STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday October 17

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Wednesday October 17, 2007

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 461 LONG DAYS
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2470 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2188 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2149
Number of Enron Execs in handcuffs = 19
ENRON EXECS CONVICTED = 10
Enron execs conveniently deceased = 3
Other Arrests of Execs = 54

---

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

---

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

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON October 16, 2007

Dow... 13,912.94 -71.86 (-0.51%)
Nasdaq... 2,763.91 -16.14 (-0.58%)
S&P 500... 1,538.53 -10.18 (-0.66%)
Gold future... 762.00 -0.20 (-0.03%)
30-Year Bond 4.91% +0.01 (+0.10%)
10-Yr Bond... 4.66% -0.02 (-0.39%)






GOLD, EURO, YEN, Loonie and Silver

---

PIEHOLE ALERT

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

For information on protests and other actions Citizens For Legitimate Government

---

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. no WrapUp today. Here's a list of Reports due.

8:30 AM CPI Sep
Briefing Forecast 0.2%
Market Expects 0.2%
Prior -0.1%

8:30 AM Core CPI Sep
Briefing Forecast 0.2%
Market Expects 0.2%
Prior0.2%

8:30 AM Housing Starts Sep
Briefing Forecast 1300K
Market Expects 1285K
Prior 1331K

8:30 AM Building Permits Sep
Briefing Forecast 1310K
Market Expects 1300K
Prior 1322K

10:30 AM Crude Inventories 10/12
Briefing Forecast NA
Market Expects NA
Prior -1674K

2:00 PM Fed's Beige Book

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

[UpInArms]

22. 8:30 reports: U.S. Sept. building permits lowest since July 1993

19. U.S. Sept. building permits lowest since July 1993
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

20. U.S. Sept. medical prices up 0.3%
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

21. U.S. Sept. building permits down 7.3% to 1.23 mln
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

22. U.S. Sept. housing starts down 30.8% year-over-year
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

23. U.S. Sept. housing starts weakest since March 1993
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

24. U.S. Sept. housing starts weaker than 1.28 mln expected
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

25. U.S. Sept. housing starts down 10.2% to 1.19 mln
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

26. Social Security COLA expected to be 2.8% for 2008
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

27. U.S. Sept. owners' equivalent rent rises 0.3%
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

28. U.S. Sept. food prices up 0.5%
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

29. U.S. Sept. energy prices up 0.3%
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

30. U.S. CPI up 2.8% in past year, core up 2.1%
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

31. U.S. Sept. core CPI up 0.2% as expected
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

32. U.S. Sept. CPI up 0.3% as expected
8:30 AM ET, Oct 17, 2007 - 1 hour ago

[UpInArms]

26. Consumer prices up sharply in September

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071017/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy

WASHINGTON - Consumer inflation rose at the fastest pace in four months in September, reflecting higher energy and food costs.

The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its closely watched Consumer Price Index increased by 0.3 percent last month as energy costs, which had been falling for three months, posted an increase and food prices jumped by the largest amount since June.

The 0.3 percent CPI increase was slightly above the 0.2 percent advance that economists had been expecting. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, was up a more moderate 0.2 percent, in line with expectations.

In a second report, the Commerce Department said that construction of new homes plunged by 10.2 percent in September, reflecting the deepening troubles in housing.

The bigger-than-expected decline pushed construction down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.191 million units.

...more...

[UpInArms]

27. Home starts at 14 year low, CPI up on energy

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071017/bs_nm/usa_economy_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. home construction starts fell in September to their lowest level in more than 14 years, while consumer prices rose at the sharpest rate in four months, separate reports showed on Wednesday.

Weak housing data boosted U.S. government bond prices and the U.S. dollar slipped versus euro and yen as some investors saw the data as a sign of continuing headwinds for the economy.

U.S. stocks were still expected to open higher with investors more focused on healthy corporate profit reports.

"We knew housing was weak, but these numbers show another pretty big drop, so the sector remains soft overall," said Shaun Osborne, senior currency strategist at TS Securities in Toronto.

U.S. home construction starts fell 10.2 percent in September, while building permit activity, a sign of future construction plans, also dropped to the lowest level since mid-1993, a government report on Wednesday showed.

The Commerce Department said housing starts set an annual pace of 1.191 million units in September, lower than the 1.285 million units expected by economists. It was the lowest pace for housing starts since the March 1993 rate of 1.083 million units.

...more...

[ozymandius]

2. Oil prices drop to mid-$87 in Asia

SINGAPORE - Oil prices retreated Wednesday in Asia from record highs above $88 a barrel overnight amid expectations a fuel report due later in the day would show U.S. crude and gasoline stocks rose last week.

Prices remained supported by concerns a Turkish incursion into Iraq in search of Kurdish rebels could disrupt crude supplies.

-cut-

Light, sweet crude for November delivery dropped 10 cents to $87.51 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract rose $1.48 to close at a record $87.61 a barrel Tuesday in the U.S. after rising as high as $88.20, a trading record.

Oil prices have also been driven higher by recent reports from the U.S. Energy Department, the International Energy Agency and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries suggesting oil supplies are flat or falling as demand is growing.

-cut-

Traders were turning their attention to the U.S. Energy Department's midweek petroleum supply snapshot to be released later Wednesday. Crude oil and gasoline stockpiles were expected to have increased 1 million barrels each for the week ended Oct. 12, according to the mean forecast in a Dow Jones Newswires survey of analysts.

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

[ozymandius]

8. Crude Oil Falls on Speculation U.S. Inventories Increased

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell from near a record in New York on speculation U.S. inventories gained and as concern eased over the possibility of supply disruptions should Turkey attack Kurdish militants in Iraq.

An Energy Department report today will probably show U.S. oil supplies rose 1.05 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey of 16 analysts. Oil prices have climbed 11 percent in the previous six days on concerns of a Turkish attack on Kurdish rebels hiding in Iraq, holders of the world's third- largest oil reserves.

-cut-

Crude oil for November delivery declined as much as 66 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $86.95 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $87.30 at 3:22 p.m. in Singapore.

The contract rose $1.48, or 1.7 percent, to $87.61 yesterday, a record close.

-cut-

World oil and fuel stockpiles fell below the five-year average in September, the International Energy Agency reported last week. Still, U.S. crude oil inventories held 320.1 million barrels on Oct. 5, 8.3 percent above the five-year average for the period, the Energy Department said last week.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aDJRq9x0t1Yc&refer=germany

[ozymandius]

10. Alaska gets tough on Big Oil

(Fortune Magazine) -- First the good news: Alaska's North Slope may hold 235 trillion cubic feet of untapped natural gas. Now the bad news: There's no pipeline to carry it 3,600 miles across the tundra to U.S. and Canadian consumers. And while today's natural-gas prices could support the $25 billion pricetag, a staredown between Alaska's governor and Big Oil may scuttle the plan to build one.

Alaska's new governor, Sarah Palin, 43, was elected last November on a simple platform: Get a natural-gas pipeline built on Alaska's terms. The previous governor had negotiated a deal with the North Slope producers - Exxon (Charts, Fortune 500), BP (Charts), and ConocoPhillips (Charts, Fortune 500) - to build a pipe from Prudhoe Bay to the Lower 48. In exchange the state would reduce their taxes by 5%.

Governor Palin doesn't think Big Oil needs such inducements. With a pipeline delivering 4.5 billion cubic feet a day to market, the producers stand to gross up to $1 billion a year each at current prices.

-cut-

The plan could backfire, costing the people of Alaska future revenue. Why? North Slope producers may skip the open-bidding process in hope of getting back the terms of the state's original deal. "As far as we know, they're not going to apply," says Ron Brintnell, director of gas development at Enbridge, a Calgary-based pipeline builder.

-cut-

If indeed there are no bids, Governor Palin has options, including suing the producers or having the state finance the pipeline. But those remedies would add to what will already be at least a seven-year build time for the pipe and possibly even drive costs beyond the point at which it would make economic sense to extract the gas.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/16/news/companies/alaska_pipeline.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2007101703

[UpInArms]

30. Oil eases towards $87 after record run

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/markets_oil_dc

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Wednesday as traders took profits from the previous session's rally to a new record high above $88 a barrel.

The surge, driven by an inflow of investor money, tension in northern Iraq and tight fuel supplies in the United States, has taken prices near their inflation-adjusted peak of 1980.

U.S. officials fear damage to an economy already coping with fall-out from the subprime loan crisis.

After surging more than 10 percent in six straight days of gains, U.S. crude fell 31 cents to $87.30 at 5:20 a.m. EDT. Prices gained $1.48 on Tuesday and touched a new intra-day high of $88.20, their third record peak in a row.

London Brent crude fell 35 cents to $83.20.

"The market is still very much focused on the Turkey-Iraq tensions for the short-term but I believe it is overvalued by at least $10 and will probably come off within the week," said Makoto Takeda of Tokyo's Bansei Securities.

...more...

[UpInArms]

42. Crude oil futures hit new record high at $89

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/crude-oil-futures-hit-new/story.aspx?guid=%7B76041EB4%2D38F7%2D48A1%2D9A9C%2DFEB832A47530%7D

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude oil futures surged to a new intraday record of $89 on Wednesday after news reports that the Turkish parliament authorized cross-border military offensive into northern Iraq to hunt down Kurdish rebels. "While this result was widely expected, it appears the oil market will use any bullish news to continue to rally," noted analysts at Action Economics. After its spike to a new high, crude again quickly pared gains and was last up 75 cents at $88.36.

[ozymandius]

3. Cisco probed in Brazil tax scheme

SAO PAULO, Brazil, Oct. 17, 2007 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Authorities raided Brazilian offices of Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) , the world's largest manufacturer of computer network equipment, in an investigation of an alleged scheme to avoid duties on products shipped from offshore tax havens.

Police and tax agents also arrested dozens of people Tuesday and searched homes of Brazilians involved in the alleged plot. A former top Cisco executive for Brazil is among those under investigation, according to a statement issued by Federal Judge Alexandre Cassetari. The statement did not name the executive.

-cut-

About 650 agents executed 93 search warrants, arresting 40 people allegedly involved in the ring to avoid import, sales and corporate taxes, federal police said in a statement. Police declined to name the company, but Cassetari said in the statement that Cisco was the corporation that benefited from the alleged scheme.

Authorities also seized $10 million in merchandise, a commercial jet, 18 vehicles and the equivalent of nearly $400,000 in Brazilian and U.S. currency during the raids, tax officials said in a separate statement.

No charges were immediately filed, but the judge said those involved used bogus documents and specified unreasonably low prices on imports of electronic and telecommunications products to avoid duties.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-20285370.htm

[ozymandius]

4. Intel 3Q Earnings Beat Expectations

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Intel Corp.'s soaring sales of microprocessors helped the company overcome flat prices for those chips and reap a 43 percent boost in profits in the third quarter.

Now analysts are turning their focus to whether demand for Intel's chips will hold up in the holiday season. They are debating whether PC makers overestimated their needs and bought too many chips, which could lead to a backlog and then a slowdown. Some say the market is cranking along as well as Intel believes and the chip maker's sales will continue to be robust, driven by strong PC sales worldwide.

Intel's microprocessors act as the brains of those computers.

-cut-

Intel said it earned $1.86 billion, or 31 cents per share, in the three months ended in September. That beat by a penny the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, and it's 43 percent higher than the $1.3 billion, or 22 cents per share, Intel earned in the year-ago period.

http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&Date=20071017&ID=7182352

[ozymandius]

5. Toyota slips behind rivals in auto reliability survey

DETROIT - Asian brands continue to trounce their domestic rivals in Consumer Reports' annual survey of vehicle reliability, but Toyota's scores are falling while Ford is making its most reliable vehicles in years, the non-profit group said Tuesday.

Honda Motor and its luxury Acura nameplate topped this year's list, which predicts the reliability of 2008 model year vehicles based on past performance. Hummer and Land Rover were the least reliable. The top-rated domestic brand was Buick, which was 10th.

The ratings, which are based on surveys of approximately 1 million online and print subscribers to Consumer Reports magazine, are closely watched by automakers because of their influence on car buyers. This year's survey was conducted in the spring and covered 1.3 million vehicles from the 1998 to 2007 model years.

http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_7200768

[ozymandius]

6. Homebuilder outlook falls to record low

WASHINGTON (AP) - Homebuilders are getting gloomier about the slumping housing market, as a 22-year-old index that tracks their sentiment set a new record low Tuesday.

The National Association of Home Builders said its housing market index, which tracks builders' perceptions of conditions and expectations for home sales over the next six months, fell two points to 18 in October, the lowest level since the index began in Jan. 1985. It was the eighth straight monthly decline.

The consensus forecast of economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR was for a reading of 19.

Index readings higher than 50 indicate positive sentiment. The seasonally adjusted index has been below 50 since May 2006.

The report came as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, in a speech at Georgetown University's law school, said the housing market correction is persisting for longer than expected and appears likely to 'continue to adversely impact our economy, our capital markets and many homeowners for some time yet.' Declines in builder confidence were seen across the country, except for the Midwest, which increased by two points but remained the weakest region nationwide.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-20279868.htm

[ozymandius]

7. Child health: to compromise or stand firm

WASHINGTON -- Faced with the likelihood that they will fall short in their effort to overturn President Bush's veto of a popular health insurance program for children, congressional Democrats are confronting a difficult choice about what to do next.

Should they come up with a cheaper, scaled-back version that Bush might accept? Or should they continue to press for the full $60-billion plan Congress has passed, hoping to pressure more Republicans into breaking from the White House?

The answer could determine whether a rare bipartisan collaboration around a healthcare issue in Congress breaks down into the kind of party-line stalemate that has dominated the congressional scene in recent years.

The override vote in the House is scheduled for Thursday. Some Republicans are expected to vote against Bush, but not enough to give the bill's supporters the two-thirds majority required to override a presidential veto.

-cut-

Now, these Democrats say, they want to keep sending the congressional bill back to the White House again and again. That would wear down the opposition, they argue, by forcing Republican lawmakers to make politically unpopular votes as the 2008 election approaches.

http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-kids17oct17,1,2290427.story?coll=la-headlines-health&track=crosspromo

[ozymandius]

9. Techs bolster confidence

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks appeared poised for a higher opening Wednesday, with technology stocks looking to lead the way on Wall Street after a batch of upbeat earnings in the sector.

A string of tech companies, including Yahoo (Charts, Fortune 500), Intel (Charts, Fortune 500) and IBM (Charts, Fortune 500), posted quarterly results late Tuesday that exceeded Wall Street's estimates, and helped lift futures higher in early trading Wednesday.

-cut-

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com are forecasting the Consumer Price Index, the government's key measure of inflation on the retail level, gained 0.2 percent in September after a 0.1 percent decline in August. The more closely watched core CPI, which strips out the effect of volatile food and energy prices, is also seen climbing 0.2 percent, the same gain posted the previous month.

A higher than expected inflation reading could damage hopes of another Federal Reserve rate cut at its Oct. 31 meeting, while a better than forecast report could raise hopes that the central bank has a green light to cut rates.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/17/markets/stockswatch_ny/index.htm?postversion=2007101706

[ozymandius]

11. Good morning folks.

:donut: :donut: :donut:

Time to earn a few pennies. Have fun rolling the dice.

Ozy :hi:

[AnneD]

36. Morning Marketeers....

:donut: and lurkers. It's an Indian Summer Day here. Our Indian Summer Days involve high humidity here so we don't wax quite as poetic about them. Last month was the harvest moon. That was the moon that gives you the extra light to harvest the crops-in the days before lights on tractors. This month is the hunters moon-the last chance to hunt extra game to tide you over for the winter. I may have mentioned that in this area-I grew up hearing the old timers call it the Indian Moon (Apache, Kiowa, Comanche etc). Settlers had to be prepared to deal with Indians traveling back to their winter grounds. War parties would capture horses, cattle, and more than a few women and children on their way back. It was the way back then. But I think my favorite name of the moon is in January. It is called the wolf moon. If you have ever lived in a cold, snowy, desolate region of the country, you've heard the winter night's stillness broken by a pack of wolves baying at the moon. Our ancestors used their resources much more efficently than we do today....

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

[ozymandius]

52. Great story Anne.

We have coyotes where I grew up. I can recall their howls on a crisp cold night. Thanks for jogging that memory.

:hi:

[Demeter]

12. Silicon Valley Start-Ups Awash in Dollars, Again / NYTimes

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/17/business/media/17bubble.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

October 17, 2007
Silicon Valley Start-Ups Awash in Dollars, Again
By BRAD STONE and MATT RICHTEL
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 16 — Silicon Valley’s math is getting fuzzy again.

Internet companies with funny names, little revenue and few customers are commanding high prices. And investors, having seemingly forgotten the pain of the first dot-com bust, are displaying symptoms of the disorder known as irrational exuberance.

Consider Facebook, the popular but financially unproven social network, which is reportedly being valued by investors at up to $15 billion. That is nearly half the value of Yahoo, a company with 38 times the number of employees and, based on estimates of Facebook’s income, 32 times the revenue.

Google, which recently surged past $600 a share, is now worth more than I.B.M., a company with eight times the revenue.

More broadly, Internet start-ups are drawing investment based on their ability to build an audience, not bring in revenue — the very alchemy that many say led to the inflation and bursting of the dot-com bubble.

[Ghost Dog]

13. Nikkei down 1.1 pct, banks weigh on market

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20071017:MTFH31101_2007-10-17_06-09-13_TKG002893&type=comktNews&rpc=44

TOKYO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average fell 1.1 percent on Wednesday as financial stocks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T: Quote, NEWS , Research) continued to be a major drag after Wall Street slipped in the wake of poor bank earnings.

Sanyo Electric (6764.T: Quote, NEWS , Research) sank 6.1 percent on news that it was giving up on the sale of its struggling semiconductor unit after private equity firm Advantage Partners LLP failed to secure funds for the deal amid tight credit markets.

The benchmark Nikkei average <.N225> ended down 182.61 points at 16,955.31. The broader TOPIX index <.TOPX> was down by 1.5 percent at 1,600.29.

[Ghost Dog]

14. Hong Kong shares rise 1.2 pct, China Mobile up

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20071017:MTFH33288_2007-10-17_08-08-30_HKF078630&type=comktNews&rpc=44

HONG KONG, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Hong Kong blue chips rose 1.19 percent on Wednesday as investors bought shares of large-caps including China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile , Research) after the market declined sharply following a record run.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index <.HSI> ended at 29,298.71.

The China Enterprises index of H-shares <.HSCE>, or Hong Kong-listed shares in mainland companies, finished up 0.49 percent at 19,536.34.

[Ghost Dog]

15. Indian Stocks, Rupee Slump; Regulator Proposes Investment Curbs

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a9rLcbyr6xTo&refer=asia

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- India's stocks tumbled, shutting down the Bombay Stock Exchange for an hour, and the rupee fell the most in two months after regulators proposed restrictions on investments favored by global hedge funds.

The benchmark Sensex index dropped as much as 9.2 percent after the Securities & Exchange Board of India said late yesterday it plans to limit trading by investors who buy shares anonymously, using derivatives known as participatory notes. Record share purchases had driven the Sensex up 38 percent this year to an all-time high and fueled a 12.5 percent gain in the rupee against the dollar.

Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said the rules were aimed at moderating capital inflows that fueled a ``very steep rise'' in stocks. The central bank bought a record $39.9 billion in the eight months through August to curb gains in the rupee that have reduced earnings at exporters including Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., the country's biggest software maker.

``They want to limit the rate of flow in the market, which has been accelerating,'' said Tathagata Guha Roy, who helps manage $1 billion for Alliance Trust Plc in Hong Kong. ``There's a lot of new, hot money out there that's come in.''

The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index of 30 companies, or Sensex, fell as low as 17,307.90, before trading down 4.1 percent at 18,276.70 as of 12:20 p.m. in Mumbai. ICICI Bank Ltd., India's biggest lender by market value, fell as much as 12.5 percent and traded 7.6 percent lower at 1069.15 rupees. Reliance Industries Ltd., the nation's biggest company, dropped 3 percent to 2568 rupees, rebounding from a 14 percent slump.

The rupee fell as much as 1.6 percent to 39.97 per dollar before trading at 39.715, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The currency reached 39.27 on Oct. 11, the highest since February 1998.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

19. ... limit trading by investors who buy shares anonymously ... uh huh.

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/071017/afp/071017075145business.html

...

Dealers said the move was an attempt to stem a surge of overseas investment into the market that pushed the Sensex up by more than 3,000 points in less than a month and pushed the rupee to a near decade high against the dollar.

"The market has reacted nervously to a proposed regulatory move. This is the first step towards tighter norms for overseas funds, which is healthy," said Shitin Desai, executive vice chairman of DSP Merill Lynch.

India also allows foreign institutional investors to buy shares directly.

Overseas funds surged into the market after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark rate by 50 basis points in mid-September and have pumped in a record 16.73 billion dollars since the start of 2007.

The rupee has gained more than 11 percent against the dollar since the start of 2007 to 39.31 at the close on Tuesday, but had weakened to 39.90 early Wednesday.

Investors, overseas and domestic, have eyed India's booming economy which expanded 9.3 percent in the first quarter ended June while inflation hit a five-year low 3.26 percent last month.

This has raised hopes of a rate cut by the central bank at its next monetary policy review at the end of October.

Earlier this week, the finance ministry had voiced caution over the rapid stock market, as well as the rupees gains which have eroded exporter earnings.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

16. Philippine shares close lower on worry over US economy, record oil prices

http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/10/17/afx4228172.html

MANILA (Thomson Financial) - Philippine shares closed weaker Wednesday for the second straight day on worries about the health of the US economy and record high oil prices.

Most sectors ended in negative territory, although small miners and companies engaged in alternative energy production were in demand.

Also bucking the market's overall weakness was I-Remit, a Philippine-owned non-bank remittance company, which outperformed on its trading debut.

At the close, the composite index was down 55.18 points or 1.5 percent at a two-week low of 3,760.04, off its session low of 3,757.74. The broader all-share index fell 29.64 points or 1.2 percent to 2,364.69. there were 90 decliners and 29 gainers, while 53 stocks were steady. A total of 4.2 billion shares worth 4.9 billion pesos was traded.

'Corporate earnings in the US indicate that there's really something wrong with the economy,' said Nestor Aguila, president of DA Market Securities.

...

The US is one of the Philippines' biggest trading partners. The world's biggest economy accounted for nearly a fifth of the Philippines' exports in August.

The sustained rise in oil prices was another negative for the market. Crude oil prices climbed to a record 88.20 US dollars a barrel in US trading Tuesday before easing slightly in Asian trading. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, was 14 cents lower in late morning trade Wednesday at 87.47 dollars a barrel.

'Prospects of further (interest) rate cuts in the future are being jeopardized by the rising cost of crude oil,' said Jose Vistan, research director at AB Capital Securities. 'The Bernanke warning revived nervousness in the market, but the unrelenting surge of oil prices is a major factor, especially since the Philippines is an oil-dependent country,' he said.

Manila's key index has retreated by nearly 137 points or 3.5 percent since October 8, when it reached a trading high of 3,896.74.

'While there's been a lot of profit-taking going on in our market, I think that's pretty normal. The market's uptrend is still intact,' said Aguila of DA Market Securities.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

17. Foreign Investors Flee US Securities

In DU LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3031177
Source: The Financial Times

Foreign investors slashed their holdings of US securities by a record amount as the credit squeeze intensified, according to the latest Treasury figures.

The Treasury International Capital report - known as the Tic - for August will be closely watched because it appears amid growing concerns about the weakness of the US dollar, which hit a record low recently against a basket of major currencies.

"The bad news is that plainly show how vulnerable the dollar is to a continuation of the credit crunch-risk averse environment," said Alan Ruskin, chief international strategist at RBS Greenwich Capital. "There is no way to get away from the lack of corporate bond inflows, the foreign selling of US equities and the countervailing strong US purchases of foreign equities and bonds."

The Treasury said net sales of US market assets - including bonds, notes and equities - were $69.3bn in August after a revised inflow of $19.5bn during July. The August outflow exceeded the previous record decline of $21.2bn in March 1990.

Until now, US policymakers have appeared relatively relaxed about the dollar's decline, since there has been little sign to date that this has been been triggered by a broader global aversion to US assets. However, that attitude could change if signs emerge in the coming months that non-US investors are becoming more nervous about holding dollar assets, as a result of the recent credit squeeze.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

47. Morningstar Reports Third-Quarter 2007 Hedge Fund Performance

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQTU02516102007-1.htm

CHICAGO, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Morningstar, Inc. , a leading provider of independent investment research, today reported a summary of hedge fund performance for the third quarter of 2007. Hedge funds in Morningstar's database returned an average of 2.44% over the third quarter of 2007, outperforming the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World Index in U.S. dollars. September gains of 3.7% overcame poor performance in July and August of 0.42% and negative 1.63%, respectively.

Another strong quarter in developing markets paved the way for emerging-markets hedge funds to earn 7.48% (in U.S. dollars). Considering that the MSCI Emerging Markets Index returned 13.7%, however, emerging-markets hedge funds failed to participate fully in that sector's surge. Much of the quarter's gains came in September, when the index hit an all-time high.

Global macro funds earned a respectable 3.57%. Those funds that bet against the U.S. dollar benefited from its record low against several currencies, most notably the euro, in September. Commodities (wheat, oil, and gold) recorded record monthly gains in September, which helped managed futures hedge funds offset losses from a volatile July and August. These funds ended up gaining 2.22% over the quarter.

Global merger and acquisition dollar volume dropped between the second and third quarter of 2007, according to investment banking information provider Dealogic, as credit markets that had been used to fund deals tightened. Spreads on announced deals widened, making it a risky quarter for merger arbitrage funds, which lost 0.07% in the quarter. Similarly, corporate-event-driven funds posted a negative 1.6% return.

Widening spreads also hurt convertible arbitrage funds, with their long convertible bond exposure. These funds earned only 1.21% for the quarter. Fixed-income arbitrage funds fared better at 3.04%. Distressed funds suffered substantially during the market turmoil, losing 2.86% over the quarter.

High volatility proved a boon for equity net neutral funds trading equity volatility with options. This category returned 3.03% over the quarter. Equity variable funds, those that have net-short exposure to the market at times, also prospered with a 3.13% return. On the other hand, stock market volatility hit equity net-long funds hard in August, allowing only a 1.46% return over the same three months.

Multi-strategy funds matched the return of funds of hedge funds at 1.55%.

"Overall, September gains led to positive third-quarter results. Emerging markets and global macro funds prospered, while distressed and event-driven funds struggled," said Morningstar Hedge Fund Analyst Nadia Van Dalen.

Morningstar has approximately 7,500 hedge funds and funds of hedge funds, grouped into 15 categories, in its database. Quarterly performance is based on data from funds that reported returns to Morningstar as of Oct. 11, 2007.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

49. Japan and China lead flight from the dollar

Source: UK Telegraph
In DU LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3032004
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor
Last Updated: 5:21pm BST 17/10/2007

Japan and China led a record withdrawl of foreign funds from the United States in August, heightening fears of a fresh slide in the dollar and a spike in US bond yields.
# Fears of dollar collapse as Saudis take fright
# China threatens `nuclear option' of dollar sales
# Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: This bear is not capitulating

Data from the US Treasury showed outflows of $163bn (£80bn) from all forms of US investments. "These numbers are absolutely stunning," said Marc Ostwald, an economist at Insinger de Beaufort.

Asian investors dumped $52bn worth of US Treasury bonds alone, led by Japan ($23bn), China ($14.2bn) and Taiwan ($5bn). It is the first time since 1998 that foreigners have, on balance, sold Treasuries.

Mr Ostwald warned that US bond yields could start to rise again unless the outflows reverse quickly. "Woe betide US Treasuries if inflation does not remain benign," he said.

The release comes a day after the IMF warned that the dollar was still overvalued and likely to face "some depreciation in the medium term".

The dollar's short-lived rally over recent days stopped abruptly on the data, increasing pressure on US Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to shore up Washington's "strong dollar" rhetoric at the G7 summit this week.

The Greenback has already fallen below parity against the Canadian Loonie for the first time since 1976 and has touched record lows against a global basket. It closed at $2.032 against the pound.

David Woo, an analyst at Barclays Capital, said Washington was happy to see the dollar slide. "They don't care so long as the fall is not disorderly. They see it as a way of correcting the deficit. " he said.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

18. European stocks gain strongly after JPMorgan

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=eurMktRpt&storyID=2007-10-17T113145Z_01_L17547692_RTRIDST_0_MARKETS-EUROPE-STOCKS-GAINS-URGENT.XML

PARIS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - European stocks gained ground around midday on Wednesday after JPMorgan Chase's (JPM.N: Quote, Profile , Research) better-than-expected results calmed worries over the impact of a squeeze in credit markets.

At 1121 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares was up 0.6 percent at 1,585.25 points.

/..

[Ghost Dog]

46. Europe stocks rebound on results; M&A boosts brewers

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?type=comktNews&storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20071017:MTFH47367_2007-10-17_17-02-39_L17540122&pageNumber=0&imageid=&cap=&sz=13&WTModLoc=HybArt-C1-ArticlePage2

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - European share indexes rose on Wednesday, as generally upbeat results from U.S. heavyweights and Dutch electronic chip equipment maker ASML (ASML.AS: Quote, Profile , Research) whetted investor appetite for financials and technology stocks.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> ended up 0.6 percent at 1,585.23, rebounding from the previous session when a profit warning from Ericsson (ERICb.ST: Quote, Profile , Research) battered the technology sector.

On Wednesday techs came back strongly, inspired by ASML, which rose 8.2 percent after third-quarter bookings rebounded, and by solid earnings overnight from U.S. technology bellwethers Intel (INTC.O: Quote, Profile , Research) and Yahoo (YHOO.O: Quote, Profile , Research).

Meanwhile forecast-beating profits from U.S. investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile , Research) cheered European investors who have grappled with negative news from the financial sector in the past three months as the credit crunch takes its toll.

RBS (RBS.L: Quote, Profile , Research) gained 3.4 percent, Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile , Research) ended up 0.7 percent, and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA: Quote, Profile , Research) is 0.5 percent higher.

But the top gainer was brewer Scottish and Newcastle (SCTN.L: Quote, Profile , Research) which jumped 19 percent after Carlsberg (CARLb.CO: Quote, Profile , Research) and Heineken (HEIN.AS: Quote, Profile , Research) said they were discussing a possible joint cash bid for the British brewer. Carlsberg rose 1.7 percent and Heineken gained 1.1 percent.

...

Across Europe, Germany's DAX <.GDAXI> gained 0.3 percent, Britain's FTSE .FTSE rose nearly 1 percent and France's CAC 40 <.FCHI> gained 0.77 percent.

/...

[Ghost Dog]

20. US Stocks poised to rebound on earnings

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071017/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/wall_street;_ylt=AhMXGwyBzwe9GJSUaVM8U_eyBhIF

NEW YORK - Wall Street was poised for a rebound Wednesday after a number of key earnings reports, including those from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Yahoo Inc., toppled Wall Street expectations.

The Labor Department's consumer price index for September had little effect on stock index futures trading, coming in close to analyst expectations.

Strong results from members of the Dow Jones industrial average helped encourage investors that the third quarter might come in better than expected. Investors were encouraged by results from JPMorgan, Altria Group Inc., United Technologies Group Inc., and Coca-Cola Co.

Technology shares were set to lead the Nasdaq higher after robust earnings from Intel Corp., Yahoo Inc., and International Business Machines Corp. late Tuesday. The reports helped restore confidence among investors in what had so far been a mixed earnings period.

Stocks slid Tuesday after banks including Wells Fargo & Co. and KeyCorp reported disappointing quarterly results due to the ongoing credit crisis. Meanwhile, investors were also spooked after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the housing slump may drag on through next year.

Dow futures rose 73.00, or 0.51 percent, to 14,045. Standard & Poor's index futures rose 9.40, or 0.61 percent, to 1,557.30. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 20.25, or 0.93 percent, to 2,196.50.

Beyond earnings, investors absorbed two economic reports released before the open that appeared to give the Fed more wiggle room in cutting rates. Central bankers will next meet Oct. 30-31.

U.S. consumer prices rose modestly last month, suggesting that inflation risks linger, but likely wouldn't get in the way of an interest rate cut. The consumer price index rose 0.3 percent in September, reversing August's 0.1 percent decline. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, advanced 0.2 percent for a fourth-straight month.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said new home construction slowed to the weakest pace in 14 years during September. Housing starts plunged 10.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted 1.191 million annual rate, after falling 3.2 percent in August to 1.327 million.

Investors are still waiting for the Fed to release its Beige Book report at 2 p.m. EDT. The report gauges regional economic conditions based on data gathered by the Fed's 12 regional district banks.

/...

[DemReadingDU]

21. Mike Whitney: It's Time For The Banks To Face The Hangman

How bad is it?

An article in yesterday’s Financial Times said that, “Only $9.9 billion of home equity loan securitizations have come to market since July 1---A 95% DECLINE FROM THE $200.9 BILLION IN THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR AND A ROUGHLY 92% DECREASE FROM THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.”

The banks are in trouble. Big trouble. Main sources of revenue have dried up overnight and they’re stuck with hundreds of billions of debt. That’s why the papers broke the story on Saturday when there was NO chance of triggering a stock market crash.

Imagine the horror of investors around the world when they discover that the major investment banks are running these shabby “off-balance sheets” operations while concealing their real financial condition from their investors. Consider the disgust the public feels when they see Treasury officials bailing out the banks instead of ordering them to report their losses and get on with business.
.
.
.
The banks are being crushed by a debt-load they generated through “securitization”. They need to accept responsibility for their poor judgment (or greed?) and report their losses. The Super-Conduit is just a dodge to put off the unavoidable day of reckoning. The whole wretched plan should be scrapped. No amount of financial chicanery will eradicate billions of dollars in bad bets. It’s time for the banks to face the hangman.

much more...
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18565.htm

[Amonester]

28. Too many 'good-paying' pukclicans in these banks' high-places.

Their pal$ at the dollor-printing presses owe them.

[UpInArms]

23. dollar watch

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

Last trade 78.059 Change -0.149 (-0.19%)

Dollar Sees New Life on Stock Market Losses

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/Dollar_Sees_New_Life_on_1192567553752.html

The US dollar is stronger across the board as stock market losses override weaker economic data. The rally in the US dollar has little to do with rate cut expectations because the probability of a cut at the end of this month has actually increased over the past 48 hours from 32 percent to 36 percent. Instead, the rally is a reflection of rising risk aversion as traders once again bail out of risky high yielding assets ahead of tomorrow’s consumer price report. According to the Treasury International Capital report, net foreign capital outflows reached the highest level in 17 years. Unsurprisingly, the credit crunch in the month of August sent foreigners rushing of US equities. Industrial production was in line with expectations but the prior number was revised lower. The housing market continues to struggle as builder confidence falls to another record low in October. However, whether or not the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at the end of the month is still up in the air. The minutes from the emergency Fed meeting held in August at which the discount rate was cut by 50bp reveals that Fed members were split on the severity of credit crunch. Although these minutes are from the August meeting and not the September 18 meeting, it does suggest that the Federal Reserve may not be as dovish as everyone thinks. Tomorrow’s consumer price report will play a major role in determining if the US is faced with stagflation. Oil prices continue to be persistently high and as a result, we expect inflationary pressures to be evident in headline and core prices for many months to come. With growth still steady, this will be one of the primary reasons why the Federal Reserve will deliver a treat instead of a trick to the markets on Halloween by opting to leave interest rates steady.

...more...

US Fed: Will The Weak US Dollar Prevent The FOMC From Cutting Rates?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/topheadline/US_Fed__Will_The_Weak_1192555155711.html

Federal Reserve policy makers have defended their September 18th actions as being “preemptive”, as even Fed Chairman Bernanke remains concerned that the market’s recovery may take quite a bit of time. However, with inflation risks mounting amidst the massive depreciation of the US Dollar and prices for energy and food rocketing higher, it appears that the FOMC may not have the option of loosening monetary policy further and explains why futures are only pricing in a 36 percent chance of a rate cut on October 31st.

Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve Chairman (Voting Member)

“By doing more sooner, policy might be able to forestall some part of the potential adverse effects of the disruptions in financial markets.” – October 16, 2007

“Conditions in financial markets have shown improvement since the worst of the storm in mid-August, but a full recovery of market functioning is likely to take time, and we may well see some setbacks…The ultimate implications of financial developments for the cost and availability of credit, and thus for the broader economy, remain uncertain. For now, the Federal Reserve will continue to watch the situation closely and will act as needed to support efficient market functioning and to foster sustainable economic growth and price stability.” – October 16, 2007

“One cannot deny that when the US Dollar depreciates there is some inflationary impact.” – October 16, 2007

Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President (Non-Voting Member)

“The Fed's larger-than-usual rate cut on September 18 was forward-looking and preemptive.” – October 10, 2007

“…we do still face some inflation risks, mainly due to faster increases in unit labor costs and the depreciation of the US Dollar, and these will need to be watched carefully…the US Dollar’s decline has had surprisingly little impact on import prices and will probably continue to do so as long as inflation expectations remain well anchored.” – October 10, 2007

William Poole, St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President (Voting Member)

“The September employment report does not suggest that the downside risk is occurring.” – October 10, 2007

“The depreciation of the US Dollar is something that we cannot explain…I do not see any implication for inflation, at least with the magnitude of the depreciation that we've seen so far. I did not see any evidence of a raft of US Dollar price increases for foreign goods, with the exception obviously of commodities…But for manufactured goods, I think the pass-through is very, very small.” – October 10, 2007

...more...

[Buttercup McToots]

25. USD $77.98 @ 9:44 am

Good Morning
:donut:

[UpInArms]

31. methinks we shall go dumpster diving soon

:hi:

[ozymandius]

51. I hear the dumpster outside Domino's Pizza is full of yummy goodness.

And by saying that -- I call 'dibs'.

:hi:

[UpInArms]

24. Fed likely to cut rates to 3.75 percent: PIMCO's Gross

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071016/bs_nm/usa_markets_pimco_gross_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve will cut interest rates again but probably not at the October policy-making meeting, said Bill Gross, manager of the world's biggest bond fund on Tuesday.

The Fed's target rate for federal funds is on a downward track because of slower economic growth, said Gross, the chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co. or PIMCO, speaking on CNBC television.

"The Fed needs to cut interest rates probably as low as 3.75 (percent) before we are all done," he said.

"(Interest rates) need to be based upon where housing is going, based upon where retail sales are going and where the consumer is," said Gross.

Depending on the U.S. economy's rate of growth, Fed policy-makers could cut interest rates by 100 basis points over the next six to nine months, he said.

...more...

[UpInArms]

29. Liar Watch: Economic fundamentals strong: Kimmitt

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071017/bs_nm/usa_economy_kimmitt_dc

BERLIN (Reuters) - The U.S. economy's fundamentals are strong even though the housing market decline is slowing the expansion, Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt said on Wednesday.

"Despite the strong fundamentals, the housing decline is still unfolding," Kimmitt told a press briefing in Berlin. "The U.S. economy has strong underlying fundamentals even as growth is slowing due to the housing market."

The U.S. government is also trying to think about ways to protect solvent homeowners from losing their homes, while avoiding any kind of rescue of the financial sector, he said.

"This is not any kind of bailout. But we have to be mindful of the fact that we have to encourage home ownership."

Kimmitt declined to speak about the U.S. dollar but said China should speed up its transition to a currency that reflects the state of its economy, adding that currencies in general should be valued in open, competitive markets.

...more...

[UpInArms]

32. JPMorgan to trim some jobs, but nothing drastic

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSWEN172520071017

Research), which recently cut about 100 investment banking jobs, expects further trimming of its work force, but will look to add positions in growth areas, Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday.

Dimon told reporters on a conference call that the third-largest U.S. bank has been adding people throughout the company. But Dimon also said there will be some trimming of jobs.

...a bit more with soothing sounds for those that are about to lose their jobs...

[UpInArms]

33. Angry Fremont General investor seeks open auction

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1726387320071017

NEW YORK, Oct 17 (Reuters) - A disgruntled shareholder in Fremont General Corp (FMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has urged the savings and loan, which stopped offering subprime mortgages in March, to end "unproductive" talks to renegotiate an $80 million investment from a group led by Texas billionaire Gerald J. Ford.

Amalgamated Gadget LP, which said it owned 8.3 percent of Fremont's shares and is controlled by the investor Geoffrey Raynor, said it was prepared to make an offer "at least as attractive" as Ford's, subject to due diligence, and work with regulators to find a new chief executive.

Fort Worth, Texas-based Amalgamated also called on Fremont to conduct a "fair and open auction process" to seek an investment on better terms. It threatened a lawsuit to block any "secretly negotiated deal" with Ford or anyone else.

The Ford group investment, announced May 22, was intended to help keep Santa Monica, California-based Fremont afloat.

But Fremont said on Sept. 26 that the group might back out, citing unspecified "developments pertaining to the company," sending its shares down 19.3 percent.

Ford, based in Dallas, is a former thrift executive who used to run Golden State Bancorp Inc in California.

...more...

[UpInArms]

34. GMAC home-lending unit to cut 25 percent of staff: report (3,000 jobs)

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1724796220071017

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Residential Capital LLC, the home-lending arm of GMAC Financial Services, will announce that it is cutting its work force by about 25 percent today, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

GMAC Financial, the General Motors (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) financing arm that was sold to a consortium of buyers including Cerberus Capital Management last November, is suffering from slowing loan demand and tightening credit in the lending unit, the paper said.

The unit, called ResCap, is expected to cut about 3,000 of its 12,000 employees in addition to the 1,000 that were to be cut by the end of this month, the paper said.

...a bit more - without the soothing sounds...

[reggie the dog]

35. 1 dollar canadian gets you

1 dollar 5 cents US.

Wow, I have never seen that before.

I know we can get it to 69 euros equalling 100 dollars soon too. Next years vacation back home to the USA should be much easier than the last.

[AnneD]

37. OMG.....Judges gone wild.

I heard this morning on NPR that congress was thing about tweaking the bankruptcy bill to allow judges to set interest rates on home loans. The 'interest' that these folks owed would be treated like credit card debt and sent to the back of the line. The reaction of some of the bank people struck me as hilarious. Why they might have to require bigger down payments, and folks would have to be more credit worthy. The real truth is they won't be able to bilk so many people into the predatory loans.....enjoy the story.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15353636

[RawMaterials]

38. China's biggest bank to open U.S. branch

BEIJING (AP) -- China's biggest bank, government-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, will open its first U.S. branch as part of a global expansion, a state news agency quoted its chairman as saying Wednesday.

"Preparations have been going on smoothly. We hope to receive approval from American authorities as early as possible," said ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The report gave no dates concerning the U.S. expansion.

The director of ICBC's press department in Beijing, Xie Taifeng, confirmed that the bank plans to open a U.S. branch but declined to say when or where it would be located.

On Tuesday, officials confirmed that another state-owned bank is bidding for a minority stake in U.S. securities firm Bear Stearns (Charts, Fortune 500) amid a rapid foreign expansion by Chinese financial institutions.

Jiang said ICBC also plans to open a branch next month in Russia, take over a bank in Sydney, Australia, and open branches in the Middle East in Dubai and Qatar, according to Xinhua. The report said he gave no details of those plans.


http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/17/news/international/bc.apfn.china.us.icbc.ap/index.htm?postversion=2007101710

[antigop]

40. HA-- I just posted the same thing. You beat me! n/t

[antigop]

39. China's biggest bank to open U.S. branch

http://money.cnn.com/2007/10/17/news/international/bc.apfn.china.us.icbc.ap/index.htm?postversion=2007101710

China's biggest bank, government-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, will open its first U.S. branch as part of a global expansion, a state news agency quoted its chairman as saying Wednesday.

"Preparations have been going on smoothly. We hope to receive approval from American authorities as early as possible," said ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing, according to the Xinhua News Agency. The report gave no dates concerning the U.S. expansion.

The director of ICBC's press department in Beijing, Xie Taifeng, confirmed that the bank plans to open a U.S. branch but declined to say when or where it would be located.

On Tuesday, officials confirmed that another state-owned bank is bidding for a minority stake in U.S. securities firm Bear Stearns (Charts, Fortune 500) amid a rapid foreign expansion by Chinese financial institutions.

[UpInArms]

41. Brazil police arrest Cisco executives in tax fraud, smuggling case

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/brazil-police-arrest-cisco-executives/story.aspx?guid=%7B58A2B481-B1B3-4FC7-B2EE-C927A656AFB4%7D

SAO PAULO (MarketWatch) -- Brazilian police and Federal Revenue Service officials raided offices of U.S. network equipment company Cisco Systems Inc.'s (CSCO: 32.55, +0.26, +0.8%) Brazilian unit and arrested top executives
as part of an ongoing probe into a smuggling and tax fraud scheme, authorities said late Tuesday.

Police accuse a group of local businessmen, including employees of Cisco do Brasil, of setting up a scheme to evade import duties and local sales and corporate taxes on behalf of Cisco.

The police originally didn't name the company involved. However, the federal judge who signed the warrants for the raid, Alexandre Cassetari, confirmed Cisco was the company under investigation.

Over five years, the group imported 50 metric tons of merchandise, illegally dodging taxes worth 1.5 billion reals ($824 million), police said in a statement.
The Federal Police and the Federal Revenue Service raided premises in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Bahia, armed with 93 search warrants.

The police said they arrested 40 people on temporary warrants, including the chief executive of Cisco do Brasil, Pedro Ripper, and other Cisco executives. Six Federal Revenue Service agents were also arrested in connection with the scheme.

...more...

[silverlib]

43. Wow - perhaps I will be vindicated...

Bought at 20.52 in the downturn - (years ago; not a lot) thought it would never go below 20 Held on for years - sold at 21.00 - lost money after the sell cost. It immediately started going up again. I kept waiting for may thank you note, because I am so vain that I took all credit for the rise.

Edited to add :sarcasm:

[JNelson6563]

44. Ruh-roh

Gee, the futures were so bright and shiny this morning! When the housing starts # came up the DOW even went up and I thought we had enough bad news to drive a wildly successful day. What happened? I see the DOW down some 40+ points....

Did Bush presser have anything to do with it? I caught a post title in GD a while back that said is was a "painful" one.

Julie

[DemReadingDU]

45. Dow down -83

doesn't look good out there

[Ghost Dog]

48. 14:10 - disappointment trade

Dow 13,811.90 Down 101.04 (0.73%)
Nasdaq 2,762.58 Down 1.33 (0.05%)
S&P 500 1,529.53 Down 9.00 (0.58%)
10-Yr Bond 4.5460% Down 0.1090
NYSE Volume 1,784,177,750
Nasdaq Volume 1,581,350,000

2:00 pm : The major indices have hit fresh intraday lows since the last update. The Nasdaq Composite has joined the other major indices in negative territory.

Coca-Cola (KO 58.58, +0.82) is a standout today. Third quarter earnings grew 15% with per share profits of 71 cents topping estimates by three cents. Coke benefited from a weaker dollar and lower tax rate, a trend which will continue for the near-term.

Separately, the bond market is up today following the poor housing starts data, and the decline in stocks. DJ30 -126.57 NASDAQ -7.37 SP500 -11.18 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1570/1323/1.46 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1813/1371/765 mln

1:30 pm : The broader market is under pressure again today, which wasn't the case at the start of trading when stock prices rallied following a batch of better than expected earnings news. The inability to hold the early gains and the disappearance of sector leadership has fostered a disappointment trade that carried the market to its worst levels of the day in the past half hour.

The financial sector (-0.9%) is now notably underperforming. JPMorgan Chases' (JPM 46.43, +1.32) better than expected earnings have not been enough to perk up the sector. Major drags include Citigroup (C 44.30, -0.49), AIG (AIG 64.47, -0.77) and Wells Fargo (WFC 34.00, -0.55).

Only the tech sector (+0.7%) has managed to stay in positive territory.DJ30 -91.45 NASDAQ +1.55 SP500 -7.67 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1603/1268/1.33 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1704/1568/690

[UpInArms]

50. end of the day - weird close - DOW down - everything else (paynoattentiontothebuck) a winner

Dow 13,892.54 20.40 (0.15%)
Nasdaq 2,792.67 28.76 (1.04%)
S&P 500 1,541.24 2.71 (0.18%)
10-Yr Bond 4.546% 0.109

NYSE Volume 3,638,064,750
Nasdaq Volume 2,440,087,250

4:25 pm : It was a peculiar day of trading on Wednesday as the stock market staged a nice rally in the early-going on the back of several pleasing earnings reports. However, buying interest soon faded and the indices fell back into negative territory in a broad-based retreat before making a late comeback effort.

At the end of the day, the stock market was mixed. The final standings, though, belie the roller coaster action that saw the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P swing as many as 237, 49 and 25 points, respectively, between their morning highs and their afternoon lows.

Better than expected earnings news from the likes of Intel (INTC 26.72, +1.24), Yahoo! (YHOO 28.82, +2.13), Seagate (STX 27.01, +0.56), Coca-Cola (KO 59.09, +1.33), CSX Corp. (CSX 45.34, +2.51), Altria Group (MO 70.98, +0.24), and JPMorgan Chase (JPM 46.37, +1.26) helped set the favorable tone in the early-going.

The market, though, couldn't hold that bid. Another lousy report on housing starts, which fell 10.3% in September to a 14-year low, and another jump in oil prices to $89.00, which followed news that the Turkish Assembly backed a possible incursion into Iraq, undid the bullish bias.

As it became apparent that the early gains weren't holding, selling efforts picked up in a disappointment trade. News that the IMF cut its global growth forecast and the mention of a decelerating economy in the Fed's Beige Book report provided added excuses to continue this week's profit taking.

Selling efforts ultimately dissipated with the tech sector (+1.5%) continuing to exhibit relative strength. Its outperformance was driven by the reassuring reports from Intel and Yahoo!, although Dow component IBM (IBM 115.78, -3.82) was left out in the cold as its in-line report and concerns about softness in financial services demand fueled selling interest in its stock.

United Technologies (UTX 76.80, -2.85) was the other big drag on the Dow. Although the industrial company beat consensus third quarter estimates, the indication that it expects 2008 to be a challenging year took some shine off the results.

Wal-Mart (WMT 45.99, +0.13) was a helpful influence in the final hour of trading as its stock rebounded following a Goldman Sachs upgrade to Buy from Neutral.

The final standing of the 10 economic sectors reflects Wednesday's mixed showing as five sectors ended higher while five sector ended lower.

Separately, the volatility in the stock market aided the Treasury market as did the reports of weakness in the housing sector and some supportive inflation data. Before the open, it was reported that core-CPI rose 0.2% in September. That was in line with expectations and marked the fourth straight 0.2% increase, leaving the year-over-year rate at a palatable 2.1%.DJ30 -20.40 NASDAQ +28.76 SP500 +2.71 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1407/1558/2.39 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1581/1681/1.42 bln

3:30 pm : The indices have had a broad-based upward push in the last hour. There has been a notable improvement in the financial sector, which is currently only down 0.6% after being down as much as 1.6%.

The consumer staples (+0.2%) and telecom (+0.1%) sectors are now in positive territory.

After the close, Allstate (ALL 57.23, -0.29), eBay (EBAY 39.72, +1.12) and Washington Mutual (WM 32.99, -0.21) are set to report their earnings.

Tomorrow, a large number of companies will be reporting their earnings. Bank of America (BAC 49.74, -0.46) and Pfizer (PFE 24.64, +0.1) will report before the open. DJ30 -39.51 NASDAQ +13.98 SP500 -1.76 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1691/1263/1.95 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1928/1321/1.06 bln

3:00 pm : The Nadaq Composite is back in positive territory following a slight pickup in buying interest. The Dow and S&P are off their lows, but still in the red.

Crude oil has had a volatile day. Prices have now slipped 0.56% to $87.10.

The dollar index is down 0.18%.
DJ30 -81.69 NASDAQ +1.98 SP500 -6.89 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1805/1156/1.77 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 2073/1145/968 mln