STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday May 5

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday May 5, 2008

COUNTING THE DAYS
DAYS REMAINING IN THE * REGIME 261
DAYS SINCE DEMOCRACY DIED (12/12/00) 2661 DAYS
WHERE'S OSAMA BIN-LADEN? 2386 DAYS
DAYS SINCE ENRON COLLAPSE = 2677
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 May 2, 2008

Dow... 13,058.20 +48.20 (+0.37%)
Nasdaq... 2,476.99 -3.72 (-0.15%)
S&P 500... 1,413.90 +4.56 (+0.32%)
Gold future... 858.00 +7.10 (+0.83%)
30-Year Bond 4.57% +0.08 (+1.81%)
10-Yr Bond... 3.85% +0.10 (+2.56%)






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. Market WrapUp: A Brief Cyclical Overview of the Dollar

BY TIM W. WOOD

Cycles are really just another way of looking at various trends of various degrees. Also, cycles in the market are really no different than many other cycles in nature. As an example, sometimes we have an early spring and sometimes it’s late. Sometimes a particular bird’s migration is earlier than normal and sometimes it can be a bit later than normal. In some winters the northern states experience more snow than in other years. Sometimes we have very active hurricane seasons and sometime we don’t. The same is true with cycles in the market as they too, fluctuate in duration and intensity.

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

[ozymandius]

2. Today's Report

10:00 ISM Services Apr
Briefing.com 50.0
Consensus 49.5
Prior 49.6

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

[ozymandius]

8. Service Industries in the U.S. Probably Contracted in April

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. service industries probably contracted for a fourth month in April, reflecting the damage from the housing slump and credit crisis that are depressing growth, economists said before a report today.

The Institute for Supply Management's index of non- manufacturing businesses, which make up almost 90 percent of the economy, eased to 49.1, from 49.6 the prior month, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between growth and contraction.

Builders, retailers and mortgage lenders are reeling from the worst real estate recession in a quarter century as property values fall and foreclosures rise. Job losses, surging fuel prices and tougher loan rules signal service providers will remain under pressure as demand weakens.

.....

The ISM factory index, reported last week, was unchanged at 48.6 in April as manufacturing shrank for the third consecutive month.

Builders, which are included in the ISM services index, have been cutting back. Investment in residential construction projects fell at an annual rate of 27 percent in the first quarter, the most since 1981, the Commerce Department reported last week. Declines in homebuilding have subtracted from growth since the first three months of 2006.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&refer=news&sid=aWhy3Cwb0pcQ

[UpInArms]

34. U.S. April ISM services index 52.0% vs 49.6 March

01. U.S. April ISM services above consensus 49.4%
10:01 AM ET, May 05, 2008

02. U.S. April ISM services index 52.0% vs 49.6 March
10:01 AM ET, May 05, 2008

[ozymandius]

3. Oil rises above $117 a barrel on supply fears

SINGAPORE - Oil prices rose Monday, supported by weekend news of an attack on a Nigerian oil installation, but with gains limited by the strengthening of the U.S. dollar.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC spokesman Precious Okolobo said Saturday that attackers hit a flow station belonging to Shell's joint venture in southern Nigeria and that some oil production had been shut down. He gave no further details. Flow stations are intersections for pipelines carrying oil from wells to export terminals.

......

Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 93 cents to $117.25 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore. The contract rose $3.80 to settle at $116.32 a barrel on Friday.

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

[UpInArms]

16. Survey finds gas prices up about 15 cents over past 2 weeks

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080505/ap_on_bi_ge/gas_prices

CAMARILLO, Calif. - The national average price for regular gasoline rose about 15 cents in the last two weeks, according to a survey.

The average price of self-serve regular gasoline on Friday was $3.62 a gallon, up 15 cents from two weeks ago. Mid-grade was at $3.74 and premium was $3.85. That's all according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 stations nationwide released Sunday.

Regular gasoline is up 55 cents since 2008 began.

Of the cities surveyed, the cheapest price was in Cheyenne, Wyo., where a gallon of regular cost $3.39, on average. The highest average was in San Francisco at $3.95.

...a bit more...

[ozymandius]

4. Chevron Quarterly Profit Rises 9.6% on Oil Prices

Chevron Corp. reported a 9.6% rise in first-quarter profit, echoing a theme set earlier in the week by other international oil companies: Soaring crude prices are pumping up profits to astronomical levels.

The second-largest U.S. oil company by market value after Exxon Mobil Corp. was the third major oil company to beat analysts' expectations in the week. Chevron posted net income of $5.17 billion, topping analysts mean estimates by $219 million, despite narrower refining margins and a tough comparison from a big year-ago gain from an asset sale.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120973231870862611.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

-subscription required-

[ozymandius]

5. Exxon Profit Rises Less Than Estimated on Output Drop (Update6)

May 1 (Bloomberg) -- Exxon Mobil Corp. posted the smallest earnings increase among the world's three largest oil companies, falling short of analyst estimates as production dropped and profit margins from refining narrowed.

Exxon Mobil fell 3.6 percent in New York trading after the Irving, Texas-based company said first-quarter net income rose to $10.9 billion, or $2.03 a share, from $9.28 billion, or $1.62, a year earlier. Per-share profit was 10 cents below the average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Exxon Mobil's 17 percent profit increase lagged behind the gains of 25 percent and 63 percent by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc. Oil and gas production fell 5.6 percent, leaving Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson unable to take full advantage of record prices. U.S. refining profit at Exxon Mobil, the world's largest company by market value, plunged by more than half.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aQQsehzvipXg&refer=news

[ozymandius]

6. Dealers Pare Treasuries, Signaling Fed Turning Point

Oh dear...

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- One word popped into Charles Comiskey's head as he watched investors seeking a haven from credit-market losses pile into Treasuries in March: ``Ridiculous.''

The buying spree pushed yields to a five-year low even though rising commodity prices and a depreciating dollar were beginning to spark inflation. The co-head of Treasury trading at HSBC Securities USA Inc. has so far been proven right. U.S. government debt has lost 2.8 percent since March 17, including reinvested interest, according to New York-based Merrill Lynch & Co. indexes.

.....

The U.S. units of London-based HSBC Holdings Plc, Barclays Plc of London, Deutsche Bank AG in Frankfurt and the other 17 primary dealers that trade with the Federal Reserve have compiled a $101.4 billion bet against Treasuries, data compiled by the central bank show. That's the most since the week ended Nov. 14, just before yields on 10-year notes climbed half a percentage point over the following month.

Dealers have used any demand ``as an opportunity to move Treasuries off their balance sheets,'' Comiskey said.

The $101.4 billion represents the amount of Treasuries that dealers are using to hedge other positions and is up from $58.3 billion in the week ended March 12, Fed data show. The more they use to hedge, the bigger the wager against Treasuries.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&refer=news&sid=aNCksVzJxRZA

[ozymandius]

7. Microsoft's Failed Yahoo Bid Puts Pressure on Ballmer

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp.'s decision to drop its pursuit of Yahoo! Inc. increases the pressure on Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer to make his money-losing Internet business succeed against Google Inc.

Ballmer's bid for Yahoo, the most-visited Web site, signaled that Microsoft was making little progress against Google in Internet search advertising, said Charles Di Bona, a Sanford C. Bernstein analyst. Ballmer withdrew his bid over the weekend after Yahoo refused a sweetened offer of almost $50 billion in stock, leaving investors asking what his online strategy will be.

.....

The danger for Microsoft is that Google, owner of the most popular Web search engine and winner of the most online advertising dollars, will expand its dominance while Ballmer plans a new course. Google gained 10 percentage points of market share in Internet queries since June, providing 59.8 percent of the searches done in March, according to researcher ComScore Inc. in Reston, Virginia.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&refer=news&sid=ag7mkr5zIEzQ

[ozymandius]

9. Yahoo CEO facing possible rebellion after spurning Microsoft

SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Jerry Yang is convinced that the company he started in a Silicon Valley trailer 14 years ago is worth more than the $47.5 billion that Microsoft Corp. had offered for the Internet pioneer.

Now he may only have a few months to convince Wall Street that his rebuff of Microsoft's takeover bid was a smart move — and if he can't, analysts won't be surprised if Yang is either replaced as CEO or forced to consider accepting a lower offer if Microsoft comes knocking at his door again.

.....

The backlash is expected to begin Monday when Kessler and other analysts believe Yahoo's stock price will surrender most, if not all, of its 50 percent gain since Microsoft made its initial offer Jan. 31. The anticipated sell-off would leave Yahoo's market value hovering around $30 billion.

Meanwhile, most analysts believe Microsoft's stock price will rise Monday. The shares had declined 10 percent to $29.24 since the bid, reflecting concerns that the proposed marriage would turn into a complicated mess that would enable Google Inc. to grow even stronger.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080505/ap_on_hi_te/microsoft_yahoo

[ozymandius]

10. Central bankers doubt they can act on food prices

BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Food price inflation may be one of the most serious problems facing the world, but one that monetary policy has little power to tackle, central bankers said on Monday.

With the price of food rising by more than 40 percent a year, the issue is high on the agenda at meetings of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel which began on Sunday.

.....

The May meeting comes as a rapid rise in food costs and prices of other commodities such as oil is fuelling historically high inflation rates from the euro-zone to China, and creating a headache for central bankers also concerned about the economic impact of nine months of financial market turmoil.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080505/bs_nm/bis_dc

[ozymandius]

11. Buffett to investors: Think small

Lower your expectations, advised Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at Berkshire's annual meeting Saturday. They also answered questions ranging from succession plans to the Cubs.

OMAHA (CNNMoney.com) -- In the Q&A session Saturday morning at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting, CEO Warren Buffett and vice chairman Charlie Munger repeatedly warned investors to lower their expectations. When a shareholder asked whether Buffett's recent purchases of publicly traded stocks were likely to generate returns greater than 7% to 10% over time, Buffett promptly said no.

.....

"We would be very happy if we earned 10%, pre-tax" on the additions to Berkshire's equity portfolio, said Buffett. "Anyone that expects us to come close to replicating the past should sell their stock; it isn't going to happen. We'll get decent results over time, but not indecent results." Added Munger: "You can take what Warren said to the bank. We are very happy at making money at a rate in the future that's much less than the past... and I suggest that you adopt the same attitude."

.....

Both men made it clear that their preference now is to acquire 100% ownership of private businesses at a "fair" price and to increase BRK's interest in companies that get substantial portions of their earnings in non-U.S. currencies.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/03/news/companies/buffett.am.wrap/index.htm?postversion=2008050505

[joeglow3]

27. The worst of the recession is past us

I heard Buffett said this. Did you hear it as well?

[AnneD]

36. The best Buffett quote.....

or why he makes money with his companies and other companies don't........

"So when I buy a business - it's the biggest question I ask myself if I decide it's a good business - is "Do they love the money, or do they love the business?" Now, if they love the business, we can do business. If they love the money, we can't."

Lots more to the article

http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/01/news/companies/Buffet_Q_A_at_Wharton.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008050209

[joeglow3]

46. I used to audit Berkshire

Or rather, I worked on the tax provision. It was always interesting to see the top secret list of companies he was buying up.

[Demeter]

48. Since Buffett Isn't Pope, He Could Be Wrong

[54anickel]

35. Buffet: Many banks deserve their pain

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1091829

OMAHA, Neb. - Billionaires Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger say the pain many financial institutions are feeling because of the credit crunch is well deserved.

The chairman and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said yesterday that the financial companies that engineered subprime mortgages and the investment funds backed by those mortgages don’t deserve much sympathy as they record losses now.

Buffett said the current financial crisis is a byproduct of a system that encouraged executives to “paint pretty pictures.”

snip>

Buffett reiterated that he believes the U.S. economy is in a recession by his definition, even if it hasn’t yet met the commonly used criteria of two quarters of negative growth.

He said his definition of a recession is when most people and businesses are not doing as well as they were three, six or nine months ago.

“I would say that we’re in a recession clearly,” Buffett said.

more...

[DemReadingDU]

12. National Century trial Columbus Ohio - Fugitive exec on 'America's Most Wanted'

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/03/AmMostWanted.ART_ART_05-03-08_B3_EHA3P08.html?sid=101


5/3/08 Fugitive exec on 'America's Most Wanted'

A former Dublin executive convicted in connection with the nation's largest fraud at a privately held company is now one of America's Most Wanted.

Deputy U.S. marshals announced yesterday that Rebecca S. Parrett, 59, is on the television show's most-wanted list. The former National Century Financial Enterprises executive was convicted of securities fraud and other charges in U.S. District Court in Columbus on March 13.

Judge Algenon L. Marbley had allowed Parrett to go to her home in Carefree, Ariz., where she was to remain on house arrest pending sentencing. However, she never reported, and a warrant was issued for her arrest.

America's Most Wanted says she might be in Arizona, specifically in the Phoenix area. The Web site also lists possible aliases -- with last names from her six previous marriages: Green, Kunzi, House, Robinson, Ayers and Mayes. Parrett has a parrot tattoo on her left arm.

The U.S. Marshals Service has a reward for information that leads to her arrest, although officials won't say how much it is worth. Anyone with information about Parrett's whereabouts is asked to call the service at 614-469-5540.

The posting for Parrett can be found at www.amw.com/fugitives

edit to add direct link...
http://www.amw.com/Fugitives/brief.cfm?id=55267



link backwards to previous articles...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3291717&mesg_id=3291760

[UpInArms]

13. dollar watch

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

Last trade 73.422 Change -0.075 (-0.10%)

Can the Dollar Continue Its Rally This Week?

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio2/Can_the_Dollar_Continue_Its_1209980071103.html

A very quiet start to the week as both Japan and UK have national holidays, greatly limiting investment flows for the day. Throughout Asia and early Europe, EURUSD staged a mild retrace rally after last Friday’s better than forecast NFPs took the pair below the 1.5500 level in the aftermath of the release.

Today’s bounce in the EURUSD stalled right back at the 1.5500 level as the weaker that expected Sentix investor confidence survey which printed at 3.5 versus forecast of 3.9 put a cap to any upside momentum in the euro. 1.5500 appears to be the level of equilibrium for the time being with euro bulls still hoping for another retest of 1.60 while dollar longs are targeting 1.50 as the key level for the breakdown of the larger uptrend in the pair.

As we noted in our weekly “Having pierced 1.5500 support level this week, after gaining more than 300 points the dollar may find next week a bit slow going. This week the US economic calendar will not command nearly as much attention, with ISM Services and Trade Balance being the only possible market moving data points. The most important event this week will likely come from Europe when traders will focus on any change of tone from ECB chief Jean Claude Trichet at his monthly press conference. If Mr. Trichet makes even s casual suggestion of a shift to a neutral stance, the dollar may gain further, but if he remains hawkish we could see a rally back to 1.5600 as the week comes to a close. Still all things being equal, the EURUSD looks far more likely to hit 1.50 rather than 1.60 in the near future as market participants turn their attention to the slowdown in Europe rather than the problems in the US.”

With parts of Asia and Europe closed, today’s US ISM Non Manufacturing report is likely to be the key driver of trade for the rest of the day. Markets are looking for a slight dip in the reading, but the greenback is unlikely to be badly hurt unless the number prints below 49 or worse. However, if that were to happen the EURUSD could return to the 1.5600 figure as all of the positive sentiment from last week’s better than expected US economic data would quickly disappear.

...more...

US Dollar: Be Careful of What You Buy

http://www.dailyfx.com/story/bio1/US_Dollar__Be_Careful_of_1209764265003.html

Since the beginning of the week, we have warned of a potential dollar rally. At the time, we were basing our argument primarily on the flip in the FXCM Speculative Sentiment Index, technicals and a turn in Eurozone economic data. However now we can add to that list a turn in US economic data as well. Throughout this past week, there have been a number of upside surprises in the US releases including today’s non-farm payrolls report, first quarter GDP, Chicago PMI, and manufacturing ISM. Although we do not believe that the worst is behind us, this stability does indicate that the pace of the slowdown in the US economy has moderated. This is the first time in 4 months that the non-farm payrolls report beat expectations, falling by -20k instead of the forecasted drop of -75k. Although the manufacturing sector continued to cut jobs, the service sector actually added jobs for the third month in a row, suggesting that Monday’s service sector ISM report may not be that bad. For the Federal Reserve, this is a welcome improvement because it validates their hawkish comments and indicates that their efforts to date are mitigating some of the risks to economic activity. In addition to the NFP report, the Federal Reserve also announced additional liquidity measures. They increased the size of their Term Auction facilities from $50 billion to $75 billion, increased their swap lines with the ECB and SNB as well as expanded the collateral that they are willing to take to include AAA-rated asset backed securities. Up until today, the Fed was primarily accepting residential and commercial mortgage backed securities. For the most part, we expect a continued recovery in the US dollar, however traders need to be careful of what they buy. In terms of US data, the economic calendar next week is light with only service sector ISM, pending home sales and the trade balance due for release. The US dollar is nearing resistance against the Japanese Yen and there is little evidence to suggest that the currency pair will head much higher. The same can be said for the US dollar against the Australian dollar. Strong retail sales could continue to send the AUD/USD higher. However, the outlook is slightly different for the dollar against the Euro, British pound or New Zealand dollar. Fundamentals and technicals point to further losses for these 3 currencies against the US dollar.

...more...

[UpInArms]

19. Dollar rally falters; cloud still hanging over U.S.

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSSP14401720080505?sp=true

LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar fell broadly on Monday in Europe after failing to build on gains made after slightly more robust than expected U.S. jobs data last week, as investors concluded that more pain was likely for the U.S. economy.

The euro shrugged off data showing euro zone investor morale had unexpectedly weakened in May, drawing support from the inflationary impact of higher oil prices as crude rose above $117 a barrel toward recent record highs.

Activity was thin due to public holidays in Britain and Tokyo, which also helped sharpen sterling's fall versus the euro with dealers reporting good buying of euro/sterling as the market approached key technical levels.

The dollar had firmed on Friday after U.S. payrolls fell in April by a smaller-than-expected 20,000, while the jobless rate dipped to 5.0 percent.

But further assessment of the data left investors wary of calling a sustained dollar recovery, with more economic and corporate fallout expected from the ongoing credit crunch that started in August last year.

"The jobs data was still a negative number so people have tried to reassess the data they saw last week. They realize that the worst is not over and we will still have to expect weak U.S. data so it's not the time to buy the dollar strongly," said Antje Praefcke, currency strategist at Commerzbank.

...more...

[Ghost Dog]

29. GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar, stocks lose ground after Friday gains

LONDON, May 2 (Reuters) - The dollar and European stocks weakened slightly on Monday in holiday-thinned markets while euro zone government bonds rose after positions became oversold following Friday's better than expected U.S. employment data.

...

Oil prices were on the rise again following a statement from Iran's foreign ministry that the country would not accept any package of incentives from world powers that violates its rights to develop its nuclear industry. (For report on Iran please double click on )

On Friday U.S. non-farm payrolls data showing a 20,000 fall in jobs last month relieved investors who had expected a drop four times as great, boosting the dollar and shares.

But markets, thinned on Monday by London's closure for a public holiday, had second thoughts and the dollar eased in Europe despite data showing euro zone investors' morale had unexpectedly weakened in May. (For details on investor sentiment please double click on )

The dollar was down 0.11 percent on the day against a basket of six major currencies .DXY at 73.375.

"The jobs data was still a negative number so people have tried to reassess the data they saw last week. They realise that the worst is not over and we will still have to expect weak U.S. data so it's not the time to buy the dollar strongly," said Antje Praefcke, currency strategist at Commerzbank. European shares took a breather after last week's gains, easing after influential U.S. investor Warren Buffett said on Sunday the United States was in recession as he defines it.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 index was 0.29 percent lower at 1000 GMT.

...

In Asia, Japan was on holiday, but in Hong Kong stocks fell from the previous session's 3-1/2 month high, closing down 0.22 percent.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINL0534945520080505?rpc=44&sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

31. Focus on European interest rates

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - Europe will be a major focus of investors' attention this week as the European Central Bank and Bank of England meet separately to discuss interest rates against a backdrop of declining economic strength.

With global equity markets rallying and worries about the credit crisis easing, signs that U.S. economic woes are contagious could easily dent tentative investor optimism.

Global stocks as measured by MSCI .MIWD00000PUS gained 5.31 percent in April. Perhaps surprisingly, this was the largest monthly gain since December 2003. Investors also unwound safe-haven plays, lifting yields and knocking investment bank Citi's world government bond returns index down 1.15 percent for the month. Gold <XAU=> is also at a four-month low.

But the tentativeness of this new risk appetite is clear from Reuters polls showing that although major investment houses across the world increased exposure to equities in April, they clung to above-average cash reserves .

Hanging on to cash is what professional investors do when they are uncertain about the future.

Much of the uncertainty swirls around the fate of the ailing U.S. economy. But worries that the U.S. downturn is spreading are also growing.

"There is little doubt that we will see contagion," said Klaus Wiener, head of research at Italy's Generali Investments, adding that it was already under way in Europe.

In its twice-yearly economic forecasts last week, the European Commission cut its growth projection for the 15 countries that use the euro, saying the economy would slow to 1.7 percent this year and 1.5 percent in 2009 from 2.6 percent in 2007.

/... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINL039173620080505?rpc=44&sp=true

[Ghost Dog]

33. Joint statement of ASEAN+3 finance ministers

MADRID, May 4 (Reuters) - East Asian finance ministers agreed on Sunday to upgrade to an $80 billion currency swap scheme to fight regional financial crises, a deal taking them a step closer to creating a full scale Asian monetary fund.

Following is a statement released by the ministers at the end of their meeting:

The Joint Ministerial Statement

Of the 11th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers' Meeting

4 May 2008, Madrid, Spain

Introduction

1. We, the Finance Ministers of ASEAN, China, Japan and Korea (ASEAN+3), convened our eleventh meeting in Madrid, Spain, under the co-chairmanship of H.E. Vu Van Ninh, Minister of Finance of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and H.E. Fukushiro Nukaga, Minister of Finance of Japan.

2. We exchanged views on regional economic and financial developments and policies and reviewed the progress of regional financial cooperation initiatives, including the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation, the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI) and the ASEAN+3 Research Group. We also explored ways to further enhance these initiatives.

Recent Economic and Financial Developments in the Region

3. The global economy faces a challenging period. While we remain positive about the long-term resilience of the global economy, the short-term economic prospects have weakened. Risks to the outlook come from the still unfolding events in financial markets, the potential worsening of housing and credit cycles, and inflationary pressures driven by high energy and food prices.

4. The regional economy has continued its strong growth and is forecasted to remain robust although somewhat weaker. Nonetheless, several risks remain such as further worsening of the growth prospects, vulnerability of financial markets, and continued inflationary pressures from rising oil and non-oil commodity prices. We confirmed the importance of taking appropriate actions to ensure that economic activity continues at a sustained pace by balancing policies to deal with these risks. We are also committed to accelerating and deepening structural reforms to support sustainable economic growth in the region. We highly appreciate the ADB initiatives to contribute to the stabilization of the food prices. In addition, we agreed to work closely with the ADB on regional and national initiatives to provide food security and stability of food prices for the regional economies.

/continues... http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idCNTSEO7774120080504?rpc=44&sp=true

[UpInArms]

14. Free-Trade Theory Doesn't Allay Anxious Middle Class

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucas/20080426/cm_ucas/freetradetheorydoesntallayanxiousmiddleclass

excerpt:

Here's what the new economy has done for the average American: precious little. In 2000, median yearly household income, adjusted for inflation, was $49,447, according to The Wall Street Journal, which crunched data from the Census Bureau. By 2006, median household income had fallen to $48,223.

While the economy expanded significantly starting in 2001, those gains went disproportionately to the wealthiest households. The income of the top 1 percent grew at an annual rate of 11 percent from 2002 to 2006, while the incomes of the remaining 99 percent grew at less than 1 percent annually during those years, according to the Journal.

Even a college degree is no bulwark against the battering ram of global trade. Princeton economist Alan Blinder, a longtime proponent of cross-border commerce, now says that it will create more severe social and economic upheaval than he once believed. He predicts that 30 million to 40 million American jobs are likely to be shipped overseas in the next 10 to 20 years, some of them in white-collar occupations such as financial analyst, microbiologist, graphic designer, radiologist and, oddly, economist.

Those who still put great faith in free trade -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- need to look beyond their platitudes to see the displacement and anxiety it has created among middle-class workers. Their worries are not born of ideology but of a hard and bitter experience that has left them anxious about the future. When the factory where you've worked for years shuts down or your company stops offering health insurance, you're not much interested in hearing about Adam Smith and theories of comparative advantage.

...more...

[UpInArms]

15. U.S. in "awfully pale recession," Greenspan quoted

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080505/bs_nm/greenspan_recession_dc

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States has fallen into an "awfully pale recession" and may remain stagnant for the rest of the year, former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan was quoted on Monday saying.

"We're in a recession," Bloomberg news agency reported Greenspan had said in a television interview. "But this is an awfully pale recession at the moment. The declines in employment have not been as big as you'd expect to see."

Last week a government report showed employers shed jobs in April at a slower rate than had been feared, providing some relief about the slowing economy.

Greenspan doubted there would be an immediate recovery, saying stagnation for the rest of the year was the most likely outcome. "That's certainly the most benevolent scenario," he said. "It's not all that far from being the most probable."

The economy would not start turning around until home prices started settling and eased pressure on finance companies to write off mortgage-related losses, Greenspan said.

...a bit more...

[AnneD]

30. Morning Marketeers....

:donut: Some where, some how, someone stole my joy this weekend. It could have been on Friday when I found out my principal (that I love and work well with)is retiring. Any of you that have ever worked in education realize-you are only as effective as you principal-and as a Nurse-I particularly rely on a principal for backup and support.

It might have happened on Saturday when I had to talk to my daughter about financial aid for the college. She won a Texas Scholar Award. This means that because of her grades and class ranking, she would get a scholarship worth several thousand dollars a year at a Texas school. That scholarship plus the money we have saved up would cover the total cost of her education in Texas. But she has her heart set on Cal Arts.

Maybe I lost my joy when her dad said he would co-sigh a loan for her but she and I turned varying shades of white when he started pressuring her to sign this loan for 90K. I told her that such a thing was fool hardy. I totally loathe her dad for the lazy, sponging leech he is. He had ruined his live and he now seems hell bent to ruin hers. His dad worked TWO jobs and so did his mom so this lazy scum could go to college. His mom worked as a housekeeper so this jerk could end up with his precious degree, living at her house, sponging off of her (his degree is in petroleum land management, he also has a Real Estate Brokers license, and a few other credentials). Frankly, the umbilical cord should have been cut 25 years ago-but that is his Mom's problem. I had to spend the weekend helping my daughter understand the finances. I am still about ready to kill him over the fact that she has NO senior picture or invitation to graduation. My friends and relatives are asking questions as they want to help/visit for graduation. I will try to help as best I can, but there will come a point where I will have to wash my hands of this mess. I am fast loosing patience, humour and joy.

Or maybe my joy was take when I saw a beautiful filly run her heart out. I don't wager-but I go to horse races just to watch them run. It is truly a moment of divine beauty and grace. The tragic ending just broke my heart. If anything will bring about padded tracks-0this surely will-there just is no reason not to protect these athletes. The fact that they cannot communicate with us makes it all the more imperative that we do all in our power to protect them.

And just when I thought I might get a little bit of joy back this morning....this saggy assed, geriatric no account, screw up of an eCONomist that kept repeating that there was there was some froth in the housing market, there was no recession, I didn't understand the exotic financing, I think we have a 50-50 chance of going into a recession is now telling me we have an awfully pale recession?????? Jesus Christ on a pogo stick what is next----A LIGHT DEPRESSION.
:sarcasm::eyes: As some of the Texas Ol Timers would say-it's too late now he's done ripped his drawers.

I hope you all have a good week. I'm going to be working hard this week to get my joy back.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Dr.Phool]

38. 90 frickin' grand in the hole before she starts school!

Reminds me of my old drinking buddy on the railroad. He had intestinal cancer for years, and every 6 months or so, he'd go in for surgery, they'd snip out a couple of inches of intestine, and he'd be back at work the next day, climbing on cars, and switching out yards.

His son was one of the hottest HS basketball prospects in the country. He had scholarship offers to every major program in the country. He decided he didn't want to be far away from home and decided to go to a good local university that didn't offer scholarships. Now the old man has to work double shifts, 7 days a week for the next 4 years. The kid was hired by Arthur Anderson immediately on graduation, and they bought him about 10 business suits for graduation.

After he worked for a couple of weeks, he decided he didn't like working for a living anymore, and told his dad he was thinking about quitting.

The old man grabbed him, and said welcome to the world kid. Now get your ass to work.

[AnneD]

41. I think....

I like your old driking buddy very much. My ex's parents let him get away with that nonsense. All that education and he hasn't put to use earning a living. Hell, I've had hobbies that earned me better incomes.

Thank God I had custody of my daughter during her formative years and managed to instill some common sense into her. And if she choses to go into debt or mis uses her resources-it can't be said I didn't warn her. I think that is why she has been snapping at me-she knows in her heart that I am right. It's a kill the messenger sort of thing.

[Demeter]

49. I Sent My Daughter Off to Live With Grandpa For 2 Years

She appreciated me a lot more when she came back. She still hasn't found her way, but at least she's looking, now. And she treats me and her sister a lot better.

[TalkingDog]

56. Having dealt with the "overly pampered" I say: Good for you!

The one time I taught high-schoolers to paint for a Summer Art Honors class, I had a parent complain to the program coordinator that I was a "Brush Nazi" for making her 2 delicate flowers clean their own equipment after they used it (along with all the other high-schoolers in the class).

I was tempted to get the moniker printed on a tee-shirt. A badge of honor I might suggest.

I can say without any shame that while I loathe the mother, I truly feel sorry for the kids. Even if they go to college (and they will, these are the upper-crust types) they will be like hatchlings , naked, hairless and helpless.

In line at the bulk foods place on Saturday, the woman behind us was noting that while we were buying healthy fare, fruits, veg, etc., she was buying quick cook food because her 30 year old son and his girlfriend were living at her house and didn't cook. While she worked 2 jobs, the son was unemployed and the G.F. was part-time somewhere.

She was bemoaning the fact that not only was the food unhealthy, but that she often ended up cooking it. My reply was that beating them with a stick usually took care of that. She either didn't hear me or didn't want to catch my drift and kept on complaining about how much she had to do at home on top of her 2 jobs. I said, "Well, if a stick doesn't work, a stick with nails will almost always do the trick."

She started talking to the cashier.

[AnneD]

59. "Well, if a stick doesn't work, a stick with nails will almost always do the trick."

:spray:

I always figured the goal of parenting was to teach your kids to be independent. Mom did it a little too well I think because we all couldn't wait to try our wings. And except for an occasional stumble-we've all done fairly well. Of course parents can help their grown children now and again if they are able, just as I will/do help Mom when she needs it-that's what families do for each other.

I have given her all the tools she needs to survive in this world as an adult. I have tried to help her find her gifts and talents. I have taught her common sense, business sense, and a work ethic. I have encouraged her to do for herself.

I have seen-through her dad-the final outcome of too much coddling. He will turn 49 this year and has only held 2 full time jobs for over 1 years (and only 2 other jobs that lasted less than a year-AND THIS IS DURING HIS ENTIRE LIFE SO FAR).These helicopter parents are not helping their kids but handicapping them. You are right, these hatch lings are "naked, hairless, and helpless" but I will also ad 'clueless' to the list. I always refer to them as trust fund babies.

[TalkingDog]

61. At a certain point I figured out that if I wasn't willing to let my mother

take credit for my successes, it was rather hypocritical of me to blame her for my failures.

I think I was about 23.

If you get to the point where you want all the credit for success, but none of the blame for failure, then, yes, I would add "clueless" to the list at that point.

Hmmmm...our President is clueless. Who'da' Thunk?

[UpInArms]

17. Central bankers doubt they can act on food prices

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080505/bs_nm/bis_dc

BASEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - Food price inflation may be one of the most serious problems facing the world, but one that monetary policy has little power to tackle, central bankers said on Monday.

With the price of food rising by more than 40 percent a year, the issue is high on the agenda at meetings of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel which began on Sunday.

"Food pressure is a global problem, we have to observe, monitor, but we cannot use monetary policy tools to manage this problem," said Polish National Bank President Slawomir Skrzypek.

"Food pressures could be one of the most serious problems that we have to face now."

...more...

[UpInArms]

18. BofA may renegotiate Countrywide deal price: Friedman

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSBNG17385120080505?sp=true

(Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is likely to renegotiate its deal to buy Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) down to the $0 to $2 level or completely walk away from it, said Friedman, Billings, Ramsey, which downgraded Countrywide to "underperform" from "market perform."

Countrywide's loan portfolio has deteriorated so rapidly that it currently has negative equity and the proposed takeover of the company will be a drag on Bank of America's earnings due to the elevated credit expenses at Countrywide, analyst Paul Miller wrote in a note to clients.

He cut his target on Countrywide's stock to $2 from $7.

Bank of America, which said in January it would buy Countrywide for $4 billion, said in a filing last week there was no assurance that any of the mortgage lender's outstanding debt would be redeemed, assumed or guaranteed.

"Bank of America announced that it might not guarantee Countrywide's debt, which is most likely the first step in renegotiating the entire deal," Miller said.

...more...

[Demeter]

20. Well, That Answers My Question of Last Week, Doesn't It?

G'morning, UIA!

Good morning everyone!

Guess who had breakfast today? Good Morning!!!

[UpInArms]

22. g'morning to you Demeter!

yes, this article does answer those questions and isn't it handy that BoA denounced the debt of Countrywide so that it could lower its price for them - all in one tidy little circle jerk package.

:hi:

[Demeter]

50. I Wouldn't Take Countrywide If It Were Free!

Maybe BofA will come to the same conclusion...

[UpInArms]

26. BofA may lower Countrywide bid to $2/share or below: analyst

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bofa-may-lower-countrywide-bid/story.aspx?guid=%7BA7C40003%2DDB97%2D4EC4%2DA707%2DC4FF5D42D5B5%7D&dist=TQP_Mod_mktwN

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Bank of America Corp. (BAC: 39.79, +0.40, +1.0%) is highly likely to negotiate a sharply lower price for Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC: 5.98, -0.07, -1.2%), and should just walk away from the deal altogether, an analyst said Monday.

Bank of America could face $20 billion to $30 billion in write-downs of Countrywide's mortgage loans after it closes its acquisition of the troubled mortgage lender, FBR Capital Markets analyst Paul J. Miller Jr. told clients in a research note.

"BAC should completely walk away from the CFC deal, as CFC's loan portfolio will prove a drag on earnings and could force BAC to raise additional capital," Miller wrote.

Shares of Countrywide fell in premarket trading to $5.10 a share, down 14.7%, before recovering slightly in recent trading to $5.40 a share, down 9.7%.

Even if Bank of America sticks with the deal, it's likely that it will cut its offer "down to the $0 to $2 level," and force Countrywide's bondholders to absorb the remainder of any write-downs, the analyst said.

...more...

[TalkingDog]

21. News from the Southern Trenches.

We make a trip once or twice a month into a nearby city to stock up on bulk type items, dog food, bird seed (for our yard friends) bathroom tissue (I asked the Spousal Unit how fast we used the giant box of toilet rolls. The sage reply? "Depends on what we're eating." Ah, wisdom.) and maybe have a bite to eat if its in the budget.

As we approached the bulk foods I suddenly became curious. We don't get rice here (the chinese markets always have more types and larger bags for about the same price) but I wanted to see if our area was suffering from the "rice shortage".

The 25 lbs bags of flour were at about 1/2 stock. The only rice available was 10 lbs. of parboiled. No 25 or 50 lb bags jasmine or white rice at all. And interestingly, to me anyway: No sugar. None. Not one 25 lb bag of sugar.

Well, it is the south and we (not me specifically, I'm not a sweet fan at all) do love our sugar in everything. The burgers we had for dinner had sweetening in: The bun, the slaw (yes we eat chili, slaw, mustard and onions on our burgers...you should try it) the bacon on the burger and even an accidental bit in the unsweetened tea I was drinking. How do you Un-sweeten tea anyway? And what do they do with all that sugar?

I've even had deviled eggs with sugar in them (ugh). Is it any wonder the South has weight issues?

Anyway. I've also noticed in a couple of stores, including this one, that the aisles are getting wider. I like wide aisles; having a touch of claustrophobia. But somehow the stock seems about the same. No crowding as one might expect with fewer shelves.

I guess I'd better go water the garden.... I wonder how difficult it is to grow rice?

later

[TalkingDog]

24. And as an interesting aside

Why our Asian Markets are so good and so plentiful:

"United Hmong Association to address issue"
snip:
The United Hmong Association will start addressing the issue at a clan meeting with local Hmong leaders.

We have a huge Hmong population, so the rice issue is very important to our region.

[AnneD]

57. Every Texan knows.....

the only way to sweeten iced tea is to pour the sugar in until you have a little mountain in the bottom of the glass and then stir.:spray:

[TalkingDog]

58. There must be some body chemisty involved.

My mother and sister both made tea with the same amount of water, tea bags and sugar. But somehow my sister's was always syrupy while my mother's was averagely sweet.

Given that diabetes runs in the family, I'm glad my sweet tooth is broken.

[UpInArms]

23. Wall Street, lenders face new subprime probe, WSJ reports

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0433728120080505?sp=true

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn are stepping up their scrutiny of players in the subprime-mortgage crisis, focusing on Wall Street firms and mortgage lenders, the Wall Street Journal said on its Web site on Sunday.

A task force of federal, state and local agencies will look into potential crimes ranging from mortgage fraud by brokers to securities fraud, insider trading and accounting fraud, the Journal said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is already targeting major corporate insiders and criminal groups in its investigation of fraud in the mortgage lending industry. The FBI has said it is investigating 19 companies in mortgage cases.

The formation of the task force amplifies efforts already under way in Brooklyn, where prosecutors are investigating whether investment bank UBS AG (UBSN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) improperly valued its mortgage-securities holdings, the report said.

Also being investigated are the circumstances surrounding the failure of two hedge funds at Bear Stearns Cos (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which collapsed last summer because of losses tied to mortgage-backed securities, the report said.

Separately, the New York Times said the FBI and the criminal division of the Internal Revenue Service had formed a task force to examine mortgages that were made with little or no proof of the earnings or assets of borrowers.

...more...

[Dr.Phool]

42. IRS is getting in on the act too.

On Sunday mornings, we have our own talk show at the dog park. One friend who comes every week-end owns a major accounting firm, and another guy is a tax attorney from Atlanta.

They said the IRS has just hired thousands of auditors, and they're going after everything.

As usual though, they don't seem to be going after the big guys, but going after non-reimbursed employee expenses.

[AnneD]

60. They have been working overtime here in Houston...

we have already had some dragnets....

[UpInArms]

25. More big losses expected from Fannie, Freddie

http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN2934519320080505?sp=true

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, reeling from the deterioration in the housing market, will likely post steep losses for the first quarter, but the two largest home funding companies are expected to escape previous record losses.

Slumping house prices and rising foreclosures, even for high-quality loans that comprise the bulk of business at the two federally chartered companies, have eroded their income.

Losses were likely tempered, however, after the two raised their fees and as the credit crunch drove many of their rivals to the sidelines.

The first quarter, however, held no relief for housing.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 metro areas fell 2.6 percent in February, for an annual drop of 12.7 percent. Foreclosure filings surged 23 percent in the first quarter, and were more than double a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac.

"It's probably the most challenging environment that they've seen in their histories," said Moshe Orenbuch, equity research managing director at Credit Suisse in New York.

...more...

[54anickel]

28. Huh? "...high-quality loans that comprise the bulk of business..." Isn't that what

Snowjob was screeching about when he and Greenspin would toss out the "not too big to fail" threat? Weren't they getting into more and more risk taking, and didn't they continue to ignore the warnings? What's the definition of "high-quality" these days anyway? Are foreclosures rising in those "high-quality" loans or do they mean slumping prices are cutting into their income from those "high-quality" loans. But wait, how can that be? Wouldn't the lenders income remain the same? I mean, wouldn't the borrower continue to make payments according to the original terms? Ahhh, but if those "high-quality" loans were made to borrowers that have lost their job, and the slumping price has cut the equity and these savy borrowers were smart enough to negotiate a way out to avoid foreclosure, then I can see where slumping prices are eroding their income. The GSEs weren't actually stupid enough to fall for that mantra of housing values will always go up that they set their income expectations around that mantra, were they? Did they have a flipping division? I just don't get the message behind that line. Just seems thick with BS to me.....

Slumping house prices and rising foreclosures, even for high-quality loans that comprise the bulk of business at the two federally chartered companies, have eroded their income.

[UpInArms]

32. Risks mount for stressed traders as markets gyrate (Great Depression and Suicides?)

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSL3090774220080505?sp=true

LONDON (Reuters) - Increased volatility grips stock markets, big investment banks tot up losses from a credit market seizure and jobs are slashed -- being a trader has seldom been more stressful.

Since a stock market bull run came to a grinding halt last year and as the crisis has magnified by the week, occupational psychologists who help stressed-out traders and bankers now fear a higher cost than mere write-downs: suicide.

"There is a great sense of urgency and anxiety around the City since the onset of the credit crunch and the economic problems unfolding," said Michael Sinclair, a consultant psychologist who has two London practices including one in the financial district, and estimates City workers account for 95 percent of his clients.

Even as hopes build that the worst may be over, professional investors fear the markets' seizure carries real dangers that have not been seen for decades -- perhaps as far back as the Great Depression triggered by the 1929 Wall Street crash.

Where Canary Wharf's imposing concrete towers and loud bars usually exude confidence and wealth, now the mood is claustrophobic. On commuter trains, workers openly speculate about which team members will be culled.

...more...

[54anickel]

47. How sad....

"A lot of underlying insecurities come to the surface, around self-esteem and self worth, and -- yes -- there has been an increase in suicides."

I can relate to that since I was one of those who used to define myself, my success, my whole being by my career. So glad I found another completely unrelated aspect to myself before I lost my job or I'd have ended up in the same boat.

Gotta love this line - nothing to worry about after all it's someone else's money. :eyes:

Historians say market players today are generally more resilient and better supported than in 1929, when individuals were largely gambling with their own wealth and the crash spelt bankruptcy. Thank BOB!!!


The Wallflowers- Somebody Else's Money

We can buy that mansion on the hill
We'll fill it up until it's filled
We'll buy a big black cadillac
And we'll keep an extra one in the back
We'll sit home just listening
To the sounds of the winds when they're breaking
And we can buy that diamond ring
And just about any other thing
With somebody else's money

We can buy you that flower garden
With every rose that's ever risen
With a blanket and a safety pin
We'll keep away all the boogie men
And we can buy you that swing
Swing through the skies openings
And we can buy that diamond ring
And just about any other thing
With somebody else's money

We can tattoo nickels on our skin
We'll drain our veins and put honey in
We'll buy new fingers two times ten
We'll even put pennies in our chins
We'll buy a silver set of wings
Lay 'em on our backs for the winds
And we can buy that diamond ring
And just about any other thing
With somebody else's money

We'll crash in on the neighbors wedding
We'll steal the cake and go running
You'll head straight for the jewelry
And I'll steal the money like a lottery
We'll buy a set of legs just for walking
And another set of tongues for when we're small talking
Another set of lips for being obscene
And another set of heads for halloween

And we can buy you that swing
To swing through the skies openings
We can buy that diamond ring
Just about any other thing
With somebody else's money

We can buy babies for the babies
We'll give them both big red ponies
They'll live in that mansion on the hill
That we'll keep on fillin' until it's filled

We'll watch the neighbors fatten up with greed
Watching us buying everything we don't need
I know they're listening
Through a telescope from across the street
Watching us fillin' up the bathtubs with sweets
Money, money, money

Money on the floor put money in the beds
Put money in the drains
Money coming out of our heads
Money, money, money

We can kill many a dirty man
Work by the church when they bring us in
We can buy anything
Because there's always something
That's so funny about spending
Somebody else's money

[TalkingDog]

54. Nice Choice. You've hit upon this adminstration's theme song.

As long as it's somebody else's money they can wage illegal wars, stick your IRA into the stock market and still sleep like babes.

If it was their money, you bet damn-jimmy they would be a whole lot more "conservative".

[AnneD]

37. Huge loss to mean huge job cuts at Europe's UBS

UBS may cut as many as 8,000 jobs as it grapples with the biggest credit writedowns of any European bank and an $11.4 billion first-quarter loss.

Switzerland's biggest bank is set to spell out plans for layoffs when it reports detailed results Tuesday. The company will probably say it's eliminating between 2,500 and 3,000 jobs in its investment bank, more than 10 percent of the division, two people familiar with the matter said May 2.

"UBS is scaling down investment banking," including reducing trading bets and giving up off-balance sheet units, said Frankfurt-based Landsbanki Kepler analyst Dirk Becker, who advises clients to "reduce" holdings of UBS. It is "realistic" to estimate that the company will fire one tenth of its 83,000 employees overall, he said.

Writedowns at the Zurich-based bank after the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown have swelled to $38 billion over the past three quarters, a result of building a debt securities business at the peak of the market. Chairman Marcel Ospel, who replaced half of the executive board since losses began in 2007, stepped down last month. UBS already cut 1,500 jobs late last year.

More....


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5753743.html

You know you're in trouble when the Swiss banks are in trouble...

[AnneD]

39. Travelers ship bags to avoid extra-luggage hassles

NEW YORK — On a recent trip to Egypt, the coffee table books, pottery and other gifts Lorna Gladstone collected might have turned into a nightmare at the airport baggage check-in.

So she packed her belongings into four suitcases and left them with the hotel concierge to ship home through a service called Luggage Free.

``I can go through security with my handbag and my book,'' said Gladstone, a retired resident of McLean, Va. who uses the service whenever she travels.

As struggling airlines add extra-luggage fees and travelers worry about growing security restrictions, services like Luggage Foreward and Luggage Free have emerged as ways to bypass the hassles of checking bags. In Houston, locally based Sports Express, Pack n Send, Galaxy Shipping, among others, offer similar services.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5750276.html

This might be faster and a lot less hassell and cheap to boot. Airlines may lose business here.

[kineneb]

44. If I had to fly these days...

shipping things separately would be the only way to go. I have been look at all the restrictions and keep thinking... rail travel is starting to look much better... maybe traveling by ship will make a come-back...

[TalkingDog]

55. Padded wooden crate: This side up, airholes and a few sanitary accomodations

Probably faster and less stressful than your average plane trip.

I wonder what they would charge to ship a "purebred Appalachian Mud Monkey"?

[AnneD]

40. Many millionaires in survey say they don't feel that rich

NEW YORK — Even millionaires are feeling the squeeze, with many saying they don't even feel wealthy. But as a group, they are optimistic that things will improve in the next year.

The Fidelity Millionaire Outlook, a survey of 1,000 people with at least $1 million in assets to invest, found that you don't have to be a laid-off worker in a rust belt state to have a negative view of the nation's economy.

Using a scale ranging from minus 100 as the worst to 100 as the best, the survey found that high-net-worth individuals have a minus 50, or "very weak," view of the economy right now.

But when asked where things will be next January, the grade rises to a positive 18.

more.....

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5750279.html

That's inflation for you.

[kineneb]

45. cueing tiny quartet

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :nopity:

[AnneD]

43. The man who earned 3.7 billion Dollar with the subprime crisis

Just like the Chinese philosophy jing jang tells us that every medal has two sides also the subprime crisis didn´t just produce losers. But as you can imagine when so many people nearly loose 1 Trillion USD the winner on the other side must make a real big fortune and that´s exactly what John Paulson a 52 year old hedge fond manager from Manhattan did. He earned 3,7 Billion USD which could be the highest annual profit of the history of mankind.

<snip>
John Paulson´s story began in New New York where he was born and studied later he even went to Harvard. How to deal with money he propably learned when he worked for the fabulous financial genius Leon Levy, he also worked for Bear Stearns and the financial investor Gruss Partners. Then in 1994 John Paulson founded his own company and issued some Hedge funds. After loosing very much money by betting that the corporate bonds would fall in 2005 he started to search for new financial bubbles and finally discovered the beautiful world of the “Subprime Mortgages”. But the question was how to make money with this bubble? So John Paulson developed a complex but in the root idea still very easy speculation strategy. His plan was to collect as many “Credit default swaps” as he could get, “credit default swaps” are something like issues which hedge you of financial losses of credits. So in good times this “Swaps” cost less but in bad times when the credit risk soars there “swaps” rise in value enormously. Well since 2005 John Paulson didn´t do something else than collecting “Credit default swaps” and in the beginning he even made red ink with that strategy. But when Amriquest one of the biggest providers of suprime-credits a fine of 325 Million USD in order to avoid a process for deceptive practices John recognised how phony the market was and issued a fund just to bet against the housing market. It was 2006 and his fund against the housing market didn´t worked well not before the and of 2006 when more and more people got nervous hsi fund closed with a plus of 20 %. Now John Paulson got really amped up about profiting from this bubble and issued a second fund witch also bet against the housing market. And the rest is history the housing bubble burst and John´s on December 31th 2007 John´s first fund closed with 590 % and his second one with 350 %.

However the question how much money he really made can be answered exactly cause Mr. Paulson is very discrete.There are no official affirmations for the definitive altitude but experts assume that the earnings amounts to 3,7 Billion USD. The Magazine Monthly Trader even wrote that this could be the highest annual profit of the history of mankind and placed him on the first place of a list of the TOP 100 fund managers.

However the question how much money he really made can be answered exactly cause Mr. Paulson is very discrete.There are no official affirmations for the definitive altitude but experts assume that the earnings amounts to 3,7 Billion USD. The Magazine Monthly Trader even wrote that this could be the highest annual profit of the history of mankind and placed him on the first place of a list of the TOP 100 fund managers.

<snip>



http://www.worldfinancialblog.com/investing/the-man-who-earned-37-billion-dollar-with-the-subprime-crisis/110/

[DemReadingDU]

51. Fleckenstein: Why we can't cruise past a recession

5/5/08 Many analysts look at the market's current upswing and conclude the US economy has escaped with merely a drive-by downturn. Common sense suggests they're wrong. Bill Fleckenstein

It would appear that the recent strength in the stock market has reinforced the opinion of those in the bullish camp that the worst has been seen for the economy.

The thinking goes this way: The stock market cratered in January on the panic over French bank Société Générale (FR:GLE, news, msgs). That bottom was successfully tested during the Bear Stearns (BSC, news, msgs) debacle, which was handled thanks to the "skills" of the Federal Reserve.

The subsequent rally (since markets look to the future) is prima facie evidence to bulls that the U.S. economy is on the mend. Thus negative economic news is ignored, as it's now been fully discounted -- or so the story goes.

Apparently, not much thought has been given to the idea that perhaps the stock market and the bullish contingent are reading the facts incorrectly, just as they did when they interpreted the first payment defaults on 2007-vintage subprime-mortgage paper as likely to lead to nothing more than merely a speed bump in economic growth, or a "pause that refreshes."

It would seem that folks of this mind-set have taken a page from the shoddy appraisal tactics of the real-estate bubble and have concluded that all the economy will experience is something on the order of a drive-by recession.

But does that really make sense? What's occurring is a debate about the future, and we cannot be certain of how it will look until we get there.

more...
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/ContrarianChronicles/WhyWeCantCruisePastARecession.aspx

[specimenfred1984]

52. All U.S. markets need to be shut down and completely restructured

They are totally corrupt: stocks, bonds, futures, commodities, you name it. The people that have perpetuated this fraud need to be jailed, which unfortunately is 1000s of people. The entire system, including the so-called justice system, is way beyond any "adjustments" that would help curb the criminal behavior as the very "laws" themselves have all been changed and are corrupt.

First thing I'd do is fire everyone I could in the Justice Dept and the SEC and hire people not connected to banks in any way, shape or form -- the exact same thing FDR did. Then, there are about 2000 other things I'd do that are so numerous and widespread that a library of books wouldn't begin to cover the widespread nature of the cleanup.

[Demeter]

62. Tansy Gold, We Found You a Secretary of the Treasury!

See above!

[ozymandius]

63. Unfortunately this is probably the only way these people will truly feel

a "just" brunt from what they have perpetuated. Though I honestly believe that "doing time" in this high finance culture is "just dues" one must pay on the way to the Ivory Tower (ex. see: Milken, Michael).

Take this idea; then separate, permanently, them from their money gained during these cannibalistic ventures; forever bar them from doing business in the finance industry. With due process adhered, that's justice in my world.

[DemReadingDU]

53. ResCap May Not Be Able to Meet June Debt Obligations

5/5/08 ResCap May Not Be Able to Meet June Debt Obligations

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Residential Capital LLC, the mortgage- finance company owned by GMAC LLC, said it may not be able to meet debt obligations unless it comes up with an additional $600 million by the end of June.

ResCap, the eighth-largest U.S. residential lender in 2007, today began offering as little as 80 cents on the dollar to exchange or buy back $14 billion of bonds to extend maturities and stave off bankruptcy. To finance the debt restructuring, ResCap is seeking a new $3.5 billion credit line from its parent GMAC, which is owned by General Motors Corp. and an investor group led by Cerberus Capital Management LP.

``There is a significant risk that we will not be able to meet our debt service obligations, be unable to meet certain financial covenants in our credit facilities, and be in a negative liquidity position in June 2008,'' ResCap said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission today.

Record U.S. home foreclosures have led to six straight quarterly losses totaling $5.3 billion, eroding ResCap's cash position and pushing it closer to violating loan agreements. ResCap said it's trying to amend the terms of those credit lines.

ResCap also wants GMAC to contribute $350 million of ResCap notes outstanding to the mortgage lender by the end of the month and give it $150 million more in borrowings under an existing credit facility.

Even if all those actions are successful, ResCap said today it will need ``to consummate in the near term certain asset sales or other capital generating actions over and above our normal mortgage finance activities to provide additional cash of $600 million by June 30.''

The company is already pursuing asset sales to help meet near-term obligations, GMAC spokeswoman Toni Simonetti said today in a phone interview.

GMAC has already injected more than $2 billion of capital into ResCap. GM, the world's largest automaker, sold a 51 percent stake to the investor group led by Cerberus in 2006 as part of a plan to protect GMAC from the automaker's declining credit outlook.

Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service cut their ratings on ResCap's debt following the bond exchange announced last week.

More than 100 mortgage companies have suspended operations, closed or sold themselves since the start of 2007 amid a housing slump that bankers and real estate trade groups have called the worst since the Great Depression.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aCugzO9ZEhaM&refer=home

[Demeter]

65. I Have a Dream.....

Both Countrywide and GMAC go belly up on the same day, while markets here are closed, due to foreign end of patience.

This causes a complete shutdown in the mortgage packaging business, and my co-op cannot close on the conversion plan. Chaos ensues. People do not lose their homes, because nobody can find the paperwork.

When it's all sorted out, the concept of securitizing is abandoned forever, the co-op has paid off the underlying mortgage completely, and conversion costs 1/3 what it did just 5 years before.

It's nice to have a dream. Although this qualifies as a fantasy, more than anything else.

Oh, and along the way, we get a New Deal with bigger teeth to rend the corporation from its undeserved personhood.

[ozymandius]

64. End of the day.

Dow 12,969.54 Down 88.66 (0.68%)
Nasdaq 2,464.12 Down 12.87 (0.52%)
S&P 500 1,407.49 Down 6.41 (0.45%)
10-Yr Bond 3.845% 0.00
NYSE Volume 3,411,654,500
Nasdaq Volume 2,094,093,875

4:20 pm : The stock market settled with modest losses on Monday. Traders were hesitant to buy stocks in the face of the S&P 500's 12% surge from its low in March to Friday's closing level. Record crude oil prices and news of a failed takeover didn't help matters either. The day was mostly uneventful with stocks heading sideways for the majority of the session, in relatively light trading volume.

The top story on Monday was news that Microsoft (MSFT 29.08, -0.16) abandoned its acquisition plans after its increased offer was rejected at Yahoo! (YHOO 24.37, -4.30). Microsoft raised its offer to $33 per share, or $47.5 billion, from its Feb. 1 offer of $31 per share, or $44.6 billion. However, Yahoo rejected the offer, as it was not willing to accept anything below $37 per share. As a result, shares of Yahoo plummeted 15%, but remain well above the Jan. 31 preoffer level of $19.18 -- indicating traders feel there is still a chance a deal will be made. Shares of Microsoft were up as much as 3.4% on the news, but eventually ended the day with a slight loss.

Sprint Nextel's (S 8.72, +0.83) stock spiked higher on two reports. Its shares were initially higher on a Wall Street Journal report that Deutsche Telekom (DT 17.93, -0.18) is pondering an offer to acquire Sprint. Shares then spiked higher on a separate Wall Street Journal report that indicated Sprint is considering spinning off or selling its Nextel unit, according to the Journal's sources.

Countrywide (CFC 5.36, -0.62) was back in the spotlight after Friedman Billings said Bank of America (BAC 38.97, -0.82) may renegotiate its deal to acquire Countrywide from $7 per share to $2 per share or less. Friedman noted Bank of America faces $20 billion to $30 billion in loan write-downs on the close of the Countrywide transaction. The financial sector (-1.5%) was a laggard throughout the session.

The April ISM services reading was the sole item on the economic calendar. The services reading unexpectedly rose to 52.0 from 49.6, which topped the consensus estimate of 49.1. Since the number is above 50 it reflects the services sector expanded in April, albeit at a slow pace. The stock market got a short-lived boost from the report, but quickly slipped back into negative territory.

Stocks may have had a subdued day of trading, but that was not the case for commodities, which rose 1.4%. Crude oil spiked 3.3% to an all-time intraday high of $120.21 per barrel, before settling at an all-time closing high of $119.94 per barrel. Crude prices advanced on the 0.40% slip in the dollar, and reports of unrest in Nigeria.

Eight of the ten economic sectors ended the day with a loss. Financials (-1.5%) and utilities (-1.4%) were the main laggards. The gain in commodities and oil helped lift the materials (+1.5%) and energy (+1.0%) sectors into leadership positions.DJ30 -88.66 NASDAQ -12.87 SP500 -6.41 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1620/1242/2.08 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1777/1331/1.11 bln