohio State University and Ph.D., M. Phil., and M.A. degrees in political science with a focus on economics from Yale University.

Sassan Ghahramani

Sassan Ghahramani, MGA's President and CEO, joined Medley Global Advisors LLC with twelve years of experience in international financial markets. Prior to MGA, he traded and managed foreign exchange risk for Lehman Brothers, AIG, the Union Bank of Switzerland, and Chemical Bank (now JP Morgan Chase). In addition to trading, he advised clients on market and policy drivers of investment decisions. Mr. Ghahramani was born in Iran and raised in a diplomatic family in Canada, Russia, and Spain before moving to the United States in 1979. He holds a B.A. in International Relations from Brown University and an M.B.A. in Finance from New York University, and completed additional studies at Harvard University and the University of Madrid.

Robert Johnston

Robert Johnston, head of MGA Equities Research, worked most recently with UBS Warburg Energy, where he was director of market analysis supporting energy derivatives trading. Previous to this position, Dr. Johnston was director of market analysis for Enron Wholesale Services, directing an analysis unit providing market intelligence for a range of trading and origination groups including crude oil & refined products, FX & interest rates, equities & distressed debt, metals, lumber, and soft commodities. Dr. Johnston also directed political risk assessment for ArmorGroup, a major multinational corporate security and risk management provider and worked as an independent consultant in both the oil and precious metals sectors. Dr. Johnston is widely published in academic and trade publications and holds a Ph.D. in international relations from the American University's School of International Service, an M.A. in Political Science from McMaster University, and is a graduate of Bishop's University.


Tracey Bennett

Tracey Bennett, head of macro client relations, brings over twenty years of experience in global exchange traded derivatives (ETD) markets to Medley Global Advisors LLC. Prior to MGA, Mrs. Bennett was a senior manager at both UBS Warburg and Bank of America. She started her career at Bank of America in money market trading before moving to ETD at the opening of the LIFFE exchange. After running their floor operation for several years, she moved to off-floor ETD sales, providing both macro- and technically-based strategies to a wide variety of clients. She managed that desk before being promoted to head Bank of America’s European ETD division. In 1998 she moved to UBS Warburg in London and was subsequently transferred to the United States as an executive director to establish and manage the North American ETD sales desk, dealing with institutional clients.

[UpInArms]

83. Thanks 54anickel!

Interesting - I wonder what Robert Johnston is thinking about the Enron trial :evilgrin:

Robert Johnston, head of MGA Equities Research, worked most recently with UBS Warburg Energy, where he was director of market analysis supporting energy derivatives trading. Previous to this position, Dr. Johnston was director of market analysis for Enron Wholesale Services, directing an analysis unit providing market intelligence for a range of trading and origination groups including crude oil & refined products, FX & interest rates, equities & distressed debt, metals, lumber, and soft commodities.

[54anickel]

86. I figured you'd be able to pick the important names and ties out of

the list. Why does Kevin Muehring ring a bell? Maybe it's just from articles he's written. :shrug:

[54anickel]

67. Molly Ivins: Will the real Bush please stand up?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/14/ivins.bush.foreign.policy/

AUSTIN, Texas (Creators Syndicate) -- It's hard to keep up with George W. Bush's shuttles between internationalism and isolationism. You may recall he first ran for office declaring he was against nation-building and other such effete, peacekeeping efforts. None of that do-gooder, building-a-better-world stuff for him -- he couldn't even be bothered to learn the names of the Grecians and Kosovians.

Until Sept. 11, except for staring deep into Vlad Putin's ice-blue eyes and concluding the old KGB shark had soul, Bush evinced little interest in foreign affairs.

Then he literally became an internationalist with a vengeance. Absolutely everybody signed up to help go after al Qaeda in Afghanistan -- offers of help gushed in. Next came the campaign to bring down Saddam Hussein because he had weapons of mass destruction, including a nuclear weapons program. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the world didn't think Iraq had much in the way of WMD, or at least felt the United Nations inspectors should be given more time to see if they were there.

The unseemly haste with which Bush pushed toward an unnecessary war alienated many of our closest allies, and the Bush team could not have made their contempt for those allies and the United Nations more clear.

So for a while we were the new imperialists and disdained the rest of the world. We didn't need anyone -- we would go our own way, and good riddance to the United Nations, what a bunch of wusses they were. It was the season of hubris, arrogance and rudeness.

more...


Anyone catch him on the telee last night? He just looked so pissed and arrogant. I think he's getting sick and tired of having to go around making speeches to explain his stance to us "stupid Murikans" who, as the polls point out, just don't get it! He looked like he was about to blow a gasket. I'm thinking he needs another vacation at the ranch soon.

[54anickel]

68. 1:42 and look at em fly being lead by brokers

Dow 11,134.77 +58.75 (+0.53%)
Nasdaq 2,287.69 +20.66 (+0.91%)
S&P 500 1,293.50 +9.37 (+0.73%)
10-yr Bond 46.88 -0.87 (-1.82%)
30-yr Bond 46.98 -0.70 (-1.47%)
NYSE Volume 1,281,777,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,225,883,000

1:30 pm : Buying has become more aggressive over the past thirty minutes, and the market has spiked higher. The Financial sector is now up an influential 1.0%. Brokers remain the driving force, but strength is broad-based. Nearly each of the S&P 500's financial industries are registering gains. For that sector and the market at large, still-easing borrowing costs are the catalyst. Largely to the semiconductor industry's credit, the Tech sector has also hit its best level of the session - and now sports a weighty 1.2% gain. Alongside what is now crude oil's 1.4% gain, the Energy sector is 1.0% higher and contributing additional leadership. DJ30 +61.46 NASDAQ +23.94 SOX 1.6% SP500 +9.99 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1146/1795/1.11 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1008/2148/8198.5 mln

1:00 pm : Sideways trade persists. Relief over easing Treasury yields and earnings-related strength in brokers continues to support the stock market. At the same time, energy prices are advancing and effectively capping the major averages' gains. The entire energy complex is comfortably higher today as traders digest news that a major refinery, which produces about 495,000 barrels of crude per day, will be down two weeks for unplanned maintenance. Cooler weather reports and ongoing geopolitical tensions are also factors behind the price gains. Gasoline and natural gas are each up well over 2%, and crude has just hit a session high of $62.40 per barrel. That reflects a 1% rise.DJ30 +32.50 NASDAQ +13.58 SP500 +5.83 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1216/1701/1.02 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1119/2000/746.7 mln

[ozymandius]

70. They're all growth companies!! Bad news is GREAT news, always!

2:28
Dow 11,157.82 +81.80 (+0.74%)
Nasdaq 2,291.73 +24.70 (+1.09%)
S&P 500 1,296.47 +12.34 (+0.96%)
10-Yr Bond 46.94 -0.81 (-1.70%)
NYSE Volume 1,470,267,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,384,105,000

2:00 pm : The major averages are holding their places at session highs. Also at a session high is the price of crude. It's up 2% and has just hit $63 per barrel. Gasoline is leading the energy price charge -- it's now up 3.8%. Heating oil is 3.7% higher, and natural gas is booking a 2.3% gain. While those price increases are bearish for stocks, they are at this point not fazing investors. More modest increases had kept the broader market in check over most of the session, but still-dropping Treasury yields are currently occupying the spotlight. In addition, the energy price increases are fostering a market-leading 1.3% gain in the Energy sector. With the exception of Consumer Staples (-0.2%), each of the S&P's economic sectors are registering gains. DJ30 +62.35 NASDAQ +21.73 SP500 +10.16 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1126/1815/1.24 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 982/2206/907.6 mln

1:30 pm : Buying has become more aggressive over the past thirty minutes, and the market has spiked higher. The Financial sector is now up an influential 1.0%. Brokers remain the driving force, but strength is broad-based. Nearly each of the S&P 500's financial industries are registering gains. For that sector and the market at large, still-easing borrowing costs are the catalyst. Largely to the semiconductor industry's credit, the Tech sector has also hit its best level of the session - and now sports a weighty 1.2% gain. Alongside what is now crude oil's 1.4% gain, the Energy sector is 1.0% higher and contributing additional leadership. DJ30 +61.46 NASDAQ +23.94 SOX 1.6% SP500 +9.99 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1146/1795/1.11 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1008/2148/8198.5 mln

[54anickel]

71. Just gives a whole new meaning to Goldilocks...somehow she must've

fallen down that rabbit hole. :crazy:

[54anickel]

69. Judge Orders Google To Turn Over User Files

http://www.ktvu.com/news/7996141/detail.html

SAN JOSE -- A federal judge said Tuesday he intends to require Google Inc. to turn over some information to the Department of Justice in its quest to revive a law making it harder for children to see online pornography.

U.S. District Judge James Ware did not immediately say whether the data will include search requests that users entered into the Internet's leading search engine.

The legal showdown over how much of the Web's vast databases should be shared with the government has pitted the Bush administration against the Mountain-View-based company, which resisted a subpoena to turn over any information because of user privacy and trade secret concerns.

The Justice Department downplayed Google's concerns, arguing it doesn't want any personal information nor any data that would undermine the company's thriving business.

A lawyer for the Justice Department told Ware that the government would like to have a random selection of 50,000 Web addresses and 5,000 random search requests from Google, a small fraction of the millions the government originally sought.

more...

[54anickel]

72. US hails calm world reaction to new mad cow case

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-03-14T190745Z_01_N14356489_RTRUKOC_0_US-MADCOW-USA.xml

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The low-key world reaction to discovery of the third U.S. case of mad cow disease is a sign that trading partners recognize American beef is safe, an Agriculture Department spokesman said on Tuesday.

The new case was an elderly Santa Gertrudis beef cow from a small herd in Alabama and the first found since November 2004. The cow was buried on the farm.

"It was not an animal that got in the (human) food supply. It did not get in the animal feed supply. Our firewalls worked," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns told reporters in Berlin, his third stop on a trip to Europe.

Two major Asian markets said the new U.S. case would not cause any immediate change in plans. South Korea was scheduled to resume U.S. beef purchases in April. Japan and the United States are discussing refinements to U.S. meat inspections.

"I think overall there has been a very measured reaction to the announcement," USDA spokesman Ed Loyd wrote in responses to e-mail questions.

more...

[UpInArms]

74. U.S. January job hires exceed openings - WTF?

http://today.reuters.com/misc/PrinterFriendlyPopup.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=uri:2006-03-14T195649Z_01_N14208830_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-JOBS-OPENINGS-UPDATE-2.XML

WASHINGTON, March 14 (Reuters) - The number of people hired in January exceeded the number of job openings for that month, the U.S. Labor Department said on Tuesday.

January job openings stood at 3.916 million from 3.941 million in December and 3.339 million a year ago, according to the Labor Department's latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). This was the second straight monthly decline in jobs vacancies.

The monthly survey lags many job market gauges, but it has become a more effective measure since the department began to adjust the numbers for seasonal variations in 2004.

<snip>

Declines in construction, manufacturing, education and health services, and government job openings outpaced gains in professional and business services, and in leisure and hospitality, the report showed. Job openings in trade, transportation and utilities remained unchanged.

January hires, any additions to the payroll during the month, stood at 4.768 million, up from 4.694 million last month, but below the 4.840 million for the same period a year ago, the report said.

...more...

Huh? We have no openings, but we'll hire anyway :crazy:

[54anickel]

80. Bwahahaha

has become a more effective measure since the department began to adjust the numbers for seasonal variations in 2004


Guess that depends on your definition of effective. :evilgrin:

[ozymandius]

92. Ain't it great to catch them with their pants down?

Occasionally, without much effort, the bullshit numbers are revealed for what they are.

[UpInArms]

75. Ex-Enron employee says illicit deals were common

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T195316Z_01_N14363905_RTRIDST_0_ENRON-TRIAL-PICTURE.XML

HOUSTON, March 14 (Reuters) - A former Enron Corp. employee who worked under then-chief financial officer Andrew Fastow said illicit finance deals were so common at the company that he never worried about getting caught.

Investment analyst Chris Loehr, testifying on Tuesday in the trial of former Enron chief executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, said the company's accountants turned a blind eye toward most of the misdeeds instead of warning that they skirted the law.

"I knew we were doing things that were wrong; I did not consider myself a criminal though," said Loehr, who worked for Enron from 1999 to 2001, leaving just a few months before the company declared bankruptcy.

"Were you concerned about getting caught?" asked Skilling attorney Daniel Petrocelli during cross-examination.

"Not particularly. The conduct was fairly open and notorious. It was no great secret what we were doing," said Loehr, who has not been charged with a crime, but testified for the prosecution.

<snip>

Backdating documents to get such things as tax benefits was so common that employees jokingly called it "time travel," he said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

77. Dimson says that his rip-off Medicare Plan is a "good deal"!

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T201417Z_01_N14353390_RTRIDST_0_BUSH-MEDICARE.XML

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y., March 14 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush defended the government's new prescription drug program on Tuesday, telling seniors it was a good deal and that initial glitches that angered many were being ironed out.

Republican Party officials are worried that the rocky roll-out of the Medicare drug benefit could hurt their chances in this year's midterm elections.

When the program was launched in January, many elderly people were turned away from pharmacies empty-handed due to computer errors and other enrollment problems.

Poorer seniors had a hard time switching from state-based drug assistance programs to Medicare and many found the array of choices offered under the program bewildering.

<snip>

The Medicare drug plan is among the issues weighing down Bush's approval ratings to the lowest levels of his presidency.

...more...

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

81. U.S. comptroller general warns of fiscal crisis

I got this from another DU post.

http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-03-14T201035Z_01_N14286904_RTRIDST_0_ECONOMY-USA-WALKER.XML

LONDON, March 14 (Reuters) - The United States is headed for a financial crisis unless it alters its course of racking up big budget deficits year after year, Comptroller General David Walker told a British audience on Tuesday.

"If we continue on our present course, a fiscal crisis is only a matter of time," Walker said in the course of an address to the London School of Economics in which he stressed the need for the United States to get its fiscal house in order.

The comptroller general acts as the nation's chief accountability officer and is the head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office, or GAO.

Walker said some combination of reforming so-called entitlement spending like that for health care and Social Security, curbing discretionary spending and possibly changes in tax policy likely will be needed to get deficits under control.

Even then, it will take a considerable period of time and strong political leadership to correct the current situation.

"I think it's going to take 20-plus years before we are ultimately on a prudent and sustainable path," Walker said, partly because so many American consumers take their example from the government.

"Too many Americans are following the lead of the federal government, they are spending more than they take in and are running up debt at record rates," Walker said.

[54anickel]

84. Again? He's been saying this for the past year or so and they still

ignore him. I'm surprised Bush hasn't told him to take a hike yet. Maybe he can't since Clinton appointed him to a 15 year term in 1998 (according to this link http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2005/07/20050726_b_main.asp)

Maybe Bush can't fire him, so he just tells the US media to ignore him instead. I'm surprised Reuters picked this one up. I don't think any of his previous warnings made the MSM.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

91. A Clinton Appointee? - That Explains It

I was reading that, wondering how a King george administration official could be making statements against the "Republic" such as these.

However, now it makes perfect sense. And what better place to makea speech about the problems with the American economy than England. England? Well, we wouldn't want to draw attention to the problems in the U.S., now would we?

[Roland99]

85. Something the WaPo reported on a long time ago >>>>>>>

Almost Unnoticed, Bipartisan Budget Anxiety
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/17/AR2005051701238.html

Not surprisingly, the Heritage and Brookings crowds don't agree on an exact solution to the budget problem, but they seem to accept that, as Sawhill put it, "you can't do it with either spending or taxes. Eventually, you're going to need a mix of the two." Butler wants taxes, now at 17 percent of GDP, not to exceed 20 percent. Sawhill prefers 24 or 25 percent.

But such haggling seems premature when both parties still deny the problem. "I don't think we're there yet," Walker said. "The American people have to understand where we are and where we're headed."

And where is that? "No republic in the history of the world lasted more than 300 years," Walker said. "Eventually, the crunch comes."

He wasn't talking about filibusters.

[54anickel]

87. Yeah, see what I mean....

There were no cameras, not a single microphone, and no evidence of a lawmaker or Bush administration official in the room -- just some hungry congressional staffers and boxes of sandwiches from Corner Bakery. But what the three spoke about will have greater consequences than the current fuss over filibusters and Tom DeLay's travel.

He's been shut out and ignored. Sweep it under the rug.

[Roland99]

88. Just like every other domestic problem and most of the foreign policy ones

See that article on the Iraq plan submitted to the administration?

RawStory has an article on it:

Warnings and Recommendations by Experts and Iraqi Exiles Ignored by Administration
http://www.thememoryhole.org/state/future_of_iraq/

[54anickel]

89. Facts? We don't need no stinkin' facts! They just get in the way!!!

[ozymandius]

93. at the end of the day - all is well

Dow 11,151.34 +75.32 (+0.68%)
Nasdaq 2,295.90 +28.87 (+1.27%)
S&P 500 1,297.48 +13.35 (+1.04%)
10-Yr Bond 46.96 -0.79 (-1.65%)
NYSE Volume 2,165,919,000
Nasdaq Volume 1,948,516,000

4:20 pm : Bonds gave stock investors a reason to buy on Tuesday. The Treasury market has occupied much of the equity market's spotlight lately, and rising yields have stunted a meaningful advance. Today, sharp improvements across the curve relieved the stock market. Virtually every area benefited from a broad-based rally - despite the fact that energy prices surged.

Oversold conditions prompted technical corrections within the Treasury market. Some worse than expected economic reports (Retail Sales and the Current Account) added some steam to that market's improvement. The 10-year note rose 16 ticks and fell to a 4.70% yield. At the close of equity trade on Monday, the benchmark note was yielding 4.76%. Rate-sensitive areas like banking, homebuilding, and utilities soared today, and the Financial sector (+1.2%) led the broader market's advance. For that sector, the investment banking and brokerage industry was the driving force. Before the bell, Goldman Sachs (GS 149.46 +8.74) delivered first quarter earnings that surpassed analysts' expectations by $1.79 per share. The company reported 64.4% top line growth, and upped its quarterly dividend by 40%. The profit that Goldman reported was the highest ever for a Wall Street firm, and news of it helped reverse what had been the early market's bearish sentiment. Its stock surged, and its peers soared in sympathy. Goldman's performance underscores the bullish view we continue to hold on the industry. Eyes are likely to be focused on Lehman Brother's (LEH 145.35 +3.13) report tomorrow.

The Technology sector also contributed spirited leadership. Semiconductors were particularly responsible for the advance, but bargain hunters took almost each tech industry substantially higher. The same was true for Materials (+1.7%). Although metal prices extended their declines, related stocks regained some recently lost ground. Upgraded Phelps Dodge (PD 71.80 +4.36) shares were especially strong, and steel surged. Speaking of a surge, prices across the energy complex extended yesterday's rebound. Expectations for colder weather and ongoing geopolitical tensions are supporting prices, and indications that a major refinery will close for unexpected maintenance drove prices higher. Unlike yesterday, though, that price action did not stifle the market's advance. It led to a supportive 1.9% gain in the Energy sector, and took a back seat to the favorable Treasury market conditions.

Even the most energy-sensitive areas of the market rallied. Transportation issues, led by airlines, rose significantly, and the Industrials sector registered a 1.1% gain. Retailers outperformed. That industry's advance was even more noteworthy in light of today's Retail Sales report. The February decline did not very much surprise the equity market, and an upward revision to January's very strong gain helped temper its effect. Nonetheless, total retail sales declined for the first time in six months, and the decline was worse than expected. As mentioned above, homebuilders were another especially bright spot in the Discretionary sector (+1.1%). Along with falling bond yields, an upgrade on DR Horton (DHI 33.69 +2.14) added momentum.

Procter & Gamble (PG 60.00 -1.98) was the market's sorest spot. The company upped the low-end of its third quarter profit forecast by a penny, raised its dividend 11%, and said that sales growth is trending toward the mid-point of its previously-guided 20-23% range. That guidance was generally in-line with analysts' expectations, but its organic growth target provoked selling. P&G trimmed the high end of its projection by 1% - now anticipating 5-6% organic growth. As the stock has risen nearly 5.5% since the beginning of the year, the slightly lowered growth target gave investors reason to secure some profits. Its decline was effectively offset by solid gains across the rest of the market, though. By the bell, the Consumer Staples sector had managed to pare almost all of its intra-day loss. DJ30 +75.32 NASDAQ +28.87 SP500 +13.35 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1105/1955/1.94 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 857/2401/1.54 bln